Cobweb Valentines

The collection of Valentines held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art is probably far greater than even the collection of letters I have piled up in the studio. In doing some research for Valentine's Day, I came across this posting from Nancy Rosin, a volunteer curator and valentine ephemera enthusiast. She posted some true Valentine treasures she found in a humble black box. They are amazing! The cobweb valentines in particular are just super. I'd never even heard of cobweb valentines. Lucky for me, there's a posting she did all about cobweb valentines from 2017. 

"Cobwebs—also known as beehives, flower cages, or birdcages—are a rare example of a mechanical or movable valentine consisting of a minimum of two layers of paper. First, a web or cage would be cut from a piece of paper by making a pattern of concentric circles, leaving attachment points at regular intervals. In the center of the spiral, a delicate thread would be attached and its outer edges would be pasted directly on top of a second sheet on which an image or message would be written, painted, or printed.

As a cover, the cobweb formed the perfect sanctuary to enclose a private message that could only be revealed when the recipient of the card carefully pulled up the thread, causing the concentric circles of the web to rise and magically expose its hidden compartment. The concept of secrecy and the element of surprise frequently recurs in valentines, as they speak to the intimacy that has always been a part of the language of love and is one of the reasons why the cobwebs were so popular."

The New York Times has an excellent collection of images that Nancy also helped with from the Huntington Library, which is where I found the charming mouse cobweb image above. I find them all really great. This was a lot of fun to find out. Do take some time to look at those links. The valentines are all wonderful. Happy Valentine's All!

 

Comments

[Cynthia]

Wow these are really neat! Thanks for the information.

[Lisa]

Fabulous!