Ways to Say I Love You

QUESTION: I’ve loved Valentine’s Day ever since I was in the first grade and my new best friend gave me a valentine card at our class’s party. Every year I would go out of my way to give really different cards. I became so inspired that I began looking for valentines all year round. I’ve amassed quite a collection of old valentine cards, but I really have no idea how the tradition of giving valentine greetings began. Can you help me put this in perspective?

ANSWER: Sending valentine greetings actually began during Roman times. Legend says that Valentinus, a Roman priest who encouraged young couples to many, sent the first valentine in 270 A.D.  Unfortunately , the reigning Emperor, Claudius II, disapproved of Christianity, and of marriage, in general. It was the Emperor's belief that married soldiers would soon forget that their primary allegiance should be to their Emperor, rather than to their wives.

The Emperor ordered Valentinus beheaded for disregarding his orders to cease his actions. Legend also says Valentinus befriended the blind daughter of the jailer, and apparently restoring her sight. In turn, the young woman brought food and delivered messages to him during his incarceration. On February 14, the eve of his execution, he wrote her a note of appreciation, signing it "From your Valentine."

A forerunner of the valentine greeting began in the 16th century with religious mementos of the Sacred Heart created in convents in France, Germany and Holland. Carefully crafted on parchment or vellum, the designs emulating the hand-tatted lace of the period.

The custom of Valentine's Day as an occasion developed gradually as the techniques of making paper advanced.  In 1834, the English made improvements to lace paper, originally  made in Germany and Austria in the early 19th century. The openwork, cameo-embossed lace paper allowed English publishers to publish elegant love letters, romantic stationery and valentines for an increasing number of customers.

These were miniature works of art which incorporated the use of ribbons and scraps, pearls and Dresden die-cuts. Some were movable or perfumed, while others had tiny mirrors attached to them to reflect the image of the beloved.

People made most early American valentines by hand. The influence of the immigrant German cultures resulted in folk-art paper items known as scherenschnitte, meaning paper cutting, and fraktur, or paper designs incorporating German calligraphy and imagery.

By the early 20th century, several publishers of lithographs and wood engravings began making  valentines in New York City. But it was Esther Howland who many consider the mother of the American valentine.



The Howland family operated the largest book and stationery store in Worcester, Massachusetts. As a student at the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, Class of 1847, she had been exposed to annual Valentine's Day festivities, which were later banned by the college for being too frivolous.

After graduation, Howland received an elaborate English valentine from one of her father's business associates. She convinced her father to order lace paper and other sup-plies from England and New York City. With these she made a dozen samples, which her brother added to his inventory for his next sales trip. When her brother returned with more than $5,000 in advance sales, she established a cottage industry where ladies would have materials and samples delivered and picked up at their homes, thus allowing them to mass-produce valentines.

While Esther Howland was not the first to create valentines in America, she did popularize the lace valentine, enabling her to earn $100.000 a year. In 1881, she sold her valentine business to an associate, George Whitney, whose company patterned many of their cards on the Howland model.

Another Victorian passion was the postcard. Publishers produced popular designs in huge quantities, since Valentine's Day was a big card-sending holiday at the time. But despite the availability of a wide variety of valentine cards, the demand for beautiful and unusual images has driven up the price for collectors. Ordinary postcard valentines can sell for $5 or less, but quality valentine postcards tend to sell for $8 to $10 each.






Production of valentine postcards ceased by World War I. It wasn’t until the 1930s that folded cards were became popular. The 1960s produced cards with red satin hearts, sachet centers, and simulated jewels and lace.

Today, Valentine's Day is the second largest holiday for giving a greeting card, with approximately 180 million cards exchanged. About 30 percent of all modern valentines are for meant for romantic love relationships. Valentinus would be proud.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the other 18,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about the Victorians in the Winter 2018 Edition, "All Things Victorian," online now.

The Most Romantic Accessory Under the Sun

QUESTION: I love fashion accessories. Recently, I purchased a beautiful antique parasol from a vintage clothing booth at a local antique show. It’s covered in lace and has an ivory handle. Other than they’re a cousin of the umbrella, what can you tell me about the history of these romantic fashion accessories?
           
ANSWER: Parasols go back almost 5,000 years to ancient Egypt. Then as in their heyday during the late 18th and 19th centuries, they shielded women from the sun. In fact, the word literally means "for sun" in Spanish.

The umbrella as we know it first gained favor in England as a way for women to shield themselves from English rain. English umbrella makers first constructed them of oiled silk which made them extremely heavy and difficult to open when wet. But it wasn’t until the late 18th century that French umbrella makers transformed this mundane accessory into the parasol, one of romantic beauty. It’s name literally means “for the sun.”

Traditionally ladies had accessorized their outfits with delicate cane walking sticks, but during the 18th century, they replaced them with the more fashionable and useful parasol.

As the popularity of the parasol grew so too did its ornamentation. Until 1800, the fabric used on parasols was mostly green to cast a complementary shadow over the bearer's face so that a woman’s overly flushed complexion might appear fashionably pale. After this period of restraint, parasols became sumptuous with canopies adorned with laces, ruffles and fringes. Parasol makers replaced utilitarian wooden handles with costly ones made from porcelain, ivory, or ebony, enriched with elaborate carvings and inlays of mother of pearl, gems, and precious metals.

By the Victorian era the parasol was an essential accessory for ladies. Many had parasols made to match the fabric of their dresses, while the truly fashionable even had fans made to match their parasols. The length of the handle and shaft, the number of spokes and the diameter of the canopy, at one stage no larger than a handkerchief, were constantly shifting with changes in fashion. But in 1852, Samuel Fox, the founder of the English Steels Company, had a surplus of steel stays used in making corsets. Fox had the idea of using his steel stays in place of wooden or bone ribs, thus reducing the weight of parasols and improving their opening and durability.

To Victorian women, an unblemished complexion was essential to their concept of beauty. Like fans, parasols became part of the Victorian feminine mystique and even developed their own secret language useful for flirting.

Parasols were as a much a part of a well-dressed lady's outfit as were her gloves, hat, shoes and stockings. A fashionable lady carried a different parasol for each outfit. They became popular gifts for men to give their lady.

By the dawning of the 20th century, wide-brimmed hats became fashionable and women no longer needed parasols to protect complexions. Parasols eventually disappeared during the 1920's, when a tanned complexion replaced pale skin as a status symbol.

As Delicate as Lace

QUESTION: My aunt collected Dresden lace figurines for years. She died recently and left her collection to me. Unfortunately, I know next to nothing about these porcelain figurines, except that they came from Dresden, Germany. What can you tell me about them? Also, I’d like to maintain the collection and have no idea how to care for them. They seem so delicate.

ANSWER: Dresden lace figurines have captured the imagination of collectors for years because of their fragile beauty and grace. These delicate figures have been produced by many different German companies from the late 19th century to the present and shouldn’t be confused with the famous porcelain Meissen figurines.

Confusion about Meissen and Dresden porcelain has reigned for over 200 years. The Royal Saxon Porcelain Factory (now known as Meissen) first opened in 1710 in Dresden, Germany. A year later, it’s owners moved it to Meissen, Germany, where it remains today. During the 18th and 19th centuries Meissen porcelain became known as Dresden China in England, Canada and the United States. These lace Dresden figurines are completely different.

Between 1850 and 1914, as many as 200 decorating studios in and around Dresden created a "Dresden" style, a mixture of Meissen and Vienna. While some studios produced high quality pieces that outdid Meissen, others made inferior copies.

Most Dresden-style figurines aren’t as solid as those produced at Meissen. The makers of authentic Meissen figurines pressed porcelain clay into molds, making solid finished pieces. The makers of the  Dresden-style figures, on the other hand, made their pieces by pouring liquid porcelain or "slip" into plaster molds. Because the plaster absorbed the liquid near the sides, a thin wall of partially hard porcelain built up against the outline of the mold Then they poured the remaining slip out of the mold. The resulting impression was thin, hollow, and light in weight. Thus Dresden figures are less costly to produce than those of Meissen.

Meissen first introduced porcelain lace, the most distinctive feature of Dresden figurines, in 1770 as a fancy addition to the dress of some figures. Makers used small amounts to decorate collars and sleeves. In the late 19th century, various Dresden studios developed figurines in elaborately flounced lace skirts and dresses.

The lace was easy to produce. Workers dipped real lace into liquid porcelain, then cut and applied it to the figure in the desired position. During the firing process, the real lace threads burned away, leaving a replica of the mesh in the porcelain.

Dresden figurines also possess an abundance of delicate, applied flowers adorning the gowns, hair and base of the figures. Artists created these tiny leaves and flowers petal by petal, then individually applied them. Some pieces also had a hand-whipped, grouty bisque applied to the base to simulate grass or moss. The best examples appear on figures produced by the Carl Thieme Factory of Potschappel. In 1972 the company became the VEB Saxonian Porcelain Manufactory Dresden. Today, they’re the only official producer of Dresden china in Germany.

The most beautiful and sought-after Dresden pieces are the large figure groups made in the style of 18th-century Meissen. These so-called "crinoline" groups often portrayed court life and the diversions of noble people, such as playing musical instruments or doing the minuet. Avid collectors of Dresden figurines also seek groups that include animals such as Russian wolf hounds, as well as love scenes.

Many collectors love the Dresden ballerinas, each featuring tightly fitting lace tutus, as well as Spanish Flamingo dancers with their skirts of ruffled lace.

As with any antique or collectible, condition is probably the most important factor to consider. Examine the piece carefully for chips or small flakes, as damaged pieces lose 50 percent or more of their value. Because the lace is so fragile, you should expect a small amount of loss. However, be wary of pieces with large holes or breaks in the lace because it's virtually impossible to repair porcelain lace. If the piece contains many applied flowers, a small chip or two on a petal or leaf is acceptable.

The next thing to consider is quality. Do you like the face? Are the fingers slender and separated from one another? Is there much hand-painted decoration on the costume? Are the colors pleasing? How lifelike does the figure or group of figures appear?

You’ll need to take extra special care with your Dresden pieces. Because the lace and applied flowers are so fragile, use care in handling them. Keep them in a glass case or china closet to prevent them from getting dusty. If you must clean them, use a feather duster or carefully submerge them in a mild detergent and warm water. Gently pat dry the figure and blow dry the lace.

The Enduring Beauty of Lace

QUESTION: Recently, I was going through an old trunk in my grandmother’s attic and discovered several beautiful old lace tablecloths. One of them had a label which read “Quaker Lace Co.” Can you tell me anything about this company and whether these old tablecloths are worth anything?

ANSWER: In the past decade or so, vintage linens have gained in popularity. Fine old lace ones are in rather high demand, as people seek to bring back the nostalgic beauty of bygone eras.

Finely patterned handmade lace has been available for centuries. However, lace tablecloths have only been used since the latter part of the 19th century, after the invention of mechanical lace-making looms. Traditionally, making lace by hand was a labor intensive process, but with the mechanical looms, it became possible to produce lace wide enough for tablecloths.

Taking care of fine lace tablecloths required extra help, so when domestic servants began to disappear from middle-class homes, so, too, did high- maintenance lace linens. But a new generation of housekeepers have discovered the beauty and elegance of lace. They tend to use fine lace tablecloths to dress up their dinner tables for special occasions.

While many of these fine old pieces were handmade and can cost hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars, others were mechanically produced by companies such as the Quaker Lace Company of Philadelphia. Those produced by the company from 1880 to about 1913 are highly desired by collectors. To collectors, it doesn’t matter whether a lace tablecloth is handmade or machine-made or simple or ornate. Vintage Quaker Lace pieces sell for $10 to $200, with the average price being around $60-100 for a large tablecloth big enough to fit a table for 12.

Originally founded in 1889 as the Bromley Manufacturing Company by the three sons of John Bromley, an English carpet maker who came to the United Sates in the 1840s and became successful in textiles. The Bromley brothers used the profits from their carpet manufacturing business to purchase looms from Nottingham, England to produce machine-made lace. In 1894, the Bromley brothers purchased a factory on 4th Street and Lehigh Avenue in Philadelphia, and renamed their company Lehigh Manufacturing. A bit later, they opened a second factory on 22nd Street and Lehigh Avenue. In 1911 they renamed their operation once again the Quaker Lace Company.

Quaker Lace became the leader in machine-made lace. Their lace was durable, resisted stretching and pulling, and could withstand washing without losing its shape or transparency. In 1987 they closed their  4th Street factory, but continued to produce tablecloths at plants in Lionville, Pennsylvania, and Winthrop, Maine. The company continually researched and invented new ways of chemically treating their lace so that it would maintain its shape. The Bromleys sold their tablecloths mainly in department stores, but when many of them began to close, the company’s profits declined. The company had to  declare bankruptcy in 1992. Lorraine Linens purchased the patterns and Quaker Lace name and  continued to manufacture lace tablecloths until 2007 when it, too, filed for bankruptcy.