Jan 13 – Mar 18, 2021
Vintage valentines are not only beautiful, but offer valuable insight into the values and fashions of bygone eras. While the Hoyt’s collection of printed love notes dates spans the late teens through the 1930s, the history of the Valentine’s card dates back to the Middle Ages. In fact, the first known valentine was written by Charles Duke of Orleans to his wife while imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1415.
The collection on display was gifted to Arts and Education at the Hoyt by Louis J. G. Buehler (1919- 2003), a third generation furniture manufacturer from Allentown, PA. Many were collected during his childhood and printed in Germany where his family maintained strong relations.