A Regency illustrated love letter addressed to Miss S.[arah] Corney,

Bookseller Notes

An early valentine, in which a printed folded sheet (the forerunner of our cards) is augmented with text by the hopeful lover. John Fairburn printed the first such commercially available valentine card in 1797, much like this example, to cater to a middling class which had money to spend and which began to express romantic love via purchased trinkets and gifts, rather than (or in addition to) the more traditional handmade tokens. Formerly considered, or at least configured as, a more rural pursuit, sending valentines became a highly fashionable occupation of town-dwellers, with people of all social ranks participating. This valentine has a symbol of hope and anchor, delicate lacy paper and rose buds, accompanied in a neat hand by the impassioned suitor's pleas: 'My hopes & you be true as I will ever be / may god grant us all the happyness [sic] I wish to see' 'I trust this will arrive just in time/it is from one I'm sure is not expected, and begs you will take him as your valentine'. These kinds of phrases could be found in 'Valentine writers', ingenious publications which also proliferated around this time, offering tips, bon mots, riddles and pleasing turns of phrase for those lovers struggling to get their sentiments off the ground.See: Sally Holloway, The Game of Love in Georgian England: Courtship, Emotions, and Material Culture (OUP, 2019).