Current Location: In storage
Titles
Valentine card
Maker(s)
Publisher:
S. Marks & Sons
Entities
Categories
Description
4to-sized thin, white wove paper printed with a decorative woodcut border incorporating a bee motif at all four corners. The border has been delicately tinted with a grey wash. A hand-coloured woodcut at the centre shows a female figure facing right and looking at a framed portrait of her beloved which hangs on a wall. Cupid hovers on a cloud beside the portrait, holding a flaming torch in his left hand. An urn draped with a red cloth stands below the portrait. Verses above and below the central image: "The charms that in my love I see: / No painter could impart; ... / With friendship's joy dear Valentine, / And love's more sweet delight." Printed at lower centre: "London S, Marks and Sons.". The inside pages are blank. From a series. One of 7 prints of a similar style bought at auction. A clipping from the sale catalogue is pasted to the album leaf below P.14346-R-63: "Old Valentines - continued / 752 Coloured Sentimental Examples - 7in / all, 4to size, 1 pubd. By A. Park, of Fins- / bury, the others by S. Marks and Son, / each with blank fly-sheet, and coloured / woodcut borders, nice state, 185 - 17s 6d / ...". This group of valentines appears to have been bought in 1924 from the bookseller, R.S. Frampton who was based at "Walton House", 37 Fonthill Road, Finsbury Park, London, N4. The bookseller's catalogue (No. 35), with several lot descriptions cut from it, was found in boxes containing Glaisher's valentines. There are two examples by A. Park in the group. One of these was most likely bought by Glaisher at a later date and positioned by him alongside the existing print. See also: P.14346-R-63; P.14346-R-64; P.14346-R-65; P.14346-R-66; P.14346-R-67; P.14346-R-70. The V&A also holds examples of these prints with bee motif woodcut borders that were produced by S. Marks: See E.2046-1953 and E.2062-1953, which have been given a date of circa 1850.
Legal notes
Bequeathed by Dr J. W. L. Glaisher, 1928
