Valentine card: P.14414-R-103

Titles

Valentine card

Maker(s)

Designer: Gilks, Edward
Publisher: attributed to

Entities

• Valentine card

Categories

• Print
• Album

Description

A drawing for a valentine design in graphite and watercolour on white wove paper. Faint, graphite scrolls and border with winged putti and two lozenges at lower centre are partially overpainted with green and pink and grey wash. A pair of embracing lovers sit at the centre of a circular garland of flowers. The uppermost lozenge contains handwritten verse in brown ink: 'They call me madman - if 'tis so / Bind with thy locks that softly flow / The madman, that at last he be / Held in thy chains and slave to thee'. The same verse is written out in black ink on the verso, along with another verse. Both are recorded as being 'From the Persians'. This presumably refers to Louisa Stuart Costello's translations of Persian poetry, _The Rose Garden of Persia_ which was published in 1845 and which contains both poems. Although unsigned, this design is almost certainly by British lithographer, Edward Gilks. As Gilks emigrated to Australia in 1852, this design is most likely to have been produced prior to this date but in or after 1845, following the publication of Costello's book of Persian poetry. P.14414-R-103 is the most unfinished of three designs for lithographed valentines from the same series by Gilks which are mounted across the same double page in album P.14414-R. All three display scrolling borders and two lozenges/medallions at lower centre containing verse. Parts of the designs in the other two cards from the series have been lithographed. See P.14414-R-99 and P.14414-R-100. P.14414-R-103 is one of a number of designs for valentines by Gilks which are mounted together as a group in album P.14414-R. Other designs by Gilks are contained in album P.14346-R.

Legal notes

Bequeathed by Dr J. W. L. Glaisher, 1928