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Valentine card
Publisher: Mansell, Joseph
A moveable valentine on the subject of the crinoline. A white lace-paper front and central panel with a hand-coloured lithograph of a young woman in three-quarter profile wearing a green coat and holding a black muff. Her pink flounced skirt is divided into two parts, with each inserted into two long slits made in the front paper of the valentine. The lower layer of flounces can be moved upwards to reveal the crinoline hoop and undergarments of the woman when a long tab of paper inserted through a small slit at lower centre is pushed upwards. A lithographed verse is printed below the feet of the woman at lower centre: 'As Crinoline is all the rage, / You girls must patronize; / But such a large balloon as yours / I cannot recognize / You know my dear if wind is up, / It will contrary be, / and blow your flounces far too high, / Then oh! what a sight to see.'. A panel of paper is affixed over the tab on the verso of the front paper and this is inscribed in graphite: 'Dorothy / Harrison / Harrison / Given November 18th 1885'. The inside facing page is blank. The back paper has a secondary support of brown paper and periodical clippings which have been cut to size. Frank Staff identifies this valentine as by Joseph Mansell. See Frank Staff, _The Valentine & Its Origins_, no. 134, p. 108, where it is illustrated both before and after the tab is pulled. This is one of many valentines on the subject of crinolines in Glaisher's collection. See especially those mounted together in album P.14412-R. A paper folder bearing a handwritten inscription: 'Crinoline Valentine / 7/6' (P.14411-R-L3) which was sent to Glaisher by the Actons of Brighton may have originally contained P.14579-R. The arrival of the 'Crinoline Valentine' is documented in a letter from Glaisher to Miss Parsons: 'The enclosed came this morning & explain themselves. They seem to me worth having. Though the Wedgewood one does not much impress me, I like the crinoline one. ... I am sending the valentines by the 4 o'clock OM [Omnibus]. I will write & tell Miss Acton I am sending them to you to see.'. Fitzwilliam Museum, MS 910-1985, 6 December, 1924, letter to Miss Catherine Parsons. There are a number of valentines on the subject of crinolines in Glaisher's collection and it is not possible to identify the valentine sent to Glaisher by the Actons on this occasion with any certainty. However, P.14579-R would seem to be a strong contender, as many of the other crinoline-themed valentines seem to have been purchased in sets. See especially those mounted together in album P.14412-R.
Bequeathed by Dr J. W. L. Glaisher, 1928
Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1928) by Glaisher, J. W. L., Dr
19th Century
Production date:
AD 1885-11-18
Accession number: P.14579-R
Primary reference Number: 215524
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Paintings, Drawings and Prints
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IIIF Manifest
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Valentine card" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/215524 Accessed: 2024-11-14 05:46:27
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{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/215524
|title=Valentine card
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-14 05:46:27|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
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<img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/pdp/pdp77/P_14579_R_1_201611_amt49_dc2.jpg"
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<figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Valentine card</figcaption>
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