Happy Valentine’s Day! This cut-paper valentine was made for February 14 over a century ago. Today, it is valued as a piece of folk art. JEFFREY EVANS & ASSOCIATES
For many of us, receiving paper valentines may be the stuff of school days -- a piece of the past. The tradition goes back much further, of course, and wasn’t always just for kids. The first commercial valentines in America were made by Esther Howland in Massachusetts in 1850. They were made with paper lace and featured written verses.
Before then, people exchanged homemade valentines. Surviving ex…
