For anyone with a romantic bent and a little creativity, Sunday at the Oxford Exchange is a big day. The restaurant and bookstore has teamed up with the Henry B. Plant Museum for the annual creation of homemade valentines at Oxford Exchange. This event allows people to partake in a dying tradition — the creation of homemade valentines. Tea and light fare will be served during the event.
Creating homemade valentines
“This event pre-dates my time at the museum. We have been doing it for some years,” said Melissa Sullebarger, current Curator of Education at the Henry B. Plant Museum. “It is inspired by the history of valentine cards and by cards in our collection.” Some years ago, the museum was gifted with a private collection of Victorian valentines, currently on display at the museum.
The event brings in people of all ages, mostly women.
“A lot of people come and make cards as mother-daughter teams or grandmother-granddaughter teams. We definitely encourage bringing some creativity, though we do have examples and samples from which people can draw,” Sullebarger said.
Many of the supplies needed for the cards are provided, but people can also bring their own embellishments if they choose, Sullebarger adds.
“I usually make at least one and give it to my husband,” she said. “Some people give them to family members or keep them for themselves to create their own collection.”
It is all about how elaborate Victorian valentines truly were, filled with lace, photos, painting, and even items from nature, such as seashells, feathers or dried flowers.
The history of Valentines
Esther Howland, who lived from 1828 to 1904, known as the “Mother of the American Valentine”, worked as an artist and businesswoman and is believed to be responsible for popularizing Valentine’s Day greeting cards in America, according to fiveminutehistory.com.
Here is an example of one of her valentines:
“You say my heart, my too fond heart, Is cold, my dear, to you; Ah! canst thou such a thought impart to one who loves so true?”
But there was a darker side to valentines in the Victorian era. They were known as vinegar valentines and, according to history.com, they were designed to shoo away unwanted suitors.
“To My Valentine / ‘Tis a lemon that I hand you and bid you now ‘skidoo,’ Because I love another—there is no chance for you,” reads one card. Another depicts a woman dousing an unsuspecting man with a bucket of water. “Here’s a cool reception,” she writes, telling him he “best step away.”
Vinegar valentines were known as mocking or comic valentines during the 1830s and 1840s, according to Annebella Pollen, an art and design historian. They might include a gentle jab or be downright aggressive.
Sullebarger will lead participants on Sunday through various techniques for constructing their own glorious creations, even tricks to make cards pop up or move.
You can buy tickets online for $25. The restaurant caps the event 60 participants, and it usually sells out, or comes close. The Oxford Exchange is located at 420 West Kennedy Blvd., Tampa.