Mechanical Valentines:
Still Moving Memories

By Robert Reed

As seen in The Antique Shoppe Newspaper, February 2009                                          

 While basic valentines have been around for centuries, moving or mechanical valentines that actually did something were seen for a relatively short time.

 Today romantic greetings with moving parts have considerable appeal with collectors. Typically one of the leading categories sought in the field of valentines are mechanicals, along with black-related themes, advertising, Disney and cartoon characters, transportation, and three-dimensional.

 Commercial valentines, colorful but still, were being produced in significant numbers by the 1840s in the United States. For decades most people had crafted their own valentines but they had grown so popular they were profitable.

 In 1848 producer T.W. Strong of New York City advertised"

 "Valentines! Valentines! All varieties of valentines imported and domestic, humorous , silly, comic...got up in the most superb manner."

 By the end of the 19th century manufactures in Germany had finally introduced some selections with movable parts among their many multi-colored lithographed valentines. On occasion wheels on carts turned, wings fluttered, or doors and windows opened and closed.

 Valentines with movable parts became slightly more prevalent early in the 20th century, in part because of the rise of  competing  postcards as valentines. They often appeared in connection with the new century's fascination with transportation themes such as airplanes, hot air balloons, and motor cars. While the vast majority of these special cards came from Germany, even England's legendary Raphael Tuck and Sons produced a few.

 However the big push for mechanical valentines did not take place in America until the 1920s.

 While they were in use in previous decades, "it was not until the 1920s that mechanical valentines were produced by the thousands," notes Robert Brenner author of Valentine Treasury, A Century of Valentine Cards, "simple folder-type cards just did not attract the number of buyers as in previous times."

 Brenner adds, "mechanical cards intrigued the very young with their animation in a time when moving pictures started talking and Americans went to the movies every week."

 There were at least five basic ways in which makers could add 'movement' to their valentines for an eager public. 1. A simple string (usually red) was extended through the card. In one example a squirrel could climb a tree as the string was gently pulled. 2. Winged fasteners or eyelet's (sometimes merely staples) were used to attach a two-part valentine allowing one section to be moved slightly back and forth. 3. A small wheel attached to the back of the valentine with a metal fastener turned to give the appearance of 'blinking' movement. 4. A paper tab extended through the valentine and caused parts to slide in and out when moved from side to side. 5. Printed bars were slotted into a section of the valentine creating movement when a tab was slightly shifted. In one playing card-related card the moving bars changed the image of the Ace of Hearts into the Queen of Hearts.

 Clearly the mechanical valentine market of the early 1920s, like the rest of the valentine market, was dominated by German manufacturers. Typically such cards were relatively larger that others and cleverly designed. As the decade unfolded however more than more American makers sought to take advantage of the popularity of 'moving' Valentines.

 In 1927 the Beistle Company, also known for paper products saluting other holidays, had a number of mechanical valentines on the market including one with two children on an airplane promising, "we'll fly to the sky, oh how divine. If you will be My Valentine." Other American makers from the late 1920s well into the 1930s included the Auburn Post Card Company, Louis Katz of New York, Carrington Company of Chicago, the Rochester Lithograph Company, and Steiner Litho Company.

 However the vast majority of mechanical valentines produced during this 'golden era' of extensive production and distribution were not marked by makers in Germany or American. Small type on the front simply identified them as made in Germany, or made in the U.S.A.

 Many of the smaller-sized mechanical valentines were popular with school children during the 1930s, they were produced in both countries and competition kept them relatively inexpensive. A specialty catalog of 1937 noted a selection of valentines "with movable parts and bright colors" for around three cents each. Most were five to six inches in height. Larger mechanicals meanwhile were still readily available but at considerably higher prices.

 Mechanical valentines from both countries continued to be available in the American market into the early 1940s and the outbreak of World War II. There were cars where the roof when up and down, cats with moving tails and eyes, children on unicycles, traffic cops with moving arms, and all the rest.

 A few mechanicals could still be found in the late 1940s, but for the most part they had been come too costly to produce as school children (a major consumer market) opted for the 'still' valentines which were sold packets of a dozen or more.

 Despite moving parts made only of paper, and fleeting popularity of a few decades, mechanical valentines can still be found in quality condition. Those that survived were obviously saved generations ago because of such a 'moving' message from that special someone.

 Headquarters of the National Valentine Collectors Association is PO Box 1303, Santa Ana, CA 92702. The group publishes a newsletter and conducts mail-order auctions.

 Recommended reading:

 Valentine Treasury, A Century of Valentine Cards by Robert Brenner (Schiffer Publishing).

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