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Happy Leap Year 2008!
Best New Year wishes to you all, and welcome to another wonderful year here at my Victorian Treasury. As always, this is the resource for those who collect Valentines, who are interested in the history of the Valentine, or who are just in love with the romance of the Victorian era. In addition to the reproduction Valentines and other cards, there are articles and information, which will enhance your knowledge, and provide some wonderful ideas. The site continues to grow, as I love to share my passion. If there are special requests or questions, don't hesitate to email me.
Information about Leap Year is located on this site, as well as images of new cards, which are available. Leap Year occurs every fourth year, when ladies, historically, are free to propose to the gentlemen! Remember the old-fashioned Sadie Hawkins dances? You may use this unique opportunity all 365 days of the year!!
Of course, there will be many articles published about Valentine's Day, and numerous special events. I am honored to have both written, and consulted on many. To catch up from 2007, I do hope you will check on www.victorianamagazine.com for last January, Collecting Victorian Expressions of Love, and in February, The Valentine - A Tribute to Love -- which is not the same article on this site, although I tend to use the title often -- as I feel it is so appropriate! Both articles have new images and I think you'll find them interesting. Also, I was pleased to have been a contributor to the impressive PBS special series of The Mysterious Human Heart, where three Valentine postcard images were incorporated into the film. My hearts, I thought, were just the perfect touch!
Articles about many new aspects of these wonderful treasures of ephemera will appear this season in Antiques and Collectibles, on comic Valentines, using images from my collection, and in Romantic Homes, featuring ladies' album images. In FirstCuts, the magazine of the Guild of American Papercutters, I have written on antique Valentines incorporating the popular craft of quilling, and for the Journal of the Ephemera Society of America, an extensive article on scrapbooking. In England, the premiere magazine for people interested in family history, Family Tree, wanted an article relating the things we collect with family genealogy, and the result is an article, which is different, and really a new way to look at our treasures. You can see that I've been busy! All of these articles are different windows into various aspects of these mementos we save and collect, and inspiration for creating new treasures, which will be heirlooms for the future. Creating and saving precious moments is what we do!
Our annual "Valentine Chat" takes a new form this year, as a special "Valentine Exchange". (See the news page for more information.) For twenty-four hours, from 5 PM on February 13th Pacific Time, until 5 PM on Valentine's Day, February 14th -- stop at the
Ebay Valentine Exchange to send your special greetings of love and romance. Photographs, cards, any expression of your creativity -- are encouraged... make this your Valentine destination! This site will be visible around the world, so plan to send notes to anyone on the planet!!
It will be my pleasure to make an online visit with eBay at noon on Valentine's Day, Pacific Time -- that's 3:00 in the afternoon Eastern Time! I will be happy to answer any Valentine questions. Think hearts and chocolate, balloons and flowers -- make this a special place and don't forget -- this is Leap Year! Ladies are invited to propose ALL YEAR LONG!!
And the final icing on my cake - the ego-trip-of-a-lifetime - is an invitation to share my passion with collectors and scholars in England - where many of the pieces in my collection originated. So, on January 31st, I will speak about my forty years of collecting, before the Ephemera Society, the Printing History Society, and the Friends of St. Bride's, at St. Brides Library, London, England, the foremost printing history library in the world. I couldn't say no - but I shall have to put on my "brave coat" and just try to remember I'm among friends. The advertising card was so delightful, I have placed the pdf here.
Another of my articles is at a wonderful site: www.papercutters.info and is titled Antique Papercuts and the Modern Valentine: The Fingerprints of Love.
For more inspiration for crafting with ephemera, consult my five books on amazon.com.
Collecting and sharing, researching and writing -- have been a major part of my life, and have made my passion an everyday celebration of love for my entire family. I hope you spend time here, read and enjoy, and keep coming back to visit me. Custom cards can also be created for special occasions - all based on my extensive collection.
With love and affection -- every day,
Nancy
Vice President, National
Valentine Collectors' Association
Member of the Board of Directors, Ephemera Society of America
Special thanks -- and love -- to my son, Matthew, for his unending
contribution to the content and design of this website.
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