Dearest, I Love Thee (valentine)
c. 1850
Medium
Collaged element and pen and blue ink on color lithograph on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Folded sheet: 22.9 × 18.4 cm (9 1/16 × 7 1/4 in.)
Classification
valentine
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
75750
Art Historical Context
Step into the romantic world of mid-19th-century America with *Dearest, I Love (valentine)*, a charming folded greeting card from around 1850, now housed in the Art Institute Chicago's Prints and Drawings department. Measuring about 9 by 7 inches when folded, this intimate artifact captures the era's burgeoning Valentine's Day traditions, when mass-produced cards began to make declarations of love accessible to everyday sweethearts. Crafted on ivory laid paper, the valentine features a vibrant color lithograph as its base—a printing technique that exploded in popularity during the 1840s, allo...
About the Artist
Unknown
The artist designated as "Unknown" in our virtual museum's collection exemplifies a poignant chapter in art history: creators whose identities have faded into obscurity despite the enduring power of their work. With only one known artwork attributed to them in our holdings, this figure represents countless anonymous hands that shaped visual culture across centuries. Museums worldwide, including th...