Thou Art to Me More Lovely (valentine)
c. 1850
Medium
Collaged elements, with watercolor and pen and blue ink on cut and embossed ivory wove paper (lace)
Dimensions
Folded sheet: 14.3 × 9.3 cm (5 11/16 × 3 11/16 in.)
Classification
valentine
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
75860
Art Historical Context
This delicate valentine, titled *Thou Art to Me More Lovely*, was created around 1850 by George Meek. Measuring just over five inches when folded, the card features collaged elements, watercolor, and blue ink on intricately cut and embossed ivory paper that mimics fine lace. Its poetic title evokes the romantic language of the era, inviting the recipient into a personal expression of affection. In mid-nineteenth-century Britain and America, handmade valentines like this one flourished as popular tokens of courtship. They reflected the Victorian fascination with sentimentality, elaborate paper...