True Love Token (Valentine)

Art Historical Context

Step into the romantic world of Victorian sentiment with *True Love Token (Val)*, a delicate collage created by John Windsor around 1850–1859. This folded sheet, measuring just 9.5 × 6.6 cm, was crafted from collaged elements on emb ivory wove paper, it a luxurious, textured surface that invites close inspection. Housed in the Institute of Chicago's Prints Drawings department, it exemplifies intimate artistry of mid-19th-century handmade valentines, before mass production dominated the holiday. In the 1850s, Valentine's Day blossomed into a cultural phenomenon in Britain and America, fueled b...