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Victorian Book of the Month: Be My Valentine Edition

February’s Victorian Book of the Month is The Quiver of Love, published in 1876 by Marcus Ward & Co.

IMG_0785Pictorial greeting cards for a variety of holidays came into fashion during the 1870s, and the Marcus Ward firm was one of the most prolific publishers of such cards in the British Isles. Kate Greenaway and Walter Crane, two very popular Victorian artists, contributed illustrations for Marcus Ward greeting cards. The Quiver of Love reproduces eight greeting card illustrations by Crane and Greenaway along with a variety of Valentine-themed poems. The collector of the verses was probably Reverend W.J. Loftie, a magazine editor who first helped to popularize Greenaway’s work.

For a look at other Victorian-era Valentines at Special Collections, check out this previous post from our Victorian Social History page.

 

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