Area woman collects antique valentines
by JILL SCHMELZER Reporter
Williamsville resident Angela Cooke started collecting old valentine cards about three years ago.

The collector got her start while at an auction at an old farmhouse in Clarence.

"I had no intention of buying valentines," Cooke said, but noted she was intrigued by the age and history of the cards.

She purchased four boxes of valentines that day, and as she looked through them, she noticed many dated to the early 1900s.

"They caught my eye, and I couldn't stop (collecting them)," Cooke explained.

She now has a collection amounting to more than 100 cards from the time period between 1900 and 1950.

"It's like preserving history for me, but in a fun way," Cooke said.

Her oldest valentine dates to 1905, pre-World War I, when the United States traded with Germany. These cards are rare, she said, because after the war started the two countries no longer traded, meaning valentines became American-made.

Germany is where Valentine's Day originated, she said.

The earliest valentines were in postcard form and were addressed using only the recipient's name and the city where he or she resided. There were no official addresses with a street and house number.

Cooke showed The Bee a card postmarked in 1911 with a message on the back that said, "Please bring potatoes as soon as you can."

"It's more of the personal history," Cooke said, as to why she collects the cards.

Her favorites are honeycomb, tissue-type valentines from the 1920s. They aren't like today's cards that have a sentiment on the front and open to another page where a person can write a message. In the 1920s, people were sent one-sided cards that stood up and became three-dimensional.

Cooke said she has a sentimental attachment to Valentine's Day because she and her husband wed on Feb. 14.

She has several different types of cards, including school-type valentines from the 1940s and 1950s, and a small collection of original Walt Disney valentines.

She purchases many of the cards through auctions and estate sales. She explained that she rarely finds ones in good condition at flea markets; however, she has bought a few in that way. Recently, she has found numerous valentines on the Web site eBay.

Cooke also has her own store on eBay, called "Mineisolder."

For more information, e-mail angela.cooke@adelphia.net or use cfstudio@adelphia.net.