Have you ever heard of Esther Allen Howland? I hadn't either, until I researched the history of Valentine's Day Cards for my guest post on the Etsy Vintage Team's blog. It was then that I learned that Howland is thought to be the mother of the American valentine. While she was not the first to create this type of greeting card in U.S., she is credited with having popularized the intricate, multi-layered lace valentine, and propelling it into a major industry.

Esther was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1828. After her graduation from Mount Holyoke College in 1847, she was inspired by the fancy lace-covered English valentines that her father sold in his store and decided to make some of her own.
Using what she knew from the family's business (her father operated the largest book and stationery story in Worcester), and her own considerable artistic ability, she began by importing paper lace and floral decorations from England. Then she went to work with paste and paint and created an array of valentines. One of her brothers was skilled in penmanship and she persuaded him to inscribe sentiments on the cards. Another brother was a salesman for the family business. He agreed to try to get orders for the next season's trade, so she gave him a dozen samples which he added to the inventory for his next sales trip.

Esther's valentines proved more popular than she could have imagined, for her brother returned with an astonishing $5,000 in orders. Undaunted by the size of the task before her, Esther recruited several friends, put an add in a local paper, and established a revolutionary all-female assembly line to help her fulfill the orders.

Her creations were an instant hit. Despite their high price tag — many at $5 to $10 each, and some truly extravagant ones, bedecked with ribbons, satin, and silk, which cost up to $30 — the business boomed, yielding more than $100,000 annually. After over thirty years, she sold her business to the George C. Whitney Company in 1881, and retired to take care of her aging father. Esther died in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 1904.
While other card manufacturers competed for the affection of the public, none could compete with the quality, taste, and style of Esther Howland. She was a visionary who had a lasting impact upon valentine history.
Susan