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Valentines cards have been sent, in the UK, for centuries in one form or another. From the 1790s onwards became a common practice to send a written note of love to your valentines on 14 February. However, you can find examples of Valentines written as early as the 1400s, it is just that they were not necessarily sent on the 14^th of February.

Since the early 1800s Valentines have been mass-produced. At first, they were only love poems written on plain paper, decorated with a black and white picture. However, over time they slowly became more and more elaborate and were eventually decorated with lace and fabric hearts.

The First True Valentines Cards

Exactly when actual cards were produced is not clear, but by the mid 1800s, the real lace was being replaced by paper lace. This was an early pre-cursor to card being used in mass produced cards.

In the 1900s, the first true Valentines cards became available to the general public. A company called Norcross mass-produced them. However, you can find examples of cards prior to that date. This is because women began to make their own valentines in card and sending them to their sweethearts several decades earlier.