Shortly after graduating from Mount Holyoke College at the age of 19, Howland received a valentine card from a business associate of her father's. The valentine was decorated with an elaborate fine lace border, ornate flowers cut-outs and a small pale green envelope in the center that contained a verse appropriate for Valentine's Day. At this time, elaborate Valentine greeting cards were imported from Europe and not affordable to many Americans. The custom arrived in the United States in the mid-1800s, and crafty, entrepreneurial women fueled its commercialization. It is said that Esther Howland received this first Valentine’s Day card from someone in Britain in 1847 and was inspired to create her own version. Determined she could make a better card, Howland convinced her father to order supplies from
New York City and England. She made a dozen samples that her salesman brother added to his inventory for his next sales trip Hoping for $200.00 worth of orders, Howland was elated when her brother returned with over $5,000 worth of business for her. “It was her idea to essentially create an assembly line of women putting together these really complex Valentines,” said Jamie Kwan, an assistant curator at the
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. "The cards were handmade, and Howland “imported materials from the U.K. and Germany to incorporate into these cards.” Howland also hired women who had to work from home by preparing a box with all the materials required. A week later they would be picked up by a driver and turned to Howland for their inspection. Howland reported that her girls were paid "liberally" and that work was "light and pleasant." She would inspect every card that was produced by her assistants. In order to distinguish her valentines, Howland began stamping the letter "H" on the back of her cards in red ink along with the price and the letters ‘N.E.V.Co.’, which stood for the name of her company
New England Valentine Company. Cards that included ribbons, artistic illustrations, hidden doors, gilded lace In 1870, Howland incorporated her business as the New England Valentine Company. She continued to work from her home until 1879 when she moved to a factory. During that same year, Howland published
The New England Valentine Co.’s Valentine Verse Book that consisted of 31 pages. The book was intended for customers who found a beautiful card but didn't like the verse that was inside. With the book they could choose from a total of 131 verses all printed in red, green, blue, and gold ink and came in three different sizes. With their chosen verse, customer could then paste it over the original verse in their card. Howland introduced the layering of lace, use of thin paper, three-dimensional accordion effects, and a bouquet in which flowers would move to reveal a verse when pulled by a string. ==See also==