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| Etiquipedia is used to reading tales of unusual etiquette. This however, is in a category all its own! |
| In 1903, etiquette dictated that a small image of George Washington be affixed to your Valentines sent through the mail. If not George, Ben Franklin’s portrait would suffice! — “Ardent young people who will soon be exchanging ready-made sentiment through the mails should not forget this as it is considered good form to affix the portrait of the father of his country to Valentine envelopes which are sealed.” |
VALENTINE ETIQUETTE…
Advice to Ardent Young People Who Will Use the Mails
George Washington is first in the hearts of his countrymen. Ardent young people who will soon be exchanging ready-made sentiment through the mails should not forget this as it is considered good form to affix the portrait of the father of his country to Valentine envelopes which are sealed.
When the tender missives open to inspection and no writing the portrait Benjamin Franklin is considered appropriate. The significance of this is that Franklin was a philosopher, and wrote the maxims of Poor Richard which teach economy. It will also be remembered that he was the author of the lines “He has paid, dear, for his whistle.”
This of course does not mean whistles alone, but almost anything. Some times ‘whistle’ and ‘Valentine’ is very nearly synonymous. Whistle is a sound made with the aid of the lips, and the exchange of valentines has been known to lead up to practically the same thing, only the sound is different and it takes two to make it instead of one. The portraits mentioned may be obtained in miniature at the post office in the Ellis Block. – The Marysville Daily Appeal, 1903
🍽️Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber of The RSVP Institute of Etiquette, is the Site Editor of the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia
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