A vintage shop has acquired a collection of historic Valentine's Day cards, dating as far back as 1880. The hand-made paper-lace cards are for sale at Snoopers Paradise in Kensington Gardens, Brighton.
Cards for wives, husbands, secret crushes, boyfriends, girlfriends, children and even an Edwardian baby’s first Valentine can be found at the eccentric store in North Laine. Some have panels which lift to reveal hidden messages of love.
Other treasures include Victorian padded and scented Valentine's Day gift cards.
Jenny Hurren, from Snoopers, said: "We love this incredible collection from the holder of stall 52. A vintage Valentine’s Day card is so unexpected - a true talking point and a totally unique way to surprise someone this year.
"What's nice about some of these is that they're unwritten. We have loads of ephemera, things with written messages from the past which is obviously really nice, because it's like a little bit of history and stuff.
"But with these, you're getting sort of the opportunity to write your own stuff on a card, which is nice. Be quick because a lot of these have sold already."
Jenny said demand for the cards was high. She added: "An anonymous buyer bought the whole cabinet, £400 worth of vintage Valentine's cards.
"It's something different. There are Edwardian paper-lace cards, embossed celluloid cards and Valentine's Day postcards, along with a a collection of 1920s hand-painted Valentine's cards and 1930s to 1950s mechanical cards with moving parts."
