Valentine

I found this lovely Modern Priscilla magazine at a rare book fair recently.  It’s dated February 1918 and it is a gem.  The condition is nearly perfect and it cost $5.00.  What drew me to it was the wonderful illustration on the cover including the flitting snow.  Our pretty lady is holding a letter for the post to a Lt. Patterson in the American Expeditionary Forces.  In 1918, WWI was raging in Europe and so I imagine she has written to her fiance overseas.  Perhaps this is her Valentine letter to him.

Modern Priscilla was devoted to needlework, homecaring, cooking, and fashion – just the type of periodical I like to read on long cold winter afternoons with cups of tea.  The magazine’s editorial pages were devoted to domestic advice from caring for babies and keeping them well to purchasing guest towels.

I especially love our cover girl’s red hat and coat.  It reminds me a bit of my Hat Lady here: http://alovelyinconsequence.blogspot.com/2012/01/hat-lady.html . Our girl will sit on my coffee table along with a heart shape tin decorated with painted roses, a delicate pink crystal bowl of chocolates wrapped in foil, and a Valentine’s Day card I cherish from my daughter created in first grade.  The lopsided hearts on the card’s front stir my own heart anew each year but on the inside is a poem she composed and although it’s not very Valentine-ish, I love it all the same:

Apparently the teacher had experienced lice in the classroom once and then never stopped cautioning her all her future young charges about being watchful and alert for unwelcome visitors.  No matter, the card is one of my most cherished possessions and the most charming Valentine I ever received.  What are your most cherished Valentine’s?

And here’s my lastest advice on looking as chic as our winter cover girl:  http://www.golocalprov.com/beauty/5-ways-to-look-great-in-cold-weather/#