1787 Exceptional English Folk Art Cutwork Valentine

England, 1787. Very good. Light toning, dust soiling. A couple small short tears, a small arm bent.. An exceptional example of an English hand-cut folk art valentine with an inscription dated 1787. Features an intricate design including sawtooth edges, heart and dove imagery, and pinpricking for texture (e.g. in the doves' wings to mimic feathers). There is one central circle surrounded by eight smaller circles, each containing a gentleman in a cape holding a heart with his sweetheart. Considerable skill was necessary to design such a complex image with many panels, and to cut it without any major losses. There is also a manuscript inscription that begins in one of the hearts, and finishes in the middle circle. Each couplet is labeled so the viewer can read it in order. It reads:

"1st Hearts within and hearts without
And hearts you see all round about

2nd A constant heart you here shall find
Remaining from your Valentine

3rd Join hand join heart
Join Love forever

4th Your heart may change
But mine shant, Never;

5th If you do these Lines Receive
And pleasure in them take

6th Hide them in a secret place
And keep them for my sake.

7th When this you see remember me,
And bare [sic] me in your mind.

8th Whatever they say when I am gone
Speak of me as you find.

1787"

Cleverly, to read the poem the viewer must turn the valentine in circles, referencing the heart and circle theme of the poem and imagery. Measures approx. 13" by 12.5". Housed in later (modern) frame with brown velvet backing, sometime mended. "Hearts within and hearts without
And hearts you see all round about

A constant heart you here shall find
Remaining from your Valentine

Join hand join heart
Join Love forever

Your heart may change
But mine shant, Never;

If you do these Lines Receive
And pleasure in them take

Hide them in a secret place
And keep them for my sake.

When this you see remember me,
And bare [sic] me in your mind.

Whatever they say when I am gone
Speak of me as you find.

1787