ROMANTIC collectors looking for a special present this Valentine’s Day that will not only warm a loved one’s heart but possibly represent a good investment should cast their minds back a century or two and consider a Sailor’s Valentine.
These gifts, which came from Barbados, were much in vogue from about 1830 to 1880, although they continued to be manufactured for another 20 years. The island was a stopping point for ships on long sea voyages and sailors would either buy or order a Valentine for a loved one back home. The Valentines were intricately formed patterns of shells within a wooden-hinged box, and, over the past decade, their prices have risen as much as sixfold, mostly thanks to interest from US collectors.
“The tradition for making the Valentines grew out of the islanders’ indigenous crafts,” says Graham Walpole, of Walpoles gallery in London, which has a particularly fine piece on show. Priced at £9,800, it is from the mid-19th century and is one of the best examples of its kind. “The earliest ones are the best. They use more shells, have more complex patterns and are larger — 14in on either side,” Mr Walpole says.
The very earliest pieces did not have mottos, just a motif such as an anchor or a floral design. Later ones featured sayings such as Think of Me, For My Pet, or Love from Barbados.
But as time passed and the Valentines grew in popularity, the trade became coarsened. The islanders realised that if they made smaller designs using bigger shells, it would halve the work and double profits. The later Valentines are about 9in in diameter and have less intricate patterns, while the cheapest were made using the bodies of crabs.
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A typical example of this inferior pattern would be four crabs’ bodies, each about 1in in size, lining the outside of the pattern, with perhaps a flower motif in the middle. These fetch between £800 and £1,000.
“It’s the same concept as any market anywhere in the world — they could make more money for less effort,” Mr Walpole says. “But it showed in the work. And while the recipients of the Valentines might not have been in much of a position to judge the quality, it’s a fair bet that if you received a Valentine made with crabs, while your neighbour got a more intricate pattern made out of shells, you’d know where you were at.” Collectors, note: that still applies today.
The trade was always small. Sailors from the US and Britain would take them home to their families and sweethearts, but continental navigators were, on the whole, unimpressed.
The best place to search for these Valentines is in galleries that specialise in maritime memorabilia, such as Walpoles. Details of these dealers can be found on the British Antique Dealers’ Association website, which also allows you to search for stock. If you are interested in finding out more, Sailors’ Valentines, by John Fondas, which was published four years ago by Rizzoli, a publishing house in the US, contains a history and examples of the Valentines and can be bought in this country from Amazon.co.uk.