Front:
L O.V E
25
AR
ROMANCE
JAN
18
1990
72136
332
Back:
LOVE SHEET
First Day of Issue: January 18, 1990
First Issue Location: Romance, Arkansas
Love is among the strongest of human emotions, and it has
its own special day – Valentine's Day. A festival of
romance and affection, Valentine's Day most likely
evolved from an ancient Roman celebration called Luper-
calia, observed on February 15. Throughout Rome,
young men and women drew at random the name of a
partner from a box. Then the two exchanged gifts and
other tokens of affection. As Christianity spread, the
church added a religious meaning to the ancient pagan
festivities, changing the date of the festival to February 14
and calling it Saint Valentine's Day. By the 1800's, the
celebration had become popular in the United States,
giving rise to the exchange of hand-painted Valentine
Cards bearing sentimental verses and elaborately deco-
rated with ribbons, lace, cupids, flowers, birds, and, of
course, hearts. The lovely artwork and sheet stamp fea-
tured on this Maximum Card are reminiscent of these Val-
entines, dedicated to love.
No. 90-2
©1990 The Maximum Card Collection
A Division of Unicover Corporation Cheyenne, WY 82008-0007
. Original painting by Ed Little
