Believe My Love These Lines Are True (valentine)

Art Historical Context

Step into the romantic world of Victorian courtship with *Believe My Love These Lines True*, a charming valentine crafted by George Kershaw around 1840–1850. This folded sheet, measuring a intimate 22.8 × 19.1 cm, captures the era's fervor for sentimental expressions of love, when handmade cards like this one were treasured tokens exchanged on February 14th. Kershaw's artistry shines through innovative mixed media: collaged elements layered with watercolor, pen, and ink on luxurious embossed ivory wove paper. The embossing creates a tactile, three-dimensional surface, mimicking lace or fine textiles, while collage allowed for playful assembly of motifs—perhaps hearts, flowers, or poetic verses—adding depth and whimsy. Housed in the Art Institute of Chicago's Prints and Drawings department, this piece exemplifies the handmade precision of pre-industrial valentines, before mass production took hold. In a time when love letters were art forms unto themselves, Kershaw's valentine reflects mid-19th-century cultural rituals of affection, blending personal devotion with emerging decorative trends. Imagine unfolding it to reveal heartfelt lines, a snapshot of enduring romance preserved for us today.

About the Artist

George Kershaw

George Kershaw is an artist whose works have been preserved in museum collections in meaningful quantity, pointing to a genuine career and a recognized body of output, even though the biographical details that would identify his nationality, training, and active period have not been established in the sources currently available. The absence of nationality information alongside the absence of date...