Untitled Valentine (Putti and Birds)

Art Historical Context

**Untitled Valentine (Put and Birds)** by Thomas Wood (1860/69) is a charming example of Victorian-era handmade greeting cards, crafted as a delicate collage on ivory wove paper with a pink wove insert. Measuring just 9 × 7.4 cm when folded this intimate piece from the Art Institute of Chicago's Prints Drawings collection features playful putti—cherubic figures symbolizing love—and birds, evoking the romantic whimsy of mid-19th-century courtship rituals. Wood employed meticulous paper-cutting and embossing techniques, creating raised, three-dimensional elements that add texture and depth to t...