16. Charles Dickens even thought mass-produced card factories were taking the romance out of Valentine’s Day!
It wasn’t just in the United States where Valentine’s Day cards were produced in huge numbers. Charles Dickens commented on the phenomenon, believing that it took some of the romance out of the gesture of giving a card. The English author described how one London card producer earned the nickname ‘Cupid’s Manufactory’. Here, as many as 3,000 women were employed making cards in the build-up to the big day. These days, the Laura Seddon Greeting Card Collection at the Manchester Metropolitan University boasts a unique collection of historic Valentine’s cards and other printed romantic gestures, from the touching to the creepy.
