Victorian Flirtation Cards

Guest: Barbara Rusch, expert in ephemera from the Victorian era and an avid collector If your Valentine’s Day celebrations included sending someone a text full of emoji hearts and the smiley face with heart eyes, be glad you weren’t an amorous youth during the Victoria-Era America. All of their flirting had to happen under the watchful eye of a parent or chaperone and it was all so proper and reserved. But young people had their methods, including the exchange of flirtatious little cards in secret.