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With the season of love around the corner, send out these adorable vintage Valentine postcards - they're free and printable!
As you all know - I've always loved everything vintage. I mean, hello, I've loved it so much I've dedicated an entire blog to it! One of the cutest vintage things ever is vintage Valentine cards. I love looking at all the illustrations and clever little sayings every year. If you're like me and you are looking for some adorable vintage Valentine's Day postcards to send to loved ones this year, I found some really cute options. And I've included a free download of some printable ones that I hope you'll enjoy!
Vintage Valentine postcards are illustrated cards that usually have a sweet scene and/or saying on them. They are perfect to send out to a friend or a loved one to bring them some Valentine's Day love. I'm partial to how Valentine's Day cards were designed in the past because they were beautifully illustrated and they had a little more cleverness to them than the typical cards of today.
Valentine's Day occurs every year on February 14th. But when did we start celebrating Valentine's Day and what's its story? The history of Valentine's Day is not entirely clear. Most stories harken back to ancient Rome, when Emperor Claudius II decided to prohibit young men from marrying as he felt men without wives and children made better soldiers. Saint Valentine performed marriages in secret, which resulted in his beheading at the hands of the Emperor.
Another legend goes that Valentine was sentenced to death for helping Christians escape Roman prisons and he fell in love with a girl who often visited him while he himself was in jail. It is thought that he sent the first valentine by giving her a letter signed, "From your Valentine."
Saint Valentine was executed on February 14th, in the year 270. St. Valentine's Day was not recognized until about 200 years later. The day became a symbol of romance due to Saint Valentine's belief in the importance of love.
Over time, sending valentines became more and more popular, first popping up in the 1500s and picking up commercially in the 1700s.
I really like how Valentine's Day has turned from only romantic love to love for your family and friends as well.
Cupid: Cupid was the Roman god of love.
Birds: Religious symbols of hope and love.
Red roses: Symbols of Aphrodite (the goddess of love, beauty, and fertility).
Hearts: The heart is known as the link to our strongest emotions, including love.
I wanted to share these really cute vintage Valentines from Amazon with you in case you want to buy some that are already printed.
How cute is this sweet couple sitting in a crescent moon? I think it symbolizes how it feels to be over the moon with your feelings for someone.
I love how this valentine has all the vintage vibes, with roses and hearts all over!
This image from 1909 of two Cupids painting a heart in the sky shows the spirit of the season, filling your heart with love!
These little cherubs in a tree show that spring is coming and romance is in the air.
This one is so fun! It plays on the idea of giving your heart away to someone.
This one reminds me of being in school and wondering if you're going to get a Valentine from your crush! So sweet and innocent.
This valentine shows a woman looking wistfully at a rose, with a big heart encircling her head. It shows that she's got love on her mind.
This photo of Cupid sitting on his arrow is a very common motif in vintage Valentines.
Which of these vintage Valentine postcards is your favorite? I included a download at the bottom of this post with 3 bonus postcards for you! They're totally free! Please note that many of these images are extremely old, so I have enhanced the image quality to the best of my ability.
I have included these files as a PDF. All you need to do is download the file and open it. Go ahead and "Print" and they should be the right size to print on a standard size of paper.
When you print these postcards, have the "Print on both sides" setting on on your printer! That way, the front will print the image and the back will print the postcard template. If you don't have this setting on your printer, just print all the pages and cut everything out and paste the postcard template on the back of each postcard!
I recommend printing on card stock rather than regular paper, just because your postcards will have a lot more structure.
I hope you enjoy and have a wonderful Valentine's Day!
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