Have you sent any Valentine cards, reels, or gifs yet? Maybe consider a popular Victorian way of sending romantic messages – a puzzle purse. Inspired by the early Japanese art of tatogami, a puzzle purse is a piece of paper folded in such a way as to create a small envelope or box. Inside, one can find a secret message, a picture, or even a small gift.
While the Victorians loved sending cute lace-trimmed cards on Valentine’s Day, they didn’t shy away from sending other types of cards to people they wanted to fend off or play a joke on. In such cases, they would send what was known as “vinegar valentines,” which often contained mean poems or caricatures.
One of such cards read:
“To My Valentine
‘Tis a lemon that I hand you and bid you now ‘skidoo,’
Because I love another—there is no chance for you.”
PS. See Nosferatu today if you haven’t yet. 
veinityfair.com 