This duck valentine card has the name “Dorothy” on the back and is from 1939. The card features a duck with a moveable wing, and the message, “You can’t duck this one, I’m your Valentine!” Early American Valentine cards were handmade, and it wasn’t until the mid-1800s that cards began to be manufactured on a larger scale. By the 1940s, colorful Valentines like the one seen here were mass produced for the public, often with “mechanical” pieces that moved and humorous messages to the recipient. Find more information about the Duck on Ohiomemory.org.
This primary source is an artifact which means that it is an object created and used by humans. To analyze this artifact with your students, you can use our Artifact Analysis Worksheet.
