Friday, February 7, 2020

Vintage Disney Valentines - 1970's


Well, it's February. That means Valentine's Day is just around the corner!


These vintage Valentine's, are from "boxed sets" which my mom purchased for me, back in the 1970's. Almost every year that I was in elementary school, I gave out Disney-themed Valentine's to my classmates. And I always ended up saving the extra ones, which weren't used:



It appears that someone left off Minnie's eyelashes on this next one. At least, I'm assuming that's Minnie.



I remember a few of the Valentines had very old-fashioned sayings on them. For example, this next one says, "You'll Be Sitting Pretty"....that phrase was outdated, even when I was a kid! I remember another Valentine featured Daisy Duck, knitting something from a ball of yarn and the caption said something like, "It's no yarn! I want you to be my Valentine." My mom had to explain some of the phrases to me!



I've saved all of these Valentines for decades, now. However, I only recently "reacquired" this one. After my dad passed away, I found this Valentine with some other cards he had been saving. Printed on the back is, "To Dad. Love,...." and then my name. I'm not sure how old I was when I gave it to him, but I'm guessing by the way I had printed my name, that it was some time between Kindergarten and 2nd grade.



The Valentines above were large and had to be folded, in order to fit into the provided envelopes. As the years went on, they made the Valentines smaller.

Note the "Dumbo" Valentine below, addressed to "Teacher." The boxed sets of Valentines usually included one special card, to give to the teacher.



And these Valentines were even smaller and required no folding at all. I believe these were from when I was in sixth grade, which was my last year of elementary school and also the last year of a classroom "Valentine exchange."



I found some boxes of Valentine's on ebay, which are very similar to the kind that I gave out. The cellophane wrapper around the boxes always had a clear area, where you could view some of the cards inside.



With this package, you can even see a portion of the "Goofy On Roller Skates" Valentine (as seen above), through the clear window.


In every grade throughout elementary school, my teachers always had us make a folder, to hold the Valentines we would be receiving from our classmates. We made the folders out of construction paper. (I wonder if they still do this in elementary schools today? I wonder if they even exchange Valentines today?) My mom saved every single folder that I ever made. Here is my Valentine folder, from when I was in Kindergarten:


Happy (early) Valentine's Day, everyone!

****Post Update!****

I decided to look for (and scan) some of the Valentine's that I received over the years, from fellow classmates. These span a period of seven years (Kindergarten through 6th grade).

First, we have a few more Disney Valentines:



These are two of my favorites, just because of the wonderful graphics. These were printed on heavier card stock and each card has two slits in it, which were used to hold a sucker.


Another one of my favorites, is the Valentine with the mummies. Now I'm wondering if they ever made sets of Valentines, entirely with monster graphics. I bet they did!


I'm a little surprised by the slightly adult text, "You Turn Me ON!" and "Let's Do Our THING Together!" But hey, we were kids. We were innocent. I think it just went over our heads!


Some of these are definitely, "of their time"....like the Valentine below, which claims, "You're GROOVY!"



Hallmark made these next four Valentines. These were larger in size and printed on a paper that was thicker than the "die-cut" Valentines (like the ones above). These could be folded over and actually "sealed" by placing the bottom edge of the card, into the three slits along the top edge.



I went to school with "Robbie," from first grade through twelfth grade. He was at our last high school reunion and won the award for, "having the most children"......NINE!!!


Hallmark also made this "puzzle" Valentine. I think this was a neat idea. You didn't know what the front of the Valentine looked like, or who had signed the back of it, until you put all of the pieces together.



Here's another Valentine with the, "YOU'RE GROOVY" sentiment. I wonder if in the eighties, these companies made Valentines which stated, "YOU'RE RADICAL!" or "YOU"RE TOTALLY TUBULAR!"?


I'm familiar with the Scottish use of the word "bonnie," but I just had to look it up for it's exact definition, which is "pleasing to the eye; handsome; pretty." So whoever was giving the Valentine on the far left, was asking the recipient (me) to be their pretty (or handsome) "luv!" Again, too adult, in my opinion! But it sure went past me, as a kid. And "HI, HOT STUFF!"???? Okay, I'm sure I'm just reading too much into these.


I think these Valentines are much tamer! ;-)


The back of the "caveman and cavewoman" Valentine below, was signed "From A Friend." And I found another Valentine which just had, "From Me," on the back. It appears that a couple of my classmates, were attempting to be wisenheimers!


I can't remember if I was able to figure out back then, who it was that didn't sign their Valentine. The person who gave me this, might have slipped it into my folder, along with another Valentine that they did actually sign, just to cover up their tracks. I wonder if they did this to other people in the class, or just me?


I still remember the little girl in Kindergarten, who gave me the "Teacher" Valentine, below. I also remember wondering why she gave it to me. I don't think I asked her. Maybe at that age, she wasn't able to read the word, "Teacher"?



These next three sets of Valentines (as well as some individual ones seen earlier in this post), appear to have used an older style of graphics. In a comment left below by Mike Cozart, he states, "I recall as a kid being aware that many of the designs seemed “old style” or reprinted designs."

I was also aware that some of the Valentines I was receiving as a kid, had an older style to their artwork. I'm assuming that some of the manufacturers, continued to print the same Valentines for many years, while other's updated their designs with a more "modern" look. If you look closely at the Disney Valentines in the first half of this post, you will notice a change, even in their style. The Disney Valentines had remained the same for many years, but by the time I was in 6th grade, they had completely changed their designs and style of artwork.




This Valentine reminds me of Knott's BERRY Farm and the old Knott's BEAR-Y Tales ride (which is actually making a return to Knott's this year, after a 34-year absence!) Whoever designed this Valentine, should have really completed the "double pun," by including a berry somewhere in the artwork!





The small bouquet of flowers in the basket (on the right), is inserted into a slot in the card and is actually removable.


My best friend in elementary school, gave me these Valentines in 5th and 6th grade. They originally had a bit of a 3-D aspect to them, but have been flattened from years of storage.


I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day!

23 comments:

Major Pepperidge said...

TokyoMagic!, I’ll bet there’s a lot more Disney-themed Valentines out there! Of course there’s the really rare set of DisneyLAND Valentines, I’ve never been able to get even one of them. Mr. X says that a complete set in the box was on eBay but he cheaped out and somebody got them for what he thinks was a low price.

I remember making boxes for our school Valentine’s Day exchange; we were all instructed to bring in a Quaker Oatmeal box (the cylindrical ones), and then we would decorate them with crepe paper, paper hearts, glitter, etc. Kids were supposed to buy a Valentine for every other kid in the class! And we’d go around and drop them in each customized oatmeal container, and then take them home to look at them with our parents after school. It was a big deal!

That Valentine folder that you made looks like it was created by Henri Matisse!

K. Martinez said...

Love all the various vintage Disney Valentines. My favorites would be the "Alice and Mad Hatter" Valentine and the "Pooh" Valentine.

I used to exchange Valentines cut out cards like these, but not Disney. As a kid I liked the puns and the visual ques that went with them.

Anyway there was this girl in my first grade class named Eve and I gave her a Valentine card with a positive message. The Valentine she gave me said "You stink and I hate you".

Thanks, TokyoMagic!

"Lou and Sue" said...

TokyoMagic! What a great post for Valentine's Day!

I don't think I saved any valentines from classmates (except for one from a secret admirer - and it was a gorgeous full-sized card - whoever he was, he was a big spender), but I know I have some old ones from relatives - grandmas and aunts, etc. I'll have to see if I have any classic Disney ones - as now I'm curious if I have any of those.

You saved a lot of great stuff - I especially LOVE the Valentine folder you made. Did you cut out all those hearts by yourself? If you did - you were quite the artist as a little kid, I must say. If I was your mom, I would've saved it, too!

K. Martinez: That little girl, Eve, probably was crazy about you! Little kids truly don't know how to handle their boy-girl-attraction feelings, at that age, and they say and do the dumbest things. In 3rd grade, a boy liked me - and I liked him but never 'let on' to anyone that I liked him, too. I would call him names in front of everyone, when he'd get too close to me or try to kiss me. That poor kid probably has a complex today because of what I called him. I do feel bad, but I now realize that's what [stupid] kids do.

Happy Valentine's Day, Everyone!
Sue

MRaymond said...

I don't know what's more fun, the valentines or the comments.

TokyoMagic! said...

Major, I have only seen a few of the vintage Disneyland Valentines, but I love the graphics on what I have seen. I wish they were still being made, when I was a kid. I would have asked my mom to buy me those, for sure.

I like the idea of using an oatmeal canister to receive Valentines. For some reason, we never did that. Every teacher at my elementary school, just had us take a piece of construction paper, fold it in half, and glue or staple the sides to make a folder. I also remember being told that if we were going to give out Valentines, we had to give one to EVERY single kid in the class. We could not skip anyone. Even the kids who were jerks and didn't deserve one! ;-) We actually got to open our Valentines in the classroom on Valentines day. It was a part of our classroom's Valentine party. The "Room Mothers" would bring candy, cookies and punch and for us to enjoy, while we opened our Valentines.

Thanks for the compliment on my 5 year-old "artistic" abilities! My Valentine folders kind of went "downhill" after Kindergarten, so that is why I only posted that one!

TokyoMagic! said...

Ken, the "Alice and Mad Hatter" Valentine was one of my favorites too. That is why I kept it and didn't give it away to anyone! The Alice In Wonderland attraction, was my favorite of the Fantasyland dark rides (pre-1984 remodeling) at Disneyland.

If you like the puns, check out my post "Update." I've added many more Valentines from the same era, and boy....are they "punny!"

It sounds like that little girl's name should have been "Evil," instead of "Eve." We had a little girl like that in my class. She used to make fun of the kids in the Special Education class. She was the only one at the entire school, who I ever saw do that. Sometimes I think of her and wonder if she grew up to be an equally evil adult.

TokyoMagic! said...

Sue, your comment (and Ken's) have inspired me to look for the Valentines given to me by my classmates, over the years. Those were kept in a different place, than my "extra" Disney ones that I had kept for myself. I've been scanning and adding images to this post, so I hope you will check back and see the additions. I plan to add more images throughout the week, right up until Valentine's Day. I have also found quite a few Valentine cards, which were given to me by various relatives. I hope you were able to find some of yours!

Thanks for the compliment on the folder! I have a pretty good memory and I clearly remember that the hearts were pre-printed (with a ditto machine!) onto construction paper. All we had to do, was cut them out by following along the printed lines with the scissors (easier said than done, when you are 5 years old!) and then arrange and paste the hearts on the folder, however we wanted. After Kindergarten however, I remember that we were on our own, as far as cutting out the hearts...no pre-printed outlines!

You are probably right about Ken's little classmate. Most likely, she was crazy about him. Either that, or she really was evil. ;-)

TokyoMagic! said...

MRaymond, I'm glad that you enjoyed the post! Feel fee to share a funny or weird Valentine's Day memory, if you have one! But don't worry if you don't! I just appreciate you checking in and commenting. Thank you!!!

K. Martinez said...

I love your new additions. The last one is really great on the puns. I especially love Nothing "Phoney" about this! and "Wooden Shoe" be my Valentine. Thanks for posting more, TokyoMagic!

TokyoMagic! said...

Ken, that "Nothing Phoney" phrase was also used on one of the Donald Duck Valentines, further up in the post. Obviously, these companies "borrowed" from one another....or I guess they could have been made my the same company! I have another variation on the "Wooden Shoe" pun, as well. I'll post that one (and more) before Valentine's Day on Friday!

MIKE COZART said...

Wow!!! I remember so many of these exact valentines. We also made the card holders with colored construction paper like you and hung them on the fronts of our desks and all walk around and deposit our cards. For me we did this through 5th grade. 6th thru 8th was Junior High School and the mass valentine exchange. During this time you could purchase a valentine card and a heart balloon and it would be delivered to the person in their home room. this would have been 1980 - 1982. One I received in 8th grade ( 1982) from a girl named Toni ( pronounced Tawny) is STILL inflated at my mom’s house!! The card is gone but the small heart Mylar balloon is STILL intact!! Now also years ago in college I ran into her and told her about the balloon still being in existence and she said have people check on her should it ever deflate!! 38 years later it’s still air-filled and plump! I remember when Toni and I were in 5th grade she got mad at me because I told her she looked like NORA from Pete’s Dragon ( 1977) .... I though I was flattering her , but I guess a 5th grade girl didn’t want to look like Helen Ready!!

Another note about these vintage cards is that I recall as a kid being aware that many of the designs seemed “old style” or reprinted designs .
Fun post and visit to the past!

Stefano said...

Thanks TokyoMagic!, this post just summoned up the whole of elementary school. As an organized
class activity, it did seem be a strictly K thru 6th grade ritual, junior high schoolers being more vulnerable to rejection. And the sugar highs .... chocolates and those multi-colored inscribed candy hearts, which were given to favorite classmates as much as cards were.

I think the mouse next to Goofy must be one of Mickey's nephews, Morty or Ferdie, hence the "pal".

The slightly risqué Valentine cards remind me of how liberal the film ratings board was in those days, handing out "G's" to movies that would get a PG-13 today. On
the subject of chocolate, last month I saw a theatrical screening of the 1971 "Willy Wonka", and the mostly adult audience was laughing in disbelief at the stuff they wouldn't dare do in a kids' movie now, like the jaw dropping boat ride through a psychedelic tunnel.

Does Disneyland decorate for this holiday? That souvenir magazine on sale through the seventies ( with most of the photos taken in the '60s ) shows a Main Street shop window and the Tomorrowland Terrace festooned with the kind of cut-out hearts and Cupids you could buy at any Sav-0ns or Woolworths.

TokyoMagic! said...

Mike, I forgot about having the folders hang from the front of our desks! I was remembering them pinned up on the bulletin boards, but we did take them down on Valentine's Day and hang them from our desks.

So, I guess Toni didn't want to be your "Candle On The Water"? ;-)

I don't remember what we did in junior high for Valentine's Day. I do remember in high school, various school clubs would sell carnations, which you could buy and then they would deliver them to whoever you wanted, similar to your school's balloon sales.

The fact that your balloon still has air in it is creepy! Maybe that balloon originally came from.......The Twilight Zone! It reminds me of a similar (but different) story of a calculator I have from 1983. It runs on cell batteries and I have never replaced the batteries, yet the calculator still functions. And it is not a "solar" calculator, either. I can't figure it out. Batteries should not last 37 years! It creeps me out a little bit, but I still won't get rid of the calculator.

I know what you mean about the older designs/graphics. The graphics on those two Valentines, which held the suckers, were older and somehow I knew that, even as a kid. I guess they just kept reprinting them each year. I'm going to be adding more Valentines with the "older" graphics, to this post in the next day or two!

TokyoMagic! said...

Stefano, I think you might be right about that being Morty or Ferdie. I thought that originally, but then the fact that whoever it's supposed to be was holding a bouquet of flowers, made me think it might be a female character. There was also the fact that the character's shirt/blouse has super short sleeves, and padded shoulders like Joan Crawford or a 1980's nighttime soap opera character!

I think Disneyland might still do a few Valentine themed windows on Main St. I know about 10 years ago, or so, they started putting some painted metal hearts into some of the planters around Town Square, but that is about it. It's been about 4 years now, since I was going to the park regularly, so maybe they do more now?

Here's a pic I took of a Valentine themed window display at Disneyland, back in 1996: https://meettheworldinprogressland.blogspot.com/2010/02/roger-rabbit-hearts-jessica-rabbit-dl.html

"Lou and Sue" said...

I remember the skunk and the owl valentines. Thanks for adding more, TokyoMagic!

I did a quick search for my old valentines, but didn't locate them. (darn) I know I have them, but I'm not sure where. In the meantime, I'm enjoying the ones you've posted.

Sue

TokyoMagic! said...

Sue, I'm glad that you are enjoying my daily updates/additions to this post. Thanks for checking back! :-)

"Lou and Sue" said...

TokyoMagic! I see you added more valentines, at the last minute - I'm glad I checked back. So many of those look familiar. What a fun trip down memory lane. I'm glad you kept all of those from over the years and also shared them with us!

Sue

TokyoMagic! said...

Sue, yes, I was adding more late last night, even after Valentine's Day was technically over! I've posted pretty much everything I had of the "classroom Valentines." I did find some traditional Hallmark-type Valentine cards, which were given to me over the years by my mom, my aunt and my grandparents. I think I will wait, and post those in the future.....maybe next February! Thanks again, for checking back!

Chuck said...

Great post, TM! It stirred up lots of great memories. I even remember getting that Bambi card one year.

We usually decorated paper bags. They were about the size of lunch sacks, but they were pink and white and red. No idea where the teacher or room mothers (there's a term I haven't heard in years) got them, but they were pretty neat. We'd staple them up on the bulletin board until it was time to read them, then take them to our desks. I don't remember hanging them on our desks, but maybe that's just something I forgot over the years.

I remember addressing all of the valentines' envelopes at home before bringing them into school, and I'd go to agonizing lengths to pick the best ones for the girls I had crushes on. Of course, nobody ever reciprocated openly. Which is just as well - my wife was a prize worth waiting for.

Thanks for bringing back such great memories, and a belated "Happy Valentine's Day" to you!

TokyoMagic! said...

Chuck, I'm glad that I was able to stir up some memories for you! Last week, I asked someone who is an elementary school teacher, if the kids still exchange Valentines and she said that they do. She also said that they decorate paper bags, like you mentioned. Apparently, they also still have a party with punch and cookies....but I forgot to ask her if they still have "room mothers"!!!

I hope you and your wife had a very nice Valentine's Day!

Anonymous said...

Hello Tokyo, what a sweet post. I mean that sincerely, I haven't thought about these cards in years and it was a good custom. I'm embarrassed to say I can't recall if my kids did this or not.

I know we did oatmeal boxes as the Major describes, one year, and other years, an envelope or folder hung on the front of the desk. I don't recognize any of the card designs specifically, but they all feel familiar. I'm sure I had one or more of these somewhere.

I confess that there were a few people in class to whom I would sooner not have given a card, but that was not permitted. So I would pick out my least-favorite choice for their cards, which of course, meant nothing, since how would anyone know which were my favorites when all were equally cute in some way.

Thanks for the memories and to everyone else for their comments. Brings a smile to the start of the week.

JG

TokyoMagic! said...

JG, I agree with you about there being kids that you would rather not have to give a Valentine to. I also remember sorting the Valentines out in advance and giving what I considered some of the "better" ones, to my favorite classmates!

I'm glad that you enjoyed this post and that it brought back pleasant memories for you!

TokyoMagic! said...

Nic, sorry...no Snow White! I can't remember if there was even a Snow White Valentine in one of the boxes. I think if there had been, I would have kept it, because that is my all-time favorite animated film.