Esther Howland--Mother of the American Valentine

Esther Howland was born in 1828 in Worcester, Massachussetts. Her father owned the largest book and stationery store in Worcester. When Esther was nineteen years old, she graduated from the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary and received a valentine from England.

Enchanted with the valentine, Esther felt she could create something akin to it. She asked her father to order the lace paper and other supplies from England and New York. He obliged, and Esther set to work. Her brother added the valentines to his inventory on his next sales trip. Esther hoped to make a modest profit from her venture, but when her brother returned, he had orders for valentines in the amount of five thousand dollars.

Esther knew she couldn't possibly meet the demand by herself, so she asked her friends to help and set up an assembly line to meet production. She used brightly colored paper against the white lace paper to create lovely, artist designs. The business grew and resulted in a gross income of one hundred tihousand dollars a year!

Esther Howland semi-retired due to bad knees. Later, she had to care for her ailing father, so she sold the business.

Esther Howland wasn't the first individual in America to creat the American valentine. However, she can take credit for launching it into a major industry. Today Americans spend one billion dollars a year on valentine cards, not counting the postage. The amount is second only to the amount spend on Christmas Cards, which is over two billion dollars.