Esther Howland began mass-producing Valentine’s Day cards in the United States in 1847.
Howland was a Worcester, Massachusetts, artist and entrepreneur who became known as the “Mother of the American Valentine.” After receiving an elaborate English Valentine around 1847, she was inspired to create similarly ornate cards for the American market.
She assembled sample designs using paper lace, floral decorations, ribbons, and verses, then had her brother show them to customers through their father’s stationery business. The response was far larger than expected: an initial hope of about $200 in orders reportedly became more than $5,000.
Howland organized assistants into an early assembly-line system, with women producing components and assembling intricate cards at home and in a workshop. Her New England Valentine Company helped make elaborate greeting cards commercially available across the United States. Her first advertisement appeared in the Worcester Spy in 1850, but the business began with her 1847 launch and quickly expanded afterward.