c. 1840s Large Paper Lace Valentine with Watercolor Flower (Blank Interior) wooden cat bookend probably once part of a

probably once part of a handmade doll house dining room set

Big black eyes outlined in white with long eyelashes and then long white whiskers pointing toward the colorful ball at the tip of its nose

and etched using stencils

I'm always admiring antique and older vintage artist mannequins like this

which is attached by brass screws at center

c. 1840s Large Paper Lace Valentine with Watercolor Flower (Blank Interior) wooden cat bookend probably once part of aA handful of Victorian paper lace valentines today, because 'tis almost the season, and what a lovely thing to give to a beloved, including oneself. I'm fussy about ones I like, choosing these several from more than a hundred 19th c. examples I had the joy of perusing last weekend which had been collected over many years by a major Maine based paper dealer (who made notes on the envelopes of some, dating this one to the late 1840s) whose collection