When Esther Howland was growing up in the 1830s, it seemed unlikely she would make her mark as "The Mother of the American Valentine."

Her father owned the largest book and stationery store in Worcester. His success allowed him to send Esther to Mount Holyoke Female Seminary. At Mt. Holyoke, Esther participated in annual Valentine festivities (later banned by the college for being too frivolous). Shortly after she completed her studies in 1847, one of her father's business associates happened to send her an elaborate English valentine.

German immigrants to the U.S. had brought with them a tradition of cutting paper hearts for loved ones, and in the first half of the nineteenth century, other Americans were beginning to exchange simple cards on which they wrote their own sentimental verses.

But English valentines were entirely different. The Industrial Revolution began in England several decades before it did in the U.S.; English factories mass-produced intricately detailed paper, which could be embossed with flowers and adorned with perforated paper lace. These fancy valentines were extremely expensive to import, so very few circulated in the United States.