Poignant and Unusual Large 1840s Paper Lace Valentine with Mirror, Verse, and Original Envelope antique green paint Her body is all wood

Her body is all wood with mortise and tenon joints

I understand that these were originally used as an aid for teaching children the alphabet and spelling—and how much more enjoyable that would have been (or could be now

having found a couple of boxes of "Old Faithful" previously

The year 1855 appears on one plate

Some foxing on the blank postcard back

Poignant and Unusual Large 1840s Paper Lace Valentine with Mirror, Verse, and Original Envelope antique green paint Her body is all woodI've got an eye out for early Valentines every day of the year, this one dating to the 1840s and, rather miraculously, still accompanied by its original envelope, mailed to a Catherine Stowell of Paris, Maine, with postmark on the envelop and traces of the red wax seal still attached. Clearly it meant a lot to our Catherine! and one might guess she married the young man who sent it to her. What really sold me on it is the mirror at center of the