It was Valentine91裸聊视频檚 Day 1917 in the Minnesota farming village of Lewiston, and Fred Roth 91裸聊视频� a fourth grader 91裸聊视频� seems to have come up with just the way to express his love for his sweetheart, Louise Wirt. He gave her a card.

The folding, pop-up Valentine91裸聊视频檚 Day card, on stock so heavy it remains in good shape 106 years later, reads: 91裸聊视频淔orget me not!/I ask of thee/Reserve one spot/In your heart for me.91裸聊视频�

And so she did. Years later they married, and Louise displayed the cherished card, tucked into the fretwork of a bedroom dresser, for decades to come. She pointed it out to her daughter, and later to a granddaughter, me, and it remained near her bedside until her death at 91, a token of lasting love.

Although the message was in English, the card is printed with the word 91裸聊视频淕ermany91裸聊视频� and is seemingly imported, as were many cards of that era. Small companies in the U.S. also were part of a flourishing commercial card business.

Hallmark, which began offering Valentine91裸聊视频檚 Day cards in 1913, estimates that today, 145 million Valentine91裸聊视频檚 Day cards are exchanged annually, not including the kids91裸聊视频� valentines popular for classroom exchanges.

Fertility-related customs and rituals have been celebrated in mid-February since pagan times, says Emelie Gevalt, curator of folk art and curatorial chair for collections at the American Folk Art Museum in New York City.

Tokens of affection varied: In the 1600s, the practice was to give pairs of gloves in mid-February, she says.

91裸聊视频淏y the 18th century, we start to see something that really begins to resemble modern Valentine91裸聊视频檚 cards,91裸聊视频� she says. 91裸聊视频淚n the 19th century, this evolved further to the point where popular ladies91裸聊视频� magazines like Harper91裸聊视频檚 Weekly published instructions for readers on how to craft them.91裸聊视频�

There have long been both earnest, heartfelt Valentines like Grandpa Fred91裸聊视频檚, and ones in a more teasing, playful vein.

The museum91裸聊视频檚 collection includes a number of lovingly crafted tokens of affection from various periods. 91裸聊视频淵ou see the heart motif quite a lot,91裸聊视频� Gevalt says.

Although not specifically linked to Valentine91裸聊视频檚 Day, an exhibit at the museum opening March 17, 91裸聊视频淢aterial Witness: Folk and Self-Taught Artists at Work,91裸聊视频� features two examples of 91裸聊视频渇raktur,91裸聊视频� exuberantly decorated watercolors made by German immigrants in Pennsylvania. One is called 91裸聊视频淚nverted Heart,91裸聊视频� and another depicts a labyrinth.

91裸聊视频淭hey were really dazzling objects, including motifs of flowers or hearts. The playfulness and cleverness of these objects is one of the most interesting aspects they have in common,91裸聊视频� Gevalt says.

In the mid-19th century, some people shared 91裸聊视频淰inegar Valentines,91裸聊视频� a sort of anti-Valentine that featured playfully insulting verses, not unlike a modern-day roast.

Sometimes, cards involved writing in a circle or upside down, like a puzzle. Some had a decorative folded border or verses on the folds; cutwork resembling lace; or watercolor decorations of pierced hearts, lovebirds and flowers. Lover91裸聊视频檚 knots and labyrinths were also common elements.

91裸聊视频淭hey remind me of games, like plucking the petals of a flower saying 91裸聊视频榮he loves me, she loves me not,91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频� Gevalt says.

The boom in commercial Valentine91裸聊视频檚 Day cards in the mid-1800s was a reflection of changing courtship patterns, says Elizabeth White Nelson, associate professor of history at University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

91裸聊视频淭he idea of companionate marriage and love became a part of the calculus of marriage, and Valentine91裸聊视频檚 Day cards became a part of courtship,91裸聊视频� she says.

These days, the cards continue to evolve.

91裸聊视频淥ver the last few years, trends have been less about romantic love but more about letting someone know they matter,91裸聊视频� says Jen Walker, vice president of trends and creative studios at Hallmark Cards, Inc.

There are 91裸聊视频渕ore inclusive visuals, and a larger representation of relationships 91裸聊视频� love, chosen family, friendships, parents and children, self-care,91裸聊视频� she says.

A bit of mystery surrounds my Grandma Louise91裸聊视频檚 precious Valentine. It would have been out of character for Fred to buy a commercial card as opposed to, say, presenting her with a bouquet of pussy willows he had picked.

91裸聊视频淭hat period would have been the beginning of an organized practice of exchanging Valentines in school,91裸聊视频� says Nelson. In some classrooms, everyone was required, or at least encouraged, to give a Valentine.

91裸聊视频淭he giving and receiving of Valentines was always partly about performing love, for an audience,91裸聊视频� says Nelson, 91裸聊视频渁nd once that Valentine91裸聊视频檚 Day card got saved, it would have become a talisman of all that love is supposed to be.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频擪atherine Roth, The Associated Press