South Street Seaport Museum to Present Valentine's Day Offerings

South Street Seaport Museum will present Valentine's Day offerings, now through February 14.

Print Your Own Valentine's Day Card | February 4 | 12-2pm | 211 Water St. | Free

The Seaport Museum invites you to Print Your Own Valentine's Day Card at a new free workshop from nineteenth-century letterpress printers, Bowne & Co.

Add a personal touch to your valentine and print your own card at Bowne & Co. using the South Street Seaport Museum's working collection of 19th century historical printing equipment. In this two-hour workshop, you are invited to get hands-on throughout the printing process and will get to see how the professional designers at Bowne utilize the Museum's collection in their work. Advanced registration is suggested for this free workshop but walk-ups will be accommodated as possible and drop-ins are welcome. seaportmuseum.org/bowne-valentine

You can also shop for a selection of unique themed cards, gifts, and of course, house-designed letterpress-printed notecards, both in-person at 211 Water Street, NYC and online at bowne.co.

Valentine Like a Sailor | February 10, 11 | 11am-4:30pm | 207 Water St.| Free

Come to the Seaport Museum to Valentine Like a Sailor on February 10 and 11, 2024, from 11am to 4:30pm, at 207 Water Street, NYC. Bring 19th-century maritime craft tradition to your handmade Valentine's Day cards. Attendees will create their own special trinket for the holiday and learn about the unique history of Sailors' Valentines-tokens of love and friendship. seaportmuseum.org/valentine-like-sailor.

Historically, these small wooden boxes were given by seafarers to their wives, sweethearts, daughters, and loved ones when they returned from a long voyage. The small boxes open to reveal sentimental messages surrounded with intricate mosaics of shells and found objects arranged in exquisite geometric patterns and motifs such as hearts, anchors, and flowers.

Using beads, buttons, and shells, families and friends of all ages are invited to the Seaport Museum's introductory galleries where we'll continue the creative tradition together.

A History of Sailors' Valentines

Sailors' Valentines were popular mementos for sailors aboard navy and whaling ships from 1830-1880 and are relatively rare today. Long considered fascinating examples of 19th century maritime craft tradition, wooden boxes open to reveal intricate mosaics created from shells of various shapes and colors. These boxes were often given by sailors as tokens of love and friendship to their wives, mothers, sisters, and friends upon a seafarer's return from a long voyage.

Though these sentimental treasures are referred to as "Sailors' Valentines," many historians now believe most of these works originated in Barbados and the West Indies. Modern scholarship suggests that local women made these works, which were then purchased by seamen as souvenirs. As is the case with many works of art, correct attribution and historical understanding of these objects is evolving so that historians and institutions can shine light on historically under-recognized artists.

"Sailors' Valentines" remain a beautiful and romantic part of New England maritime heritage and cultural exchange.

19th-Century-Style Letterpress Print Shop

No visit to the Museum is complete without a walk through Bowne & Co., Stationers. Make sure to stop by the Museum's turn-of-the-century store where you can find designs created by resident printers using custom plates, historic fonts, and printing presses from the Museum's working collection. seaportmuseum.org/bowne-co-stationers.