Many of the cards in the Valentines collection of the Samuel Cupples House were sent to Miss
Lillie McAllister, the daughter of John McAllister, an employee of Samuel Cupples. McAllister
may have also been a distant relative of Mr. Cupples.
The 1860 St. Louis census records a John McAlester, age 33, born in Ireland. He worked as a
farmhand when the Cupples family was living in Carondelet.
In 1870, McAllister was listed as a gardener, and the 1880 census shows a change of spelling
to “McAllister.” This 1880 census also lists Lillie, age 4, and her brother, John, 11 months old.
These Valentines are remarkably well-preserved. Several are three-dimensional pieces meant to be
unfolded and set upon a table. These are too fragile to display (or photograph) in this manner.
We are fortunate, too, that the cards are of the highest quality. Though some of the cards have
“browned” a bit, the acid content of the paper is low so that they are not especially brittle.
The earliest valentine in the collection dates to 1885, the last was received in 1912.
Just click on the thumbnail images
of our vintage Valentines for a closer view
Valentine's Day Ideas Available at the
Historic Samuel Cupples House Museum Shop
