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I see Valentine’s Day has come round again. (I must remember to buy the essentials…)

One of the most interesting things I read about this annual event the other day is that it generates almost $15 billion worth of retail sales each year in the United States. To put it in context, that is around a quarter of the value of the entire global art market – auctions, dealer and gallery sales, fairs, private deals and so on.

That’s quite a market for a tradition whose true commercial origins date back little more than a century. Now is the time for auction houses the length and breadth of the land to put up Valentine memorabilia for auction, from early Victorian cards and sailors’ Valentines to those sent by celebrities.

Back in 2003, a Valentine card sent by Princess Diana sold for ten times its estimate at £2000, while in 2012 one sent by Amy Winehouse made £1600.

The earliest known printed Valentine’s card dates to 1797 and was published on January 12 that year by John Fairburn of 146 Minories, London. It depicted a young woman in a landscape setting at the centre, surrounded by cupids, flowers, birds and other symbols of love, as well as messages. In 2013, that made a creditable £450 at auction.