History of Valentine’s Day & Courtship Gift Giving: From Love Tokens to Sexy Lingerie

At this time every year lingerie sales increase in the lead up to Valentine’s Day. But did you know that gifting intimate apparel is not a modern phenomenon? In 17th and 18th-century England and France, intimate objects were also gifted during courtship or amorous liaisons, as tokens of both romantic intention and sexual desire. In this video, I give an overview of the history of courtship gifts and love tokens, from jewelry and gloves to more intimate gifts like busks and garters. This includes gifts given on Valentine’s Day in early modern Europe, as well as other traditions like Valentine's lotteries, to explore to history of this holiday beyond cards, flowers and chocolates. So if you'd like to learn more, keep watching! 0:00 - Introduction 1:00 - History of Valentine's Day 3:26 - Courtship Rituals and Gift Giving 5:55 - Courtship Gifts and Love Tokens 8:21 - Busks 9:53 - Garters 11:06 - Sexy Love tokens? 13:45 - Valentine's Gift Giving and Valentine's lotteries 15:26 - Valentine's Day cards and Modern Gifting Rituals Sources: - Bendall, Sarah A. Shaping Femininity : Foundation Garments, the Body and Women in Early Modern England. London ; Bloomsbury Visual Arts, 2021. - Forbes, Bruce David. America’s Favorite Holidays : Candid Histories. Oakland, California: University of California Press, 2015. - Holloway, Sally. “Love, Custom & Consumption: Valentine’s Day in England c. 1660-1830.” Cultural and social history 17, no. 3 (2020): 295–314. - Holloway, Sally. The Game