ISSUE 182 - February 6, 2026 - Stamp News Online Magazine
Valentine and Love, Stamps and Covers past and present
from around the World
The Endless Knot of Love
No surprise, Valentines are a popular topic for illustrated covers.
This is one of the more interesting designs, an 1814 hand-colored lettersheet with printed design titled “The Endless Knot of Love” with a printed verse woven through the design and at the bottom, also with metal sequins sewn around the oval. It was sent from a Royal Marine sergeant from Woolwich to Cambridge.
That’s supposed to be young Hercules at the top, trying to break the link, showing that “true LOVE is so firmly bound that even the God of Strength cannot sever it.”
United States - Patriotic Valentine Cover
Finally, we find a very different, idealistic rendition of the War, a large allover valentine design cover to Allegany, N.Y., with a vertical pair of the 3¢ Rose (Sc. 65) tied by a “Georgetown, D.C./Feb 11” datestamp.
A “Checked” Valentine Cover by Steve Turechek
Mekeels & Stamps Magazine 09/19/09
This cover is interesting in more ways than one. It was sent by a gallant soul rather infatuated with British actress Susie Amy. The airpost cover is addressed to “Britain TV, Miss Suzie Amee, London—a rather vague address to be sure, and without postal code. At the time this valentine was sent, Ms. Amy (note the spelling of the actress’ name on the cover is incorrect) was starring in a British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) television show called “Footballers’ Wives”.
Postmarked in Nov, 2002 in Beruit, Lebanon, this cover reached the BBC where it was opened and physically examined for anthrax contamination. The evidence for this is the small blue, 2-line handstamp, “Checked 7”. In addition, the bottom edge of the cover has been slit open and re-taped, though this intrusion isn’t visible in the nearby image. The hand-drawn and colored hearts as national flags on this cover transmit an interesting political message to the addressee. This cover is one of a small collection of similar items that has been sold through eBay and private transactions over
the past year. The covers were offered either individually or in lots, with prices ranging between $15-75 each, depending on country of origin and general condition.
The BBC checked incoming mail addressed to various listener/viewer service offices following the September, 2001 anthrax attacks that targeted U.S. Senators and U.S. news media companies. Covers mailed to the BBC from the U.S., several African nations, most of the middle-east nations, and within Great Britain have similar “Checked” markings. As described above, the bottom edge was opened and resealed with tape or small white adhesive tabs on every such cover. The “Checked” markings are known in large and small sizes, in red and blue inks. The exact begin and end dates of the inspections are unknown.
LOVE Sculpture
Love Park, Philadelphia, PA
It's been 35 years since Robert Indiana's tilted LOVE sculpture helped invent the Love stamp, and they are still going strong. The concept has evolved considerably in recent years, however. In less than a decade the once-clever idea of a love stamp perforated in the shape of a heart has become old fashioned -- indeed, in the era of the self-adhesive stamp, perforations themselves have become old fashioned, as catalogs take to reporting die-cut counts instead of perforation gauges.
Love itself, fortunately, has not gone out of fashion yet.
