May You Be Happy, 19th C. Paper Lace Love Token Under Glass antique Chinese porcelain and wood box your heart

your heart

So handsome

the wood is worn smooth with a bit of a sheen

with white painted head and yellow eyes

May You Be Happy, 19th C. Paper Lace Love Token Under Glass antique Chinese porcelain and wood box your heartA beautiful example of one of these layered paper lace and embossed die cut valentines, or love tokens, and an early one c. 1860s 70s I believe. I would guess this one was actually given on the occasion of a birth or christening, with the hopes of a happy life being imparted to the child, and, it looks to me, a babtism occurring at top center though it also looks a bit like a baby in a bird cage! Detail photos give the best sense of the layering and