The custom of sending Valentine gifts was slowly replaced by sending messages. In the 1700's and 1800's some stores sold books called valentine writers. These books had ideas for writing valentines.
Commercial Valentines were first made in the early 1800's. Many of them were blank inside, with space for the sender to write a message. Kate Greenaway became famous for her Valentines in the late 1800's. She was a British artist showing pictures of happy children and lovely gardens.
One of the first manufacturers of Valentines in the U.S. was Esther A. Howland of Massachusetts. In 1847, after seeing British Valentines she made samples and took orders from stores. Later she hired an assembly line to produce the cards. One person glued on paper flower, another added lace, and some painted. Howland expanded her business into a $100,000 a year business.
The Hallmark Company produced its first Valentine in 1913. Hallmark offers 1,330 different Valentine's Day greeting cards. n 2000, Americans spent more than $3.6 billion on Valentine's Day. Yearly more than 900 million cards will be exchanged. Valentine's Day is second only to Christmas for the number of cards sent.