Victorian Valentine Doves & Hearts Greeting Card

The pastoral scene presents three white doves working in perfect coordination to transport two oversized red hearts across the composition via garland, with a single arrow skewering both hearts simultaneously—because apparently Cupid was an efficiency consultant. Zoom in and the real labor becomes apparent: these birds are putting in a genuinely alarming amount of physical effort, wings fully spread, necks straining, one of them practically horizontal with exertion, all for the crime of delivering someone's valentine. The scale is the real horror—those hearts are roughly the size of the birds themselves, which raises serious questions about what this card's sender thinks love actually costs. Presented with the cheerful, pastoral confidence of a society that had not yet invented therapy.