Victorian Valentine: Girl in Flowered Hat & Heart Frame

That navy wide-brimmed hat is framed in a pale blue heart against what appears to be birchwood-patterned cardstock and is festooned with flowers and what looks like an entire decorative bird situation on top — because if you wanted to convey 'I love you,' obviously millinery that could house wildlife is the move. The curly-haired child stares out from beneath it with an expression hovering somewhere between wistful and mildly haunted, the kind of face a child makes when she's been posed for forty-five minutes and is quietly reconsidering her life choices. The embossed gold text at the bottom reads 'A Valentine Message,' which is doing a lot of heavy lifting given that the actual message appears to be 'a small Victorian child is watching you love.'