Romance is in the air as gallery reveals tokens of love

Tokens of love including Valentine’s cards and treasured jewellery will feature in the first of a new series of ‘Collections Close-ups’ at the art gallery which feature a selection of items from the Scarborough Collections based around different themes.

Jennifer Dunne, Scarborough Museums Trust Collections Manager, will lead Be My Valentine, on February 3, which will look at Valentine’s cards and other related ephemera held in the collections.

“We have some absolutely gorgeous and romantic Victorian cards, which I’m really looking forward to showing off,” she said.

“I’ll also be showing some examples of Victorian jewellery, including a gold brooch from the mid-1800s which swivels to show the lady’s beau in military uniform on one side, and in civilian clothes on the other, and examples of jewellery made from hair, which we tend to think of as memento mori or death tokens, but were also given as love tokens.”

The monthly event will feature a themed selection of items, each explained by a member of the Scarborough Museums Trust team.

Collections Close-ups will take place on the first Tuesday of each month. Each takes around an hour, costs £2 and participants are asked to meet at Scarborough Art Gallery at 2.30pm.

Places are limited, so booking is recommended. To book, or for further information, call the Art Gallery on 01723 374753.