Classic Covers: Love Hurts

Valentine's Day reminds us that, as Shakespeare put it, "The course of true love never did run smooth." Sad, yes—but it made for some great cover art.

"God Bless You" by Norman Rockwell From October 1, 1921
"God Bless You"
by Norman Rockwell
From October 1, 1921

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“God Bless You” by Norman Rockwell

"God Bless You" by Norman Rockwell From October 1, 1921
“God Bless You”
by Norman Rockwell
From October 1, 1921

The road to courtship and romance is sometimes a bumpy one, as artists from the Post and sister publication Country Gentleman have shown in these covers from 1914 – 1956.

 

“Schoolboy Crush” by Charles A. MacLellan

Schoolboy Crush by Charles A. MacLellan From January 17, 1914
“Schoolboy Crush”
by Charles A. MacLellan
From January 17, 1914

Poor Red! From 1914, this is one of nearly fifty covers that artist Charles A. MacLellan did for the Post. And like this one, many of them resemble Rockwell’s work.

 

“My Secret Valentine” by Henry Hintermeister

My Secret Valentine by Henry Hintermeister From February 1, 1938
“My Secret Valentine”
by Henry Hintermeister
From February 1, 1938

The look on her face says it all: she has poured her heart out in a Valentine to a special boy, and he’s sending one to every girl in town! This adorable 1938 cover was on our sister publication, Country Gentleman.

 

“ God Bless You” by Norman Rockwell

"God Bless You" by Norman Rockwell From October 1 1921)
“God Bless You”
by Norman Rockwell
From October 1 1921)

Just when you are making romantic progress, you find you are not alone. The snooping brother was not an uncommon theme for covers, and this one from 1921 was by Norman Rockwell.

 

“First Valentine” by Richard Sargent

"First Valentine" by Richard Sargent From February 11, 1956
“First Valentine”
by Richard Sargent
From February 11, 1956

Great cover artist Dick Sargent captured the look on this young man’s face perfectly: he is dealing with new feelings (didn’t he hate girls just last week?) and he is a little embarrassed. The colorful Valentine cover is from 1956.

 

“Two Boys Bringing Girl Ice Cream” by George Brehm

"Two Boys Bringing Girl Ice Cream" by George Brehm From July 5, 1924
“Two Boys Bringing Girl Ice Cream”
by George Brehm
From July 5, 1924

Nice to be waited on—if you’re the girl. The boys vying for the young lady’s attention in 1924 are not alone in this situation. Rockwell painted young rivals two years earlier (below).

 

“Rivals” by Norman Rockwell

"Rivals" by Norman Rockwell From September 9, 1922
“Rivals”by Norman Rockwell
From September 9, 1922

These would-be romancers showed up at the same time. In the coat of arms above the door, is Rockwell suggesting that if this were 1822 instead of modern, civilized 1922, that a duel might be the solution? Fortunately, it shouldn’t come to that, but someone might just walk away with a black eye.

We hope your Valentine’s Day romances do run smoothly.

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Comments

  1. Very nice selection of Valentine themed covers, even if most weren’t from February. I feel badly for the boy on the 1914 cover. I wonder what the girl was thinking.

    This Country Gentleman cover was very much like a POST cover, except for the logo. I doubt if she mailed that Valentine’s card—-seriously doubt it.

    I love Dick Sargent covers from this much later time period. This boy is a little confused and possiby sad as he wonders and ponders these Valentine cards. He might be overwhelmed with all the cards too. I love the detail in this cover. Rockwell cast a large shadow for the other POST artists to live up to, and I think Dick Sargent always did a wonderful job but with his own look and style.

    (By the way to anyone enjoying this feature, this artist was NOT actor Dick Sargent, best known for having replaced Dick York on the ‘Bewitched’ TV series from 1969-1972. The name confusion is understandable, but it is just a coincidence.)

    On the much older Country Gentleman cover, I can only wonder where the ICE CREAM wound up, because a fight did look like a fight coming on. On the ’22 POST cover, it also looks like a fight is brewing. Can’t we all just get along?

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