George C. Whitney Co.

George C. Whitney Co., manufacturer of Valentines, established late 1850s by George C. Whitney as a cottage industry, later becoming a manufacturing facility in Worcester, Mass.; absorbed many competitors including New England Valentine Co., which had been founded ca. 1849 by Esther Howland; ceased operations 1942.

George C. Whitney & Co. began in Worcester, MA in 1858 and in time became the largest producer of valentines in America.

Its designs followed the innovative work of Esther Howland whom they bought out in the 1880s. The company flourished until February 1942 when war-time restrictions on paper and other commodities forced it to liquidate its assets. (For a more complete history of the firm, see: Ruth Webb Lee, A history of valentines. New York: The Studio Publications, in association with Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1952. [Winterthur call number NC1860/L48]).