Looking for Love? Check the Lowcountry Digital Library!

^{Above: Valentine commemorative mailed from Charleston, South Carolina, in 1910. The Bettie La Barbe Postcard Collection, housed in the Charleston Archive at Charleston County Public Library. Provided by Lowcountry Digital Library. See the inscription and more information in the Lowcountry Digital Library.}

When you hit that sweet spot in a partnership, it’s hard to keep it to yourself. And the partnership between the College of Charleston Libraries and the Lowcountry Digital Library is no exception.

In 2009, the College of Charleston launched the LCDL, partnering with several other organizations to build a digital online library of public and private archives in the Lowcountry. One of those collections includes Charleston County Public Library’s Bettie La Barbe Postcard Collection, donated by the Raleigh, North Carolina, native, who moved to Charleston to become a teacher and the directress of Kelly’s Kindergarten at Saint Andrews Episcopal Church (located at King and Poinsette streets). The collection consists of just over 300 Victorian-era postcards collected between 1903 and 1935 – including valentines cards.

This Valentine’s Day, The College Today did a little digging and couldn’t help but take note of these sweet cards – all of them sent between 1900 and 1910, and some of them with inscriptions and little love poems. Check out some of the cards below, and visit the collection (or click the images) to see the inscriptions they include and more information about each card.

Digital images copyright 2011, Charleston County Public Library. All rights reserved. All images provided courtesy of the Lowcountry Digital Library, which is managed by College of Charleston Libraries.