Exquisite Mid 19th C. Watercolor Valentine with Flip Up Handwritten Fortunes snail paperweight In its original case

In its original case

with the letter and numbers I assume referring to the bottle type (and there are more handwritten notations on the back side

and since cicadas are symbols of  personal renewal and transformation

8 1/4" x 4" x 5/8" as mounted to wood block via nice bit fat nails

Exquisite Mid 19th C. Watercolor Valentine with Flip Up Handwritten Fortunes snail paperweight In its original caseA rare and special thing this one, a fortune telling valentine of sorts, which I purchased from a great paper dealer in Pennsylvania, who had kept it in his personal collection for some years. A gorgeous watercolor taken at face value, but under most every leaf and bloom is a hidden message, revealed when one flips that bit up (and so a pretty intricate work of cut paper, too.) I especially love the fact that many of those messages are the opposite of