c.1850 Cobweb Valentine Revealing Two Lovers Embracing

1850. Very good. Light toning, finger soiling, letter folds. a couple minor paper repairs. Letter folds.. A finely wrought machine-made "cobweb" (also known as a "beehive") style valentine from c.1850. Made from an embossed wove paper bifolium with the cobweb on the first leaf. a hand-applied scrap in the center reads, "Domestic happiness, thou only bliss of paradise that has survived the fall". When gently lifted, the scrap reveals the image under the cobweb on the second leaf: a hand-colored lithograph of two lovers in a passionate embrace. Below the image is a faint pencil inscription ("C.H. Blake"). Measures approx. 6.75" by 4").