Strange cupids

We have a tradition in our family of odd Valentine gifts. Think along the lines of Charles Addams and Edward Gorey, and you'll get the picture. So, when I started collecting antique holiday postcards about eight years ago, I found myself drawn to offbeat Valentine images.

Over time, my burgeoning collection of "strange cupids" became something of a family joke. I scoured flea markets, shops and sales for the creepiest cupids. When I returned home, I'd share them with my husband and daughter. Finding postcards that would make them cringe became my goal.

But the latest addition to the collection isn't a postcard, it's the Gibson Girl above. She's from Vol. 2 of The Gibson Book, a 1906 anthology of drawings by Charles Dana Gibson that contains the contents of 11 of his books. She starts "Everyday People." That alone, got laughs. What creeped them out wasn't so much the cupid being served up on the platter, as the steam rising from him.

Other things that bug them: cupids playing with hearts - tossing, rolling & hitting them; the cupid just below who is feeding a "warm" heart to the moon; the cupid below him who is braising hearts over a fire. I, of course, think they are wonderful.