Valentine's Day from days gone by - in pictures

Valentine's Day can be traced back to ancient pagan traditions, but the celebration as we know it today really took off in the Victorian era. This advert from February 1853 is for Hyam's tailors, in Manchester. Photograph: Guardian

This advertisement, from February 1882, offers Valentines cards and gifts from Farrants, Manchester. The sending of cards reached a peak in the 1880s, when the post office laid on extra collections and more than 300,000 Valentines were delivered each February in Manchester alone. Photograph: Guardian

By the end of the 1880s, Valentine's day traditions had faded into obscurity, though 'vulgar' cards still occasionally made an appearance, as this miscellany column from 1907 suggests. Photograph: Guardian

Advertisements for Valentines items began to emerge again in the 1950s, like this one, for Bronnley toiletries, from 1953. Photograph: Guardian

In 1957, the Midland Bank drew on Valentine's day for its advertising campaign, bemoaning the fact that "nobody ever sends Valentines to a bank." Photograph: Guardian

On 15 February Midland ran a follow-up advert, after staff were inundated with Valentine's cards. Photograph: Guardian

By the 1970s, Valentine's day was firmly established in the calendar once again. Yellow Pages ran this advertisement in 1973. Photograph: Guardian

In 1975, the Guardian introduced Valentines messages to its personal column. All a lovesick reader had to do was ring the London or Manchester office, where "one of our young ladies will make all the arrangements." Photograph: Guardian

A selection of messages from the Guardian's inaugural Valentine personal column in 1975, which ran on page two. Photograph: Guardian

In 1982, the Guardian really went to town advertising their Valentines message service. Other slogans included 'How to get the blood circulating', 'Secret love? Only 1,268,000 others will know' and 'Heart transplants from £6'. Photograph: Guardian

British Telecom advertised special Valentine telemessages in 1983. Photograph: Guardian

Seven Seas also jumped on the Valentine bandwagon in 1983 to advertise their supplements. Photograph: Guardian

This 1983 advert combined two classic 80s brands - Black Magic chocolates and the Ford Capri - to target both men and women on Valentine's day. Photograph: Guardian

In 1992, Interflora targeted men with their Valentine's advertising campaign, though they may have alienated a few female Guardian readers. Photograph: Guardian

By the 1990s Valentine's Day had become clichéd again, as this advert for a home pregnancy test kit from 1993 shows. Photograph: Guardian

The Guardian harked back to February 14th's Victorian roots for its personal column in 1993, bringing the tradition full circle. Photograph: Guardian