A barn swallow dips gracefully through a blush-pink sky at the heart of this richly embossed Edwardian greeting card, encircled by a wreath of four-leaf clovers and ringed by sprays of blue forget-me-nots — every element a deliberate Victorian symbol of luck, fidelity, and affection. The gold-ground border and deep green color fields give the card a jewel-like quality typical of the finest German chromolithograph embossed work of the period, printed before the First World War shut down that trade. Postmarked in Berkeley, California on February 16, 1910 — the day before Valentine's Day — the card traveled to "Miss Alice" at a place listed as "Norcott Valley, Spanish Ranch," a small ranching settlement in Plumas County, California, carrying a warm, chatty message from an apparent friend or family member who mentions a Saturday evening gathering.