While I didn't have the money to collect the
Funny Valentine cards when they were first issued, I've been a big fan of them ever since. Here are scans of my wrappers from the above two
Funny Valentines sets:
1959
A 1960
And here's the display box O-Pee-Chee used in Canada:
I also have the original art to one of the cards from the 1959 release which is hanging on the wall in my collectibles den:
Topps followed up these regular sized card issues with a
Giant Funny Valentines set in 1961:
Topps then reissued the Giant Funny Valentines in 1966 or 1967 with darker red backs and O-Pee-Chee followed suit in Canada using grey instead of white car stock. Here's a side-by-side comparison of a Topps back on the left and an O-Pee-Chee back on the right:
I've completed the previous sets but I still need most of the cards from the 1966(1967?) Topps issue and cards #8 and #44 from the 1966(1967?) O-Pee-Chee issue. Here's the 1966(1967?) Topps wrapper:
The artwork for the
Funny Valentines cards was done by legendary illustrator Jack Davis who did a lot of work for Topps including the fabled
You'll Die Laughing set from 1959:
Plus the backs of the 1960-61 Hockey cards:
Jack Davis is also well known for his artwork in the EC stable of publications,e.g.
Mad magazine:
He also illustrated 23
TV Guide covers and 25
Time magazine covers:

(
Time magazines not mine.)
Best of all is perhaps the cover he did for
Creepy 1: