No, it isn’t Valentine’s Day once more (coronary heart heavens)! However after I was a visitor on “All Of It” on WNYC final week (with Beth Kleber and Mirko Ilic) speaking about how the present “We [Heart] NYC” brand missed a beat, one caller expressed conviction that the well-known rebus Milton Glaser had produced was the primary use of the crimson coronary heart image in such a context. I attempted to guarantee him that Glaser was referring to an accepted vernacular and standard approach for lovers to put in writing affectionate salutations—typically together with the image for kisses and hugs, XOXO.
The simplified graphic type of a sacred coronary heart was devised round 1415, so when Glaser conceived of the “I [Heart] New York” brand whereas sketching at the back of a taxi cab in 1977, he was probably aware of its ubiquity. Listed below are some early Twentieth-century examples to show the purpose.
