A five-pound Valentine, a cardboard Bing Crosby, and Diana Dors flirting shamelessly with Bob Hope on live television: this was no ordinary greeting card. Made by Raphael Tuck & Sons for a 1956 broadcast, the glittering prop survived with its original footage and family history intact—an irresistible collision of old Hollywood, television comedy, and one very outrageous declaration of love.
A Unique Survivor from the Golden Age of Television
In February 1956, Diana Dors, one of Britain's most famous film stars of the 1950s, appeared on The Bob Hope Show carrying a Valentine so oversized and outrageous that it practically stole the spotlight.
Created especially for the broadcast by British publisher Raphael Tuck & Sons, the elaborate card became the centerpiece of a playful on-air exchange between Dors, Hope, and even a cardboard Bing Crosby.
Most television props from the early days of broadcasting vanished long ago. This one didn't. Carefully preserved for decades by relatives of Bob Hope's cousin, the Valentine remained out of public view before eventually resurfacing through Britannic Auctions.
Nearly seventy years later, the Valentine remains a rare survivor from television's early years, preserving a lighthearted on-air moment shared by Diana Dors and Bob Hope at the height of their fame.
A Valentine Built for Television
At 20.5 by 16.75 inches and weighing nearly five pounds, this was no ordinary Valentine. It was built to command attention, whether from a live studio audience or viewers watching at home on their black-and-white television sets.
The Valentine's surface is lavishly decorated with real tulle fabric, hand-applied glitter, faux fur cuffs, and satin ribbons. Every detail was designed to register on camera, helping the oversized prop pop against the limitations of 1950s black-and-white television.
The front message reads: "My Valentine – Can’t give up HOPE! But – Oh boy! Oh Bing!"
Dors is seen holding a heart-shaped cutout of Bob Hope, with a second dangling heart below featuring Bing Crosby, a tongue-in-cheek nod to their friendly rivalry.
The Surviving Clip: A Rare Look at On-Air Banter
Unlike many 1950s broadcasts lost to time, the full clip from this episode still exists. Better yet, the oversized Valentine seen in the footage survives as well, allowing collectors to connect a physical artifact directly to a documented moment in television history.
During the segment, Hope points at the cutout of Crosby and jokes, "Who is this, the janitor? Is this Bing down here? Should be around the back."
Dors responds: "I couldn’t think of anyone I’d rather give my Valentine to—other than Bing—but you."
She then opens the Valentine to reveal an original hand-painted interior poem, adorned with ribbon and button motifs. Designed to be read aloud, the full inscription reads:
Some Valentines are trimmed with lace,
But mine’s all Buttons and Bows,
For darling Bob is my heart-throb,
And I don’t care who knows!Say, shall we thrill ’em in a new love film?
Oh, tell me you can cope,
Since Bing’s not here to help us, dear—
You are my only HOPE!This is your part—to take my heart,
For all of it is yours!
Play opposite me, because, you see,
It’s you DIAN ADORES!
For Hollywood collectors and historians, that combination is really appealing. Television props, presentation pieces, and celebrity memorabilia often survive without photographs or footage showing how they were originally used. In this case, the surviving broadcast provides a rare opportunity to see the Valentine exactly as audiences saw it in 1956, creating an unusually strong connection between the object and the moment it was created for.
Britannic Auctions frequently encounters collectibles whose stories are preserved through photographs, family records, correspondence, or other supporting material. When those pieces of evidence remain together, they can help transform an interesting object into a far more complete historical story.
Bob Hope and Diana Dors Onstage
By 1956, Bob Hope was one of the most recognizable entertainers in the world. His television specials attracted enormous audiences, and his quick wit made him a natural foil for glamorous guest stars. Diana Dors, then one of Britain's most talked-about film personalities, arrived with the confidence, humor, and screen presence to match him joke for joke.
Their exchange over the oversized Valentine is what makes the piece so cute today. Hope's wisecracks about Bing Crosby and Dors' playful delivery transformed what could have been a simple prop into the centerpiece of a charming comedy routine. Thanks to the surviving footage, collectors can still watch the Valentine perform exactly the role it was created for nearly seventy years ago.
Raphael Tuck's Most Unusual Creation?
Collectors know Raphael Tuck & Sons for their beautifully illustrated postcards, greeting cards, and paper novelties. From holiday postcards to embossed greetings, Tuck's creations found their way into millions of homes and remain highly collectible more than a century later.
That's what makes this Valentine so cool.
Rather than producing something destined for shop counters or stationery displays, Tuck was asked to create a one-of-a-kind prop for a television appearance. The result was part greeting card, part theatrical presentation piece, and part Hollywood memorabilia.
Despite Raphael Tuck & Sons' enormous output, no other example quite like this has surfaced. It appears to have been created solely for this broadcast, making it a fascinating crossover between postcard history, television history, celebrity memorabilia, and vintage paper collectibles.
Collectors interested in Raphael Tuck postcards may appreciate this piece for another reason: it offers a rare glimpse into a side of the company that most collectors never encounter.
From Bob Hope's Family to a New Collector
One of the nicest things about this Valentine is that it wasn't tucked away in a studio warehouse or forgotten in a prop department. It stayed with people who had a genuine connection to the story.
For decades, the Valentine remained with the family of Frank Symons, Bob Hope's first cousin, in Hitchin, Hertfordshire. Even the original fitted case survived, complete with handwritten markings including the word "Hitchin"—a small detail, perhaps, but one that helps connect the piece to the family that cared for it all those years.
The Valentine eventually came to Britannic Auctions directly from Frank Symons' granddaughter. The family's connection to Hope was well documented. In fact, Frank later appeared as a surprise guest on the 1970 UK edition of This Is Your Life honoring Bob Hope.
Collectors love stories like this because they remind us how so many fascinating pieces survive. Not through museums or institutions, but because somebody put them away carefully, held onto them, and decided they were worth keeping.
It's a story Britannic Auctions encounters quite often. Family scrapbooks, old photographs, movie memorabilia, postcards, letters, and other keepsakes frequently resurface decades later when a new generation begins sorting through collections and wondering what stories might still be hiding inside.
The Finds That Keep Collectors Looking
Part of the fun of collecting is never knowing what might turn up next.
A collector following Britannic Auctions might come looking for movie memorabilia and discover an unusual piece of television history. Another might be drawn in by a postcard collection and leave talking about something they never knew existed.
That's part of the appeal. Many of the most interesting items we handle come from long-held family collections and estates, where they've remained out of public view for decades. Every so often, something surfaces that surprises even seasoned collectors.
The Diana Dors Valentine was one of those pieces.
If you enjoy unusual discoveries, forgotten stories, and the occasional collectible that simply makes you smile, consider joining our mailing list and following future auctions. You never know what might appear next.
