Postcard History

Editor’s Staff

Vinegar Valentine Sampler

Have you ever met a mean or nasty postcard collector? I haven’t! (Well, maybe once.) So, if you are a totally kind individual, as most postcard collectors are, you should read this article, but please don’t take anything to heart, none of these are addressed to you. The topic of Vinegar Valentines is popular and several Internet sites have devoted pages to the history of the genre. Claims that vinegar valentines date back to the 1840s suggest that it was then that secret haters would send their victims messages so nasty that they would make people cry. When postcard senders took up the practice of mailing vinegar valentines, the cards were mostly a British and American phenomenon. Most of the vinegar cards showcase an unflattering illustration and a two, three, or four line “poem” that described the recipient and what should become of them. Such nasty lines as:             To the Coquette, “… your goo goo eyes don’t fool me now, We know you’ll never marry” or to the Singer, “That voice of yours is very bad, You’ll never learn to sing.”             To the Poet, “You tell of your feelings in every poem, But what we think is that you’re in need of a good square meal.”             To your Chauffeur, “As a chauffeur you can hardly run a car; but as a grafter, you’re a star. The insults keep coming, for they are anonymous and say things that the sender would never think to utter to someone’s face. Who says, “The world today is a nasty place!” It seems that it’s been so for a long time. Even though Vinegar Valentines are often cruel and mean they are still fun to collect. Postcard History presents the following checklists for the six most popular and easiest to collect series. ONE CAVEAT: these list are not guaranteed – they may be incomplete and the titles may reflect many inaccuracies, but they will provide you with enough information to begin a significate collection. More than 150 cards are listed. *   *   *

Vinegar Valentines by The Rose Company

An Artist Bald Head Bum Actor Chauffeur Dentist Fat Man Fat Woman Fisherman Lovesick Lover Miss Nosey Old Rooster

School Marm Singer Society Cook Tailor The College Girl The Poet The Quack The Social Belle Typewriter Wallpaper Hanger

Vinegar Valentines with Black Borders (by Aurocrome. Signed, Myer)

Car Seat Hog Collector Paper Hanger The Autoist The Amateur Cook The Baker The Bum Artist The Coquette The College Girl The Fat Fellow The Golfer The Inventor

The Large Footed Girl The Lazy Man The Milk Man The Old Girl  The Singer The Stylish Girl The Talker The Walking Delegate The Window Shopper The Wrinkled Girl Le Tord-Boyas*(Fat Man w/wine glass)

Illustrated Postcard Company (Eagle & Shield logo on address side.)

Old Maid The Artist The Athletic Girl The Auto Fiend The Boarding House Mistress The Flirt The Hot-headed Man The Masher

The Overdressed Woman The Poet The College Girl The Salesman The Sportsman The Typewriter The Would-Be Athlete

The Stern Company (copyright 1906)

A Decolette Dame A Poetical Poseur A Question of Taste The College Professor The Doctor The Manicurist

The Old Maid The Much Married Man The Summer Girl The Telephone Belle The Typewriter Girl The Young Bride

Tuck In the early twentieth century (circa 1906 and 1907) Tuck published nearly 600 postcards that were intended as “Valentines.” Much of the artwork was done by G. W. Bonte and other “regulars” from their in-house art department. The “love characters” ranged from infants and angels to hat-pins and butterfly nets. In many cases the captions are “strained” humor, but it has been more than a century since their publication, so it may be that what was funny then, is no more. Three of the Valentines sets go far beyond their routine standard of six-card sets. Those three were twenty-four card sets of Valentine Greetings that fit the definition of “vinegar” cards. They were numbered and titled as follows: Valentine Greetings Series #5 (1905) Example above, The Militiaman. Sold in the United States and Canada in 24-card sets. Valentine Greetings Series #6 (1906) Example above, Lovesick Maid. Sold in the United States and Canada in 24-card sets. Valentine Greetings Series #7 (1907) Set features career characters, example above, “Fireman.” Sold in the United States and Canada. Character titles follow:

Bookkeeper Milliner Conman Policeman Dentist Postal Worker

Doctor Secretary Dress Maker Tailor Drug Clerk Teacher

Fireman Telephone Operator Governess Traveling Salesman Head Cook Tree (of the Blacksmith)

Horse Jockey Waiter Lawyer Waitress Manicurist Woman

Valentine Comic Series No. 1  (Unknown Publisher, Copyright 1906)

Boss of the House Close Fist Cook Cornet Player Haughty Maiden Henpecked Husband The Cigarette Fiend

The Fat Man The Hypocrite The Lovesick Girl The Masher The Saleslady The Shiftless Man The Tobacco Chewer

The example above (left) is from an unknown publisher, but it is numbered as set 2285. It has a divided back and comes from a set with 10 designs. The “POST CARD” is stylized with a quill. The example above (right) is from Whitney Publishing of Worcester, Massachusetts. It has an undivided back. There are twelve in the set. *   *   * So in the end it’s love, no matter what, love is what vinegar valentines are all about. The sender may think the Vin-Val is “getting even” or “revenge” for a deed best forgotten, but if there was no love, accept your fate and find a date. Perhaps the School Marm or the College Professor is available.