Alan Mays' photos with the keyword: vinegar valentines

This vinegar valentine is a postcard that was addressed to H. W. Booser, 13th Street, Harrisburg, Pa. The card was postmarked first in Lewisberry, Pa., and then a second time in Harrisburg, Pa., on Feb. 14, 1908. Although the postcard was sent anonymously with no message or signature, it's possible that the recipient recognized the sender by the postmark or through the handwriting of the address. As it turns out, Harry W. Booser lived at 121 N. 13th Street in Harrisburg, and he worked as a salesman, so the vinegary humor of the card was apparently directed at him. The Salesman His motto is still do or die And he nags you until you must buy. His line is complete And his nerve hard to beat But sometimes he goes on the fly. Signs, etc., in illustration: Office. This is our busy day. Samples. This way out. 85% discount to jobbers. Expense account.

An insulting " vinegar valentine " for schoolteachers. Schoolmistress You teach each little elf More than you know yourself; And talk like a petticoat college; To spank the little boys Is the greatest of your joys; 'Tis thus you preside at the seat of knowledge. For another example of a vinegar valentine, see Wretched Typo the Printer .

An insulting " vinegar valentine " aimed at printers. Printer Lead-colored claws, tobacco-stained jaws, Wretched Typo, you cram up your stick, Drunk today to your sorrow, half sober tomorrow, And then swear you're a regular "brick." Your foreman condemns how you count up your "ems," How you "sub" it at half-price he likes, But the editor only, at his desk groaning lonely, Damns you and your interminable "strikes." For another example of a vinegar valentine, see You Teach Each Little Elf More Than You Know Yourself .

A vinegar valentine postcard dating to the time when "typewriter" (rather than typist) was commonly used to refer to the person doing the typing as well as to the machine itself. Typewriter About grammar and spelling Just nothing you know, And the letters you type Are a scandalous show!

"Don't be a dunce. Try to get a little useful information about things in general." Book title: "Things You Should Know." An example of a "cynical, sarcastic, often mean-spirited" vinegar valentine .

"The Jokemaster. / At cracking jokes you're a wow, / But your wisecracks are old, somehow, / Your jokes are stale, your puns are cheap, / You're so darn funny you make us weep!" A vinegar valentine criticizing those jokesters who tell us, "Listen--here's a new one!," and then proceed to relate a stale old chestnut from Joe Miller 's Joke Book (the first version of the book was published as Joe Miller's Jests, or the Wit's Vade-Mecum in 1739).

"Ye Gilded Boob. / You think that you are: just it, / With your monocle [kid gloves] and ten-dollar hat." A vinegar valentine that pokes fun at pretentious fools. The reference to a "ten-dollar hat" may come from the saying, "He wears a ten-dollar hat on a five-cent head," suggesting that an expensive hat can't make up for a lack of intelligence. For a similar valentine, see Oh! You Lobster .

"Oh! You Lobster. / It's all very fine to wine and dine / A pretty dear sweet little miss / It looks very swell, but will you tell / How it's done on a salary llike this ($10 per)." This vinegar valentine has been personalized with the initials "F.F." for the man, "J.V." for the woman, and "The Biltmore" hotel as the setting for the wining and dining. The early twentieth-century meaning of "lobster" was similar to today's "sugar daddy." For a similar valentine, see Ye Gilded Boob .