Late Courtship. American wit and humor. Courtship -- Caricatures and cartoons. Aging -- Caricatures and cartoons. Premarital sex -- Caricatures and cartoons. The valentine shows a couple kissing. The clock on the wall indicates that it's one o'clock, and a candle burns nearby. His receding hairline and her staid demeanor suggest that they are older than the norm for courtship. Thus, the late courtship is literally late-at-night and possibly an object of ridicule given their ages. Text: As you daintly sip the dews from her lips, / Both time and the hours scorning, / You sit all night in gay delight, / And don't go home 'till morning. Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector. [S.l. : s.n.] [between 1840 and 1880?] Caricatures and cartoons. Comic valentines. digitool:5879 Comic Valentines, 5.38