The valentine depicts a man with "impudence" on a band across his forehead. His cheeks are puffed up, and he holds a bag labeled "gas" to his mouth., Text: You've an impudent brow, / A face full of brass; / No cash in your pocket, / And puff'd up with gas., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
A woman has a bell for a head and a long bell-clapper for a tongue. The sender criticizes the recipient for talking excessively., Text: Ding, dong, all the day long, / Your tongue is not quiet a minute; / No wonder it is that it rings like a gong, / For we know that your head has nought in it., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
A woman wears a cracked bell as a bonnet, and her tongue is the bell's clapper. The border features matches, a heart-shaped beet, and cherubs playing tennis and tug o' war. The label on the matchbox reads "Red-headed matches go off easy," and the beet is marked "D.B." [i.e. "dead beat" or "dead beet"]., Text: Oh! you're a bell (without the e) / All tongue, and brass, and clatter, / A ring exchanged with you would be / A very serious matter. / Dinnerless I would go, for a long spell, / Rather than be rung in by such a bell!, Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
The belle's dress is bell-shaped. She carries a parasol. The valentine uses slang, and it emphasizes that the belle is very talkative and uses such slang., Text: My parents named me Is-a-bel, / And fashion says I be a belle; / My clatt'ring tongue thumpbump pell-mell, / The same to every ear will tell; / Now see my flounces cut a swell, / Now hear the jingle, ding, dong, bell., Cf. Valentine 8.37 and Valentine 12.34., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
The belle wears a red shawl and skirt with furbelows. She carries a tiny parasol, as large umbrellas were unfashionable. The valentine criticizes the belle for being too talkative., Text: Though beautiful, and formed to please, / Fair, witty, charming, gay, and young,/ I can't forget while thus I gaze,/ That every bell must have a tongue., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
A "nasty man" stands with his hands in his pockets. He spits in a long, thin line., Text: Pah! keep your distance, a man so disgusting, / So foul in his person, so rude in his tongue, / Cannot be the one that I'll put a trust in; / Go back to the dunghill whence you sprung., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
A woman's very long tongue encircles her body. It reads: "You ought to hear all I've got to say! You'd open your eyes!" The valentine satirizes women who gossip., Text: Of all the evils flesh is heir to, / A long tongued woman is the worst to swear to; / What with scandal and story, and malice and wrong, / She keeps the lie moving all the year long. / Never so happy as when her words wound-- / Never so unhappy as when the truth is found: / May my fate ne'er be cursed by such a tongue as thine! / I'd rather have a blast furnace to be my Valentine., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
A woman with an oversized head leans over a smaller man with her index finger raised in the air. Her mouth is open and her tongue is out. The man has a papers labeled "Tracts" in his pocket and a book labeled "Bible" has fallen on the floor. The valentine criticizes her for exhausting others and monopolizing the preacher's attention., Text: ‘Tis said you loved a Parson, / And he was short of breath; / You cornered him so well one day / You talked him right to death. / Now, when they hear you’re coming, / It makes them wince and frown; / The seek the nearest depot, / And take the train from town. / I pray thee stop, and have some pity, / Or we won’t have a preacher in the city., Provenance: Helfand, William H..
Two women gossip over a wall., Text: Think not, Miss Tittle tattle, to impart / One ray of pure affection to my heart, / A wedding ring from me no one shall handle, / Whose sole delight is gossiping and scandal! / You stupid minx, you mischief-making slut, / Your silly head you in a bag may put, / For as a wife you never sure will shine, -- / You’ll ne’er be chosen for a Valentine., Lloyd, signed by Pickering, Provenance: Helfand, William H..
A woman holds a pair of tongs. Her face is creased, and she frowns. The sender suggests that the recipient's appearance and behavior make her an appropriate wife for the devil., Text: A scolding tongue, a vicious mind, / A face the counter part of evil, / In you we find are all combined, / To make a fit wife for the -----., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
The woman with the "corkscrew tongue" is shown wearing a yellow and red gown, bonnet., Text: Beware of woman, both old and young; / I once had a wife with a corkscrew tongue. / Whenever we disagreed, you see, / she run the 'unruly member' through me, / Cutting me up, stomach and heart -- / 'Twas an awful BORE, and we had to part. / 'Twas an ex-screw-tiating divorce, / But the corkscrew left me no other course. / I send you this, as a warning, in time / To unscrew your long tongue, if you'd have a Valentine., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
