The valentine shows a female figure whose neck and torso are a cabbage. Cabbage refers to the material leftover from making a garment. The valentine suggests that dressmakers steal it to make their own clothing., Text: Of all our modern goddesses / None greater is than she; / Who o'er the robes and boddices / Rules arbitrarily., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
A tailor with a cabbage on his back rides on a goose holding a pair of shears. "Goose" means a tailors iron, and "cabbage" refers to the fabric leftover from making a garment. Cabbage belonged to the customer, but the valentine accuses the tailor of stealing it., Text: Tailor behold the future ride / That will you one day betide / Upon a Goose you mounted are / Yourself the GREATEST Goose by far; / Slung around your neck is seen / The CABBAGE pilfered from the GREENS, / In your hand a pair of shears / To cut Imp's tails when they appear., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
The bar-keeper reaches for coins on the bar, presumably payment for the beer a customer is holding. In the background, two women carrying plates and beverages look on. A clock on the wall indicates that the time is shortly before seven o'clock. The text suggests that bar-keepers steal from their employers., Text: I know a Bar-Keeper for a long time, / And to his honor I shall write this rhyme. / We all know that he does well understand / To make long fingers and a crooked hand; / And so, they say : this is the way the money goes: / A shilling always for myself and six cents for my Boss!, Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
A man stands behind a counter wearing an apron, with his hands in his pockets. On the other side of the conter another man holds upa set of balances and says "False, Sir.", Text: Tho’ in butter cheese, and such as these / You deal, your CONDUCT’s not the CHEESE / They say the buyer never fail / To find ‘gainst him you turn the scale. / By such tricks you rob the poor, / Untill the jury at your door, / Finds you out and prove too late, / We cannot trust a man of WEIGHT. / Measures not men’s a motto fine, / Then an honest! Thief shall ne’er be mine., Provenance: Helfand, William H..
A Union soldier holds a pig, a chicken, and two geese., Text: It's a fact undisputed, you're a soldier boy bold, / And there's no doubt of your kindness of feeling, / We give you our thanks on a cold winter's night, / While we feast on your pickings and stealing., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
A thin Union soldier in a ragged uniform stands entreating a stout Union soldier in a well-kept uniform., Text: You fat old cuss, give us our grub, / You have our cash to feed us, / You're paid to keep us in good trim, / And not to sponge and bleed us., Variant of 13.20., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
A thin Union soldier in a ragged uniform stands entreating a stout Union soldier in a well-kept uniform. The valentine accuses the recipient, a quartermaster, of theft and misappropriation., Text: You fat old cuss, give us our grub, / You have our cash to feed us, / You're paid to keep us in good trim, / And not to sponge and bleed us., Variant of Valentine 8.47., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
