A man with a bear's head and a tail holds a rifle., Text: Your presence as a lover, / Right gladly I had hailed; / But that of fair proportions, / You are cruelly cur-tailed., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
A man has enlarged, bat-like ears, and he eavesdrops from behind a partially opened door. The valentine condemns the recipient's eavesdropping. "Little pitchers have big ears" is a colloquialism that means that children are listening., Text: What is it makes the people cry, / Whenever you may be near by, / And say be sure he does not hear, / For little pitchers have big ears., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
A woman in gown with furbelows tilts her nose upwards. The valentine mocks the recipient's social aspirations., Text: O! lofty Miss Highflyer, nose to the moon, / Your fancy outrivals your beauty; / I fear you'd forget your husband too soon, / And fail in a wife's gentle duty., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
The Modern Cupid is a man with large mutton chops, a beard, and small wings holds a string of hearts. The text suggests that he has a financial approach to love. 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: Cupid in whiskers and all-round collar / Is now a sight of every day, / With hearts for sale, (two for a dollar), / And sometimes hearts to give away. / He takes his part in every pageant, / Is for his business tact renowned, / Acts as a matrimonial agent, / And plays the mischief all around., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
A man rides a ram and holds a banner that reads "Friendship, Love, Truth," the motto of the Odd-Fellows society. The initials "FLT" are written underneath him., Text: Ah! now my odd friend, as you're up for a ride, / On your orders, odd emblem, I know very well; / But never, dear Sir, can I be the Bride / Of a man whose order will lead him to h---., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
A woman stands with her arms bent and mouth open so that her posture resembles that of a roaring tiger. Behind her a house cat adopts a similar stance., Text: Not in India's jungles only / Are the Tigers doing ravage, / I would live forever lonely, / Than wed such a hideous savage., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
The valentine shows a woman riding sidesaddle. The border shows cupids and hearts; one cupid shoots a heart out of a thimble cannon labeled "Love"; another cupid travels with a heart in a hot-air balloon; and another cupid hammers at a cracked heart below a heart on a fishhook labeled "Caught." The valentine perhaps suggests that her horsemanship leads to improper contact with men., Text: Oh! proud must be the noble steed / Yon lady fair that carries, / And sensible the swain, indeed, / For her consent who tarries. / Blest be the man who on to horse- / Back daily tosses her up, / Toys with her lovely feet, of course, / And puts it in the stirrup!, Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
A skeleton wears a Union uniform and holds a saw and a bag of surgical tools. A Union soldier bends over behind him., Text: Ho! ho! old saw bones, here you come, / Yes, when the rebels whack us, / You are always ready with your traps, / To mangle, saw, and hack us., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
The Lieutenant wears a blue Union lieutenant's uniform. His hair is white, and his face is dark with either dirt or facial hair. His mouth is open, his eyes are closed, and he spills gin as he marches. Gin has particularly negative connotations in the nineteenth century as the drink of the poor and unvirtuous., Text: Although you're a Lieutenant bold, / With sprouts upon thy chin; / At home you spent your store of gold / To drink a store of gin. / And, as your eyes with drunken lustre shine, / I ne'er can be your Valentine., "513", Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
The valentine depicts a wrinkled woman sitting in front of a mirror. In front of her is a bottled labeled "hair dye." The valentine mocks older single women who dye their hair and portrays them as desperate for matrimony., Text: Now Time has stolen all your charms, / (If any existed not sure am I,) / To win a husband to your arms / Your only resource now to dye., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
A woman wears a gown with a tiered, tapered skirt over a Grecian Bend style of bustle. The Grecian Bend became popular after 1869., Text: "Pray, what's the matter," said a friend to me, / "With that young woman that I see?" / I stopped and looked and calmly said, / "The wits have surely left her head, / But where they're gone there's no telling / Unless you judge by large swelling.", Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
A woman wears a dress with a narrow skirt and train and neither a crinoline nor a bustle. "Rag and tag" refers to the damage done to the trains of the skirts from walking in the streets. Crinolines were out of fashion in the late 1860s, and then bustles were in vogue. Bustles went out of fashion between 1876 and 1883., Text: Devoid of useless crinoline. / She moves majestic as a queen, / In sweeping robe and drooping bonnet / With many a rag and tag upon it., 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.
Two Zouave Union soldiers run among rifles, pistols, cannons, and cannonballs, one of which is marked rum., Text: Zu-Zu, you made a splendid run, / From Bull-Run fight, to Washington. / By Bully Runners e'er so fleet; / Your feats of legs such wonders/ raised, / That every one has stood amazed. / So, Coward Recreant, Renegade, / Your Valentine I'll not be made., Cf. Valentine 11.49 and Valentine 11.50., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
The Irish woman holds a broom, smokes a pipe, and stands by a pig. "Cutty" refers to a short clay pipe, and "broth of a boy" is an Irish colloquialism for a good young man., Text: Arrah, Bridget, Och! hone! bonny Ireland's joy. / Is it you wud be wanting 'A broth of a boy;' / Jist take my advice, stay at home, tend your pigs, / Lilt your songs, smoke yer cutty, and dance yer gay jigs., Variant of 5.21., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
A frowning woman looks in a hand-mirror. The "monarchs...trembling on Europe's thrones" may refer to the Revolutions of 1848., Text: While monarchs are trembling on Europe's thrones, / The Queen of the Uglies need have no fear; / There's none, I'm sure, in these Western zones / Who will ever dispute your title clear., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
The quack doctor has a bird's head and wears a jacket, trousers, and a waistcoat., Text: In man's varied life are many ills -- / You say you cure by Magic Pills; / I would not trust you to a poor sick crow, / And I abhor you for my beau, / Your head is brainless, and with wit doth lack, / You nasty ape, and meddling Quack., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
The valentine shows a fireman straddling a firehose. He smokes a cigar. The sender mocks the recipient's womanizing, drinking, and fixation on fire fighting, and urges him to settle down. "Mose" is the name of the fireman in Benjamin Baker's play New York as it is., Text: Mose loves nothing so well as a fire, / Except it be women and wine; / If I love Mose it is with a desire / To make Mose open his eyes and eye her / Who loves nothing so well as a VALENTINE., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector., Provenance: Baker, Benjamin A., 1818-1890. New york as it is.
A frowning woman wears a yellow gown and holds a small parasol., Text: Full many a fair flower, not half so fair as you, / Has been plucked in early springtime, when fresh with morning's dew, / And you alone, neglected, have been carelessly passed by, / And now, when old and faded, you are left to droop and die., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
The valentine shows a large central female figure, the coquette, and two men standing behind her. She smiles and holds her hands out. The valentine condemns female flirtation and suggests that the outcome will not be marriage., Text: Vain, silly coquette, whose only employ / Is fond loving hearts to offend; / Beware, or ere long the enjoyment will cloy, / And you'll die an old maid in the end., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
A woman with pox marks on her face wears a ball gown. The valentine possibly references sexually transmitted diseases., Text: The marks of every passion base / You plainly bear upon your face / Distorted, vile in every feature, / Indeed you are a loathsome creature., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
A soldier sleeps with his arm around a barrel of lager and a gun resting on him. "Picket guard" means guard duty. His uniform is red and yellow, but his belt is marked "US" suggesting that he is a Union soldier., Text: Who said my lover fell asleep, / Or boozy was with liquor. / He only shut his darling eyes / To hear the Old Rebs the quicker., Cf. Valentine 11.31., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
A man wears a plaid jacket with large sleeves, vest, and pants., Text: What more would have, all plaided and stuffed / Sleeves full dimensioned and puckered and cuffed; / A spectacle spectacled -- good morrow to you, / A sample I pass, for the best Boggs can do., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
A man lies in bed. His arms are up, his feet hang over the bed's edge, and his mouth is open. A chamber pot is visible under the bed., Text: At ten o'clock, you rub your eye's, / And slowly from your warm bed creep, / Or, drowsy asking what's o'clock? / Turn on the other side and sleep., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
A man with a large, pox-marked head holds a bottle of alcohol. He has a scarf tied around his jaw and head. "Pumpkin" is a derogatory term for an important person., Text: How could I even think, to wed / A man who's always drunken; / Who really has so large a head, / It looks like a ripe pumpkin,., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
A man sitting at a table holds a bag marked "50,500." More bags fill a bin on the table marked "CASH." A letter holder is mounted on the wall behind him., Text: You grasping Usurer, you rascally Knave, Master of Wealth, yet still its slave! / For worlds I would not link my name with [thine] : For, gold can't purchase a true / Valentine., Cf. Valentine 4.30., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
Two women and a man sit at a table with tea-cups in front of them, and all three figures hold their hands up and have their mouths open. A cat hisses at the teapot on the floor. The valentine criticizes gossips, particularly those who ruin younger people's reputations., Text: Scandal and slander are what you deal in, / Such ghosts as you are without soul or feeling: / With serpents' tongue youth's hopes you sell, / You'll get your just deserts in h--l., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
A woman closes the door in the face of a woman caller., Text: Though nought in face or form you're needing, / Nor none more handsome ever was, / You're ugly still, through lack of breeding; / For "pretty is as pretty does.", Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
The miser holds a fork with a fish on it over a fire. Next to the fire are a small sauce pan and toasting fork. A cat stands behind the chair., Mean, snivelling, sneaking, garret-bred, / Cat-lick'd, and shotten-herring-fed: / What right can such a thing as you / Presume a woman's love to woo? / Starve where you may, this picture see, / Poor drivelling knave, you don't starve me., Cf. Valentine 10.27., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector., Provenance: De Marsan, H. (Henry), publisher.
The doctor stands in profile, holding a bottle labeled "mercury." He wears a top hat, trousers, and a coat with tails, and a large syringe hangs from his trousers., Text: All sickness and ills, you say, you can cure / By your all-healing garble and pill; / You relieve them from pain : of this I'm quite sure; / For, if you can't cure, you can kill., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
The Union officer stands with his feet crossed and his hand on his hip. He holds one of his mutton chops, which are long and curled., Text: Oh, gallient officer, / With air so complacent, / With whiskers a la mutton chop, / And general [air] so dacent [missing word]-- / I'm sure I could not wed with thee, / For I'd never do my duty; / What could I do the live-long day, / But gaze upon thy beauty?, Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
A woman sleeps with her head cradled on her hand. A shirt rests on her lap. Another woman sews a shirt in the background. The text suggests that she's dreaming of her lover., Text: Gentle shirt maker, who would forsake her? / Still as she sews she must reap; / She dreams of the lover that new shirt will cover, / And marries him in her sleep., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
A man in a black suit smirks and holds a flower over a grave with an unmarked gravestone. Two woman stand behind him., Text: Vain pretender, put off thy badge of woe; / For, well we know, if you were only able / To cach [i.e. catch] a wife, the funeral baked meats / Would coldly furnish forth the marriage table., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
A woman wears an enormous skirt with furbelows., Text: Expansive! expensive! extensive! exuberant! / Skirts, more than the city's outskirts, protuberant! / Not only the height of the fashion has come to this, / But the breadth of the fashion is Crinoline bliss., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
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 man with a dog's head stands with straight posture in front of a table with a puppy on it. "Puppy" is slang for "dandy." Steel collars were used to straighten children's posture, and "brass collar" means a partisan with unwavering political allegiance. The valentine mocks the recipient for being more concerned with improving his posture and appearance than with politics and loyalty. 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: In this inventive age / Steel collars the rage / For "gents" who are decidedly hard-up; / But it strikes me there's a class / For worn collars made of brass / Would be fitter -- and you're one of them, you Pup!, Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
A woman holds up her arms and screams at the sight of a bug dangling in front of her. She wears a fashionable gown with a low-cut and very narrow bodice. The text suggests that the woman is not scared of physical intimacy and marriage., Text: You'll rush with fright from a harmless bug, / Which the wind has near you carried; / But yet you don't fear a good, stout hug, / Nor tremble at getting married., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
The rum-seller stands at a bar and holds a decanter and a glass. He smiles, and a man smiles in the background. "Tin" is slang for "money.", Text: With a gay smiling face or with a sly wink, / Always ready to deal out something to drink: / Smashes, cocktails, and juleps, rum, brandy or gin, / It's no matter what: you want the Tin., Cf. Valentine 9.17., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
A soldier wears a red coat with epaulets, a belt marked "A", and tall black hat. He carries a rifle with a bayonet. His spine is curved, and he pushes out his stomach., Text: Though you try to look bold in your fixins so gay, / As you strut around the streets I hear the folks say, / If to war he should go, and they made an attack, / He would surely come home with a ball in his back., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
A man with prominent teeth wears a frock coat, waistcoat, and trousers. "Loathsome weed" refers to tobacco., Text: There you stand with mouth all reeking / With the juice of loathsome weed, / Shocking every ear when speaking. / In all vileness taking the lead., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
A Union soldier rides a horse with his feet are out of the stirrups, his scabbard empty, and his mouth open and frowning., Text: Go it, skedaddler, what a queer sight, / To see a brave (?) soldier run off from a fight; / Whenever you hear there's a sign of a battle, / Your kneepans and toes together do rattle. / The best friends you have they are now getting soured, / On seeing you are such an absolute coward., "518", Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
A man with a pig's head reads a poster, which states, "GREAT VALENTINE DEPOT/ THE FAT HOG," and has a picture of a hog on it. He carries a walking stick with a man's head carved on the top., Text: You are the very antidote to love! / A man of taste undoubtedly you prove; / But 'tis of dinners, Hog, and that you know full well, / And if a wife you choose, 'twill be-- a dinner bell(e)? / Upon my word, I'd give a dollar bill, / To know the jade that sent this Valentine; / The saucy minx, she says I'm sour as swill, / She won't be good for a pig's head like mine., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
A woman holds out her infant and smiles. The infant holds a knife and a doll., Text: From early dawn, you love to walk, / And play, and prattle baby talk; / You think that never other lady, / Had half so nice a little baby., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
The woman carrying a small red parisol wears a gown with large yellow skirt with furbelows., Text: Yes, there she is; and it's no use talking, / I've seen the Devil in the street walking; / I thought they were chain'd in bonds superhuman, / This is hooped up just like a woman., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
The lady of the house wears a fashionable gown and holds her head at a haughty angle. Behind her, another woman washes clothing in a large tub. The woman at the washtub is probably the employee of the lady of the house. The valentine mocks the woman's social pretensions as unjustifiable given her role as someone who minds a stand (i.e., works in a small commercial enterprise)., Text: The lady of the house, so grand, / With head stuck up, and airs refin'd, / She quite forgets that little stand, / Which all day long she had to mind., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
Slouching, the raw recruit, wearing a Union uniform, carries a gun and a rucksack., Text: Among the verdant I've e'er seen / I think you are most jolly green / And if in Dixie horesmen [i.e., horsemen] meet you / I think by gum, some horse would eat you., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
A man wears an open red shirt, apron, and a top hat with a brick on it. His apron has a triangular symbol of freemasonry on it. He sticks out his tongue and holds a leveling triangle and bricklaying trowel. "Morgan" refers to William Morgan, whose disappearance in 1826 fueled the Anti-Masonic movement. The valentine criticizes free masons for profligacy and neglecting their duties to their children., Text: Go, you poor devil of Morgan fame, / Closet yourself up to hide your shame, / Spend all your money like a poor drone, / Leaving your little ones starving at home., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
The gambler holds a billiard cue and stands in front of a billiard table. Three other male figures are in the background., Text: Oh! vain moustache-lounger, just look here, / You seem a specimen of human kind-- / But now alas! I tell you most sincere, / You lack that greatest quality-- the mind / The billiard cue-- the spectacle, and all, / Denote that you in games are hard to beat; / But in the game of love there is a call, / No long-ear'd vagabound, like you, can meet., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
The woman wears an equestrian outfit, including a hat, high-necked blouse, and gloves. She holds a horse whip. A "hobby horse" is a child's toy, and it implies that her horsemanship is poor., Text: Each being has its "hobby," / Some better and some worse; / And you are no exception, / Yours is a hobby horse., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
Clad in a skirt with yellow furbelows and a bonnet, the woman carries a parasol., Text: On the back of your head a neat little bonnet, / A great wide spreading skirt, with furb'ows on it, / Your pride is in dress, but, really, you somehow, / Just put me in mind of a doll, on a hay-mow., Cf. 1.8., Provenance: McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, collector.
