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Monday, 9 February 2015

Was Miss Bennett amused?


I'm very happy to say I've never been the recipient of one of these.  According to Wikipedia, these often mean-spirited postcards were first produced in America in the 1840s.  Known as ‘Vinegar Valentines’ they were once very popular among those who liked to tease and poke fun of others.


I can only imagine how Miss Bennett felt when this landed on the mat on Valentines Day 1912.


I sincerely hope Miss Bennett found her Valentine and boxed his ears!
Happy Valentine's Day.

May all your cards be pretty ones.

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46 comments:

  1. WILLIE...! =(^..^)=9 February 2015 at 15:44

    Well! I get Valentine's cards....Oh! Yes!
    Problem....ALL of them are signed...Except
    one. One l've received for the last six years,
    seven, if l get one this year.....Hang on!
    That's six different ones of course...(Willie...
    Your English).
    Do l know who it's from....NO! NO! NO!
    No idea! Knowing my luck, it'll be someone
    looking like the about card! :).
    I keeping hoping it's from Sophia Loren...! Ah!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barbara9 February 2015 at 16:11

      Hi Willie, they are from me and yes; I look exactly like the unfortunate lady in the card (in fact, she is me) how’s that for English? Hehe

      Delete
  2. Kristin_Texas9 February 2015 at 18:08

    Oh my gosh. I've never heard of Vinegar Valentine's before.

    Even though I'm (fill-in-the-blank) years old, I still make all of my mother's cards; Valentine, Birthday, Christmas, etc.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barbara10 February 2015 at 07:38

      Hello Kristin, I’m (fill-in-the-blank) years old too, but I can honestly say I’ve never made a card, or not since I was very young. What a lovely thing to do, your mother must feel very blessed.

      Delete
  3. Three Hoodies Save the World9 February 2015 at 19:04

    My wife always signs her Valentine's cards. Nice thought but not much mystery. That makes me wonder - how many people is she sending them to.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barbara10 February 2015 at 09:11

      I’m sure she only sends to you Roger, but perhaps she is worried you won’t know which one is from her, unless she signs it! :-)

      Delete
  4. Campfire9 February 2015 at 21:21

    I haven't heard of those Valentines before either. Maybe it is the modern version of those sarcastic cards you find about peoples' ages etc?

    I just saw a link to one of your books and instantly recognised the title "Timothy Teddy's Day" ?? My son, Nick had one of those. I noticed it was published in 1967. He was born in 1969. Oh, my, how time flies.

    Thank you so much for your lovely comments on my blog. My latest post is not quite such good writing!!!

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Barbara10 February 2015 at 09:22

      Miss Bennett obviously kept it for a very long time, so it must have meant something to her, or it made her laugh. I'm sure she would have chucked it in the bin if it upset her.

      I found Timothy Teddy’s Day at an antique market in Shepton Mallet. How funny to think your son had one when it was first published, it is quite fragile, so I don’t suppose many copies survived.

      Thank you for your lovely blog, I always enjoy reading everything you have to say.

      Delete
  5. Castles Crowns and Cottages9 February 2015 at 23:15

    Barbara my DEAR! HELLO! I am so happy to see a post from you! I have not seen a lot of people posting lately, and it gives me such great memories of blogging when I do see a post. My goodness, what an odd valentine, for sure! It's a day to honor, to woo, to uplift! I hope my valentines will be lovely and promising!

    How are you? I hope you have had a wonderful time off. May your Valentine's Day be marvelous. HUGS! ANita

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barbara10 February 2015 at 09:46

      Dear Anita, I hope Valentines Day brings you nothing but good things, with love and hugs in abundance. I miss your posts, but it’s lovely to catch up with you here in my humble little corner of Bloggland. Be well dear friend, xxxx

      Delete
  6. Anonymous10 February 2015 at 00:29

    Shall I send you a card??? I'm not going to say........
    But I will wish you a Happy Valentines day

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barbara10 February 2015 at 17:59

      Dear Anonymous, no card required … it’s enough to know you care!
      Happy Valentine’s Day.

      Delete
  7. Marcia Strykowski10 February 2015 at 00:54

    How funny! … or maybe not so funny. Hopefully, Miss Bennett enjoyed the joke all those years ago.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barbara10 February 2015 at 18:01

      Hi Marcia, I think she must have done otherwise she would have torn up the card. Unless she kept it to use against him at a later date! :-)

      Delete
  8. Anonymous10 February 2015 at 01:57

    oh my. They are rather mean, but maybe some people like these. I can see humor in them if they're done as a joke.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Barbara10 February 2015 at 18:10

      Hello Donna, I hope it was sent as a joke, and I hope Miss Bennett found it funny; it would be heartbreaking otherwise. Thanks for coming over, Barbara.

      Delete
  9. Yanting Gueh10 February 2015 at 07:02

    That's a creative name for this sort of cards ~ Vinegar Valentines. I imagine it becoming a romance series. I hope Miss Bennett boxed his ears hard. (Or better yet, stayed aloof and made the man worry if a counter-plot was underway.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barbara10 February 2015 at 18:14

      Hello Claudine, I rather hope she did stay aloof. I’m not sure he was the man for her! :-)

      Delete
  10. Sue Imgrund10 February 2015 at 10:52

    When I first got to Germany, I was a little miffed that my (now) husband didn't seem to know about Valentine's Day. It's catching on a bit more now but I think that one reason it's not such a big deal here is that it usually co-incides with Carnival, which is! In fact, the "vinegar valentine" picture looks remarkably like me on Ash Wednesday when the carnival celebrations are over!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barbara11 February 2015 at 11:20

      I’m sorry Sue I’m afraid I don’t believe you, there is no way you could ever look like that - carnival or no carnival. :-)
      It’s a bit like Halloween that has only really caught on in the UK over the last 30 or so years. It wasn’t celebrated at all when I was a child.

      Delete
    2. Sue Imgrund11 February 2015 at 12:03

      I'll have to take a pic to prove it! Or maybe not. They don't celebrate Carnival with pancakes here, but there are always lots of multi-coloured donuts in the shops!

      Delete
    3. Barbara11 February 2015 at 12:06

      Sorry Sue, I'm sticking to my guns it's just impossible for you to look like that. Enjoy the carnival.xx

      Delete
  11. Shrimpton and Perfect10 February 2015 at 15:15

    Ouch, very cruel.

    Jean
    x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barbara11 February 2015 at 11:33

      It is Jean I would be heartbroken if someone (anyone) sent it to me! x

      Delete
  12. Stephanie@Fairday's Blog10 February 2015 at 15:59

    I had no idea that Vinegar Valentines existed! I would not like to receive one from a valentine. Hopefully she received this from a friend and they both had a good sense of humor. This could be the start of a book! :)

    Happy Valentine's Day to you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barbara11 February 2015 at 11:47

      Hello Stephanie, neither did I – Google is a wonderful thing!
      Maybe you could write the book – I would be happy to donate the postcard as part of the forward.
      Happy Valentine’s Day.
      Barbara x

      Delete
  13. Darlene10 February 2015 at 17:47

    How funny! I hope Miss Bennett did not take it personally. Humour has changed over the years I guess. Have a very Happy Valentine´s Day with your sweetie. XO

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barbara11 February 2015 at 11:53

      I Hope so too Darlene, I’m quite sure I would have taken it personally and would have sulked about it for years! 
      Happy Valentine’s Day I hope all your cards are of the loving kind. xx

      Delete
  14. KC'sCourt!11 February 2015 at 08:02

    I hope she had a sense of humour, I wonder what happened next..............?
    Julie xxxxxxxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barbara11 February 2015 at 12:05

      Perhaps they got married and had kids…but then again, maybe not! xx

      Delete
  15. Anonymous11 February 2015 at 08:24

    Hi again Barbara
    I'm sure Miss Bennett must have been a true beauty, otherwise her beau would never have got away with such a card.
    As you know I'm a newbie at blogging.. How do I add you to my 'blog list'

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barbara11 February 2015 at 13:16

      That’s a love thought Frances, I hadn’t considered that, but I hope you are right.
      I will pop over to your blog and leave a comment to say how I add to my blog list – in the hope that yours works the same way. Barbara

      Delete
  16. Kokila gupta11 February 2015 at 14:52

    My God! Barbara I was about to say something similar to Frances-A Little Bit Vintage !
    ... Yes Miss Bennet must have been a beauty , otherwise ... :P
    Though it was a mean thing to do, I would love to browse through the Vinegar Valentine collection... I might perhaps pick something related to a personality trait instead :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Barbara11 February 2015 at 15:58

    Hello Kokila, it's pretty cruel isn’t it - I think our idea of humour has changed a bit over the years. I just hope Miss Bennett had a chuckle over it and not a tear.
    You would probably find images of other vinegar Valentines on Google. I haven’t looked but there are bound to be some. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Teressa Morris12 February 2015 at 03:46

    I am so glad I never heard of Vinegar Valentines. How rude!! I'm sure there is something similar one can send anonymously via the internet, however.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barbara12 February 2015 at 07:30

      I didn’t know that Teressa, but I’m not surprised – one can do just about anything via the internet. Thanks for calling in, Barbara.

      Delete
  19. Catherine12 February 2015 at 09:24

    Hello dear Barbara. Isn't that a dreadful illustration but so much fun to share it! A lot of the old postcard humour was quite bald & odd, I've found. I'm so glad that there are also so many beautiful Valentine cards & sentiments still around. Happy Valentines lovely friend. Not long now & you'll have bluebells & other lovelies once again : ) Much love Catherine x0x0x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barbara12 February 2015 at 10:30

      Hello Catherine, indeed it is – I would be devastated if someone sent it to me (even though I look rather like the lady in the card!!)
      I’m so looking forward to the bluebells, although at the moment I’m enjoying the snowdrops. The trouble is as soon as spring arrives it will be summer and then autumn and then oh no …winter!
      Happy Valentines Day, I hope you get very spoilt.
      Much love, xxxxxx

      Delete
  20. Intangible Hearts14 February 2015 at 01:53

    Oh I received one of those from Louis in 2nd grade. It said 'Silly Goose will You be my Valentine?" and my parents thought it was the greatest thing in the world. They called me Silly goose all the time after that and thought it was funny. I didn't think it was funny at all. It had a picture of a goose wearing a red bonnet. In fact, my sister just reminded me of the silly goose card. "Do you remember?" She asked. How could I forget?

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Barbara14 February 2015 at 07:49

      Hello Eve, I think the Silly Goose card sounds quite sweet and funny, but I can understand why you as a young girl would not have found it so. Happy Valentines Day.

      Delete
  21. Melancholy and Menace14 February 2015 at 10:47

    Ooh! I've never heard of Vinegar Valentine's but I really need to see more.

    Ha! Brilliant! :D

    I hope you're well, Barbara, and having a wonderful weekend x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barbara14 February 2015 at 17:31

      Hi Yvonne, the BBC shared a whole load today - you can see them here

      http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-31320958?fb_ref=Default

      I bet they got the idea from me! hehe

      Happy Valentines Day, thanks for calling in. Barbara x

      Delete
  22. CraveCute15 February 2015 at 16:05

    Oh How Naughty and Mean! Some people go for that sort of thing even now! They are amusing but not so nice to receive! I hope you had a very Sweet Valentine's Day.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barbara16 February 2015 at 07:48

      It is mean I will be sure to share nice ones next year. Thank you for your Valentines wishes I hope your day was very special. Barbara x

      Delete
  23. Shashi Nayagam24 February 2015 at 22:05

    Hello Barbara. Just getting around to catch up with all the blogs. These post cards are rather naughty. Now a days they do rude stuff for people who like that kind of thing. But it must not be very nice to be at the receiving end.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barbara25 February 2015 at 08:28

      Hi Shashi, lovely to ‘see’ you. It really is a very unkind card, no wonder they were called vinegar valentines. I would have been heartbroken to receive one when I was young, I would probably laugh at it now and say it looks just like me! Thanks for coming over, Barbara.

      Delete

I really appreciate your comment. Thank you!
Barbara xx