Featuring vicious, mocking, and cruel illustrations and poems, Manchester Met’s collection of 19th century ‘vinegar valentines’ greetings cards showcase the dark Victorian tradition of sending cards designed to insult and offend.
While Valentine’s Day is usually associated with sending sentimental cards to express love, this Victorian tradition offered an alternative take by sending cards to a disliked recipient to hurt their feelings as shown in the fascinating illustrations from the University’s Special Collection Museum’s Laura Seddon Collection which are on display until February 16.
Featuring vicious and cruel illustrations and poems these harsh cards demonstrate a Victorian take on the modern-day trolling by poking fun at their recipients’ looks, fashion sense, and bad habits.
Special Collections Museum Curator Stephanie Boydell said: “We usually think of Victorian Valentines as being sugary sweet and sentimental, with cards being sent to loved ones. However, there was actually a darker side to this popular celebration with cards being sent to insult or wound the recipient.
“These cards were intended to bring people down a peg or two, or perhaps to let them know that some of their traits were unacceptable and while some cards were amusing others were actually really quite cruel.
“These intriguing cards give a fascinating insight into this dark and bizarre Victorian tradition of the time and we’re extremely proud to be able to preserve and display them here at the Special Collections Museum.”
A common theme of these vicious cards included mocking looks with one reading “A likeness. Look in the glass you’ll see its true” suggesting the recipient is ugly, while another cruelly states, “You are not the belle of the ball dear girl”. Unsavoury caricatures take centre stage with imagery depicting a baboon’s face, a chattering parrot, and a crossed eyed carpenter.
Most vinegar valentines cards feature an underlying misogyny with one card portraying an “ugly wife” dressed too youthfully in her attempt to capture a husband suggesting the recipient has tastes above their station and can only expect to get an “ugly” or “older” wife.
Cruel and mean poems and verses accompany the nasty imagery with one card criticising someone who thinks they have great musical talent, but that opinion isn’t shared by the sender:
You think you can sing and play,
And that you will startle the world some day!
But your “singing” is like a croaking frog,
And your “playing” would kill a rabid dog.
Containing over 32,000 greetings cards, the Laura Seddon Collection is one of the largest and most comprehensive sources for the study of 19th century greetings cards, and holds some of the earliest and rarest examples of commercial cards.
It is part of Manchester Met’s Special Collections Museum, a resource holding over 100 collections and archives from 19th century children’s books to 20th century posters and an international collection of 4,000 decorated papers.
It is currently located at Manchester Met’s library at All Saints campus on Oxford Road and is due to be moved to the University’s new and impressive landmark library development, with building earmarked to start in the summer.
The ‘vinegar valentine’s’ greetings cards are on display in the Reading Rooms at the Special Collections Museum until February 16, 2024.
