loved ones of hints from secret admirers.
But in the 19th Century, some Valentine's cards contained a vicious sting - with sarcasm and obnoxious captions
designed to upset and humiliate,
They were often swapped by estranged couple or simply posted to those who had somehow annoyed the sender.
I DARE SAY YOU'VE HAD YOUR MOMENTS, DREAMING OF A MAN,
BUT I SIMPLY CAN'T SEE YOU GETTING ONE,
WITH SUCH A FUNNY PAN!
They were sent anonymously and, prior to the introduction of the Penny Black stamp in 1940, it was the
appalled recipient who had to pick up the cost of the postage. Several of the cards, which prompted complaints
to the Post Office, are held by the British Postal Museum and Archive in North London.
One dated 1817, which would have been sent by a woman, shows a caricature of a man bent double and has
the caption; 'thy crescent back, like needy jack, Hampers so fit to carry. That's if all men were like thee - then
I'd sooner die than marry.'
Others believed to have been produced in the 1820s even suggested the recipient's partner had been up to no
good. One which shows a businessman returning home only to catch sight of his wife embracing her lover states:
'"To darling wife he hastens home. He thinks she sits and lines alone,"
Another casts doubt on the morals of a maidservant by implying that she waits for her mistress to retire to bed
so she can entertain a male cousin in the kitchen. The card has a picture of a retiring mistress in the front and
one on the inside a picture of the maid and her cousin enjoying a meal
