Valentine Writers
Before
valentines became a recognized article of merchandise,
lovers were constrained to construct their own.
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Valentine’s Day,
contrary to popular belief, has a legitimate
place in history and was not an imaginary
holiday made-up by modern day advertising
agencies and greeting card companies such as
Hallmark. Although its precise origins are
unknown, we do know that Valentine’s Day somehow
came about centuries ago when one of the most
austere saints in the Christian calendar, St.
Valentine, and the most mischievous god of pagan
mythology, Eros, become all tangled up in the
name and observance of one day in each year, the
14th of February.
In earlier
days, valentines were people selected by some quaint custom,
by whom gifts were interchanged. In the Diary of Mr.
Samuel Pepys, that inexhaustible storehouse of customs
and manners of the middle seventeenth century, we find
almost yearly allusions to the practice of selecting a
valentine. The lady valentines of the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries wore honored, not by anonymous verse,
but by substantial gifts. It was not until the
mid-eighteenth century that it became common practice in
Great Britain to celebrate the romantic day not only with
small gifts, but with handwritten notes. When we look at the
calendar, the date is only 1800 when the manufactured
valentine first began to steal away the early charm of St.
Valentine's Day. |
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Before
valentines became a recognized article of merchandise,
lovers were constrained to construct their own. Materials
for these were a quill pen, a sheet of thick writing paper,
and an acquaintance with the muse of poetry. Failing this
latter commodity, it was essential to have access to the
pages of some obliging little chap-book called a valentine
“writer.”
These
sixpenny pamphlets, such as the Gentleman's New Valentine
Writer or the Bower of Cupid, were especially
prepared for the lover's convenience and provided choice
specimens of poetic verse for almost all the degrees of love
and sentiment that arose on St. Valentine's Day.
Accordingly, the young lover –
who lacked poetic genius – could leaf through these little
booklets and choose among a vast array of
romantic, serious, or sometimes
humorous verses and messages.
The
following verse from The New English Valentine Writer
provides an example: |
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Was there ever an urchin like
Cupid so sly?
Well armed and mounted aloft in the sky;
He wound, and we love, and then off he does fly.
That I have wounded, alas, is too true,
And that I can only be healed by you;
Is likewise a fact. Ah! What shall I do?
I’ll rely on thy pity, dear charmer of mine.
Sure you’ll not break the heart of thy poor
Valentine! |
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Some publications included
verses for the gentleman to send, in addition to “answers”
or acceptances for which the lady could return.
The following verses from
The New English Valentine Writer provide examples of
valentines with “answers” or acceptances: |
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Valentine:
Fate decrees, it must be so,
That you must my passion know.
Know that I am deep in love,
And your kindness wish to prove;
Let me not in vain implore,
For ‘tis you whom I adore;
And with you would live and die,
Think and send a kind reply.
Answer:
I lov’d thee when a boy dressed in thy infant
charms,
And unblam’d clasp’d thee in my tender arms,
I love thee still and do they suit approve,
And wish to enjoy the object of my love.
I long to have thee to myself alone,
Nor fear they censure now my love is known.
Valentine:
If love’s a crime, then I’m a rogue,
For all the passion’s much in vogue;
Cupid’s in fault, ‘twas he that set,
Me thinking about thee my Bet,
Then punish him be easing me,
‘Twill blunt the wanton’s shaft he’ll see;
Perhaps he’ll promise ne’er again,
To give us honest mortals pain.
Answer:
For your passion I’m sorry, but don’t be
enrag’d
When I tell you in earnest I’ve been long
engag’d,
Get what comfort you can, I assure you poor Ned,
It is Dick, and Dick only, shall share half my
bed. |
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"The New Quizzical Valentine Writer" |
These little books were
prepared annually by enterprising booksellers with titles
especially chosen for their alluring sound,
such as the Cupid's Annual Charter and The
School of Love. One pamphlet, Cupid’s Messenger,
claimed to be stored with “sundry sorts of serious, witty,
pleasant, amorous, and delightful letters.” For the less
serious couple, The New Quizzical Valentine Writer
contained a “most excellent collection of all the humorous,
droll, and merry valentines ever published.” |
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Moreover, ladies were provided
with a valentine writer especially designed for their own
needs, called the Every Lady’s Own Valentine Writer,
which boasted “humorous dialogues; witty valentines with
answers; pleasant sonnets on love, courtship, marriage and
beauty.”
The following acrostic verse
is from Every Lady’s Own Valentine Writer: |
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V ain world farewell,
I live for love,
A mbition ne’er my
soul shall move;
L ove is the all of my
desire,
E ach thought, each
wish, it can inspire,
N e’er can wealth my
hopes excite;
T itles are mere
trifles light;
I n a sound there’s no
delight.
N ames, can never joy
assign,
E xcept that of
Valentine. |
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Furthermore, tradespeople had
countless verses for their peculiar use; many valentine
pamphlets provided valentine poems for almost every known
trade or profession, such as the brick-layer, the tailor,
the butcher, or the fishmonger. One will observe the
delicate play upon words in the lines that relate to a
particular occupation. There are puns and double meanings
running through them all, that make them spicy reading
indeed. A verse to a butcher runs as follows: |
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So nice you dress your Lamb and Veal,
My passion I cannot conceal;
But plainly must declare to you,
I wish that you would dress me too.
When at your shop you take your stand,
Your knife and steel within each hand;
I listen to your pleasing cry,
Which sounds so shrill, d’ye buy, d’ye buy.
Now February shows his face;
And genial Spring comes on apace;
Like birds, ah! prithee let us join,
Upon the day of Valentine. |
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The
following doubtful rhymes do not seem to hamper in the least the
sincerity of the poulterer’s emotion: |
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I do wish for my own picking
To 've a delicate sweet chicken:
For thy sake I'll be quite spruce,
Tho' I may lie call'd a goose. |
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The following
grocer's verse is given because of its answer. He sighs: |
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Your breath is all-spice, I declare,
And you're so neat and handy,
That you’re as sweet, I think, my fair.
As plums or sugar candy.
Be favourable, I implore,
These verses kindly weigh;
And if you will my heart restore,
I'll treat you to some tea. |
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The bribe of “some tea” in the last line seems not
sufficient to his “fair,” for she answers scornfully: |
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Your letter I've weighed,
Am truly afraid,
Many pounds you're deficient in weight;
And so, Mr. Grocer,
I'd have you to know, Sir,
I care not a fig for your treat. |
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The verse and answer between the coach-man and the nursery
maid show that valentine writers also provided not so
delicate prose for rejections.
The Coach-Man
to the Nursery Maid: |
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So fond of children you are grown,
I wish you had some of your own,
I think my dear, if you’ll consent,
That I in that could give content;
How charming it would be to see,
A little baby, just like thee;
Say if you like this plan of mine,
As you’re today my Valentine. |
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The Nursery
Maid’s Answer: |
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Pray Mr. Smack drive on, gee-ho,
With me our courtship will not do,
Your face is ugly, but your mind
Is ten times uglier, I find;
I am a girl that’s very nice,
And won’t be bought at your price;
Your Valentine I will not be,
So prithee think no more of me. |
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From the pamphlets and booklets provided especially for
them, it would seem that the ladies and gentlemen of
centuries past set aside Valentine’s Day to sigh, either
anonymously or openly, their unrequited affection. Armed
with a quill pen, gilt-edged letter paper, and a valentine
writer our ancestors celebrated the romantic February
holiday long before the arrival of Hallmark. |
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