Back in the Victorian era, if you were a romantic, you were known for your skillful writing and open heart. However, if you were one of the unlucky ladies or gentlemen who didn't have someone to love them, you more than likely received this sort of backhanded card on Love Day...
These cards were typically sent anonymously, so you had to figure out who had it out for you. Furthermore, the recipient had to pay for the postage, which is just further twisting the knife. In Civil War Humor, Cameron C. Nickels described the cards as “tasteless, even vulgar,” and were sent to “drunks, shrews, bachelors, old maids, dandies, flirts, and penny pinchers, and the like.”
The women's suffrage movement of the 1920s also brought on a new trend of Vinegar Valentines. They were targeted towards outspoken women who were petitioning for the right to vote, and the cards were meant to discredit and mock their efforts.
