The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1896-02-08

ture Of jackass labelled This Is You
when Il Is received on the day sacred
10 lovers tokens.
Mr.. Howard tells me that these yalen-
tines are all directed TO the pictorial
exhibition OF some human fault or folly,
II they were confined TO any other neid
he might find II difficult TO draw as
many as 900 in a single year.
A considerable number Of the valen-
tines intended for women satirize &C.
centricities OF fashion. This winter
there is a great field for that sort OF
work In the prevailing style OF capes.
The preposterously broad and stiif
shoulders with their convoluted edges
turned up, make woman look like the
head OF John the Baptist on a charger.
Mr.. Howard tells me that he has triec
20 exaggerate the absurdities OF this
kind OF cape and has failed.
Il can't make IL look worse than !,
really does when see II on the street,
he said, and so have to make up Tor
IL by drawing a cross-eyed woman IN
side the cape. The worse the face looks
the better the valentine sells. | should
think il would make a poor girl VINO
had put all her cash into one of those
capes feel pretty good to be tenderly
remembered with one of these cape
valentines on the 14th. l understand
that they are already in great demand
which shows the state of envious re-
sentiment among the girls who are
wearing their last winters capes.
Passing to mems attire, the dude in
caricature Of this order has changed
very little in the past five or six years
In this connection the artist told me
one of the toughest experiences that
ever heard. 1t appears that he once
drew a particularly offensive dude val
entine. The absolute idiocy of the
countenance which he put on the dude
left nothing whatever to be desired
OF course, there were many other dude
caricatures that year, but this was the
most offensive by long odds. 1t hap
pened that a young man OF Mr.. How
ards acquaintance got three valentines
that year from three different cities,
and every one of his unknown admirers
picked out this identical valentine.
What could a man think under such
exceptional circumstances except that
there was a distinct resemblance be-
tween himself and the fellow in the pic
ture? 1t must have been deeply de-
pressing. ! learn from Mr.. Howard
that this gentleman did not commit sui
eide, but he would have committed
murder under favorable conditions.
One of the most successful valentines
ever sent out was entitled The Slug
gard" 1t represented a man in bed,
\ pair of naked and gigantic feet hung
over the footboard, which was in the
foreground: and the sun, with smile
of derision on his countenance, was
seen looking in through an open win
a philosophical spirit as sample OF
what is considered rare joke by many
thousands of persons. Perhaps the
richest thing-if popular applause be
the criterion-in the line of comic val
entines for women was a picture en-
titled Going to Seed" 1t represented
a particularly Unconditional plant in
large red flower-pot, and the flower was
the typical head of an old maid. Thou
sands upon thousands of these were
sold, and they served, doubtless, to en-
bitter the thoughts of corresponding
of women who ought rather TO
have been congratulated. While many
of these valentines are used in malice,
the real reason why they sell is that the
people think that they are funny.
There's a very deep theme. l have