Evening star., 1949-02-13
lust Between
Ourselves
BY Philip H. Love

have changed greatly in recent
years Is the attitude of boys and
girls toward the sending of valen-
tines.
Your parents can tell you that
in their school days, only two kinds
Of valentines were in general use:
the "mushy" and the comic" :"
Most boys under Is avoided all but
the most casual association with
girls, lest they be teased by their
pals for being "sissies." And the
girls, for their part. were inclined
to regard the boys as rough
necks."
The standard valentines were
nothing more nor less than elegant
love notes. Only sissies and girls
who were "boy-crazy" sent them,
and the usual signature was
simply. Guess Who?"
The other kind Of valentines.
however. had an enormous sale
among both girls and boys. These
vinegar valentines" as they were
sometimes called. used cruel car
toons and sarcastic rhymes to in
suit enemies and ridicule friends
Of course. Boys
and girls sent them to each other,
and to teachers, neighbors and
others at whom they wished, for
one reason or another. to take
a sly poke.
For the disliked teacher. there
was something like this. illus
trated with drawing of skinny,
prim looking woman with a
tightly-knotted hairdo:
The pupil that you think a Ounce
Is going to tell you. Just this once.
You may think you're quite q brain.
But you're really Just a pain!
The girl or boy who was thought
conceited. or "snooty." was likely
to receive a sketch of youngster
with nose in air. accompanied by
some such rhyme as:
You're stuck up. think you're ,Dise.
But you're dumb and lou In
Others eyes.
And for the grouchy neighbor,
there was a picture Of a mean
looking man or woman admin
istering a terrific spanking to a
wailing boy or girl. The verse
sneered:
At killing joy. you're no slouch:
That's because you're such q
crouch.
Vinegar valentines are said to
have been introduced in 1858 by
New York printer. John McLaugh-
lin. Their popularity rivaled that
of the romantic valentines for
many years. reaching its peak
about 1910. according to the Ma
tional Association of Greeting
Card Publishers. Public taste
gradually turned away from them,
however.
They were, Of course, malicious
and cowardly, rather than comical,
and I, for one, am glad they've
gone out Of style.
But styles have changed, too, in
the other kind of valentines. No
longer are they confined to the
mushy; today. there are wide
variety of designs that young peo-
pie can exchange without being
thought boy-crazy or sissif1ed.
The National Association of
Greeting Card Publishers says the
first valentine was sent AID. 270
by st. Valentine, a young Roman
priest, on the eve Of his execution
for refusing to renounce Chris
tianity. 1t was. the association
says, "a note Of appreciation to
his jailer's blind daughter" who
had brought him food and deliv-
cred messages for him, and was
signed, your Valentine"
Valentines remained messages
Of friendship until the Middle
Ages, when they became romantic.
The oldest one in existence, &C
cording to the association, is in
the British Museum. 1t was writ
ten by the Duke of Orleans to his
sweetheart after his capture by the
English In the Battle Of Agincourt
in 1415.
The association credits Mount
Holyoke College student, Esther
Howland, with publication Of the
first American valentine in 1840.
"She admired a handmade Eng
lish valentine in her fathers sta
tionery store and had copies
printed for the school chums," the
association reports. 1T was Leap
Year, and demand was great. The
venture was an instant success.
Miss Rowland later became a
successful businesswoman, head
ing a publishing firm specializing
In valentines"