Groom Vinegar Valentine

England, 1870. Very good. Light toning.. A pocket-sized vinegar valentine poking fun at vanity, with an image of a groom with the following rhyme: "Here's a raw conceited groom, And yet I'm sure he has no room, For such an ugly grinning ape Ne'er was seen in human shape". Measures approx. 5.5" by 3.75", with blind stamp of previous owner to second leaf. Printed in red and black. Vinegar Valentines (sometimes called Penny Dreadfuls, not to be confused with the identically named cheap serial literature of the same period) were most popular in the Victorian era, and were usually sent anonymously and with a bit of a mean-spiritedness to someone you were not fond of.