Vinegar Valentines: The Victorian Era's Cruel & Mocking Anti-Love Cards

• Vinegar Valentines were mocking cards from the Victorian era, designed to shock and offend recipients, often sent anonymously.
• These cards, considered 'ephemera' by historians, were not meant to last but some have been preserved in institutions like the New York Public Library.
• Examples include jabs at obnoxious sales ladies and pretentious poets, highlighting their use for social commentary.
• The anonymous nature could have dangerous consequences, as seen in an 1885 case where a man shot his estranged wife after receiving one.
• Vinegar Valentines targeted the 'pompous, vain, and conceited,' and later suffragettes, enforcing social norms and gender roles, a spirit echoed by modern internet trolls.