Alan Mays' photos with the keyword: flirtation cards

An acquaintance card dating to the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. If you look closely, you'll see that the printer mistakenly used a "u" instead of an "n" to spell "and." I had to read through the text a couple of times before I even noticed the error. Confidential Miss: If you desire to form my acquaintance, please state time and place on blank space.

The last line on this amusing acquaintance card refers to a song, "Any Old Place I Can Hang My Hat Is Home Sweet Home to Me," which was published as sheet music in 1901 and recorded on phonograph cylinder in 1902, making it likely that the card dates from sometime in the early 1900s. For more cards, see my album of Acquaintance Cards . For information about my book of detachable acquaintance cards, head over to my Flickr About page L. M. Arnold, Sand Patch, Pa., R.F.D. No. 1 Let's get acquainted. Capital 50 millions in my dreams. Not married. Stick to me and you will wear diamonds, Kind regards to friends and knockers. Out for a good time. Any old place I hang my hat is my home sweet home.

The notion that men and women could use handkerchiefs to secretly signal their romantic intentions may seem far-fetched, but that's the idea behind this "Handkerchief Flirtation" list. In fact, using hankies to flirt seems downright dangerous. You might accidentally drop your handkerchief on the floor and end up telling the wrong person, "We will be friends." Or even worse, you could draw your handkerchief across your cheek as you blow your nose, inadvertently saying, "I love you." Despite the potential for miscommunication, flirtation lists like this circulated widely in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In addition to handkerchiefs, you could supposedly also use flowers, gloves, parasols, hats, cigars, pencils, and even buggy whips and handheld fans for covert courtship. For further discussion of these secret flirting methods, see the following: Esti Brenna, From the Stacks: Victorian Courtship and the Language of the Fan , Clements Library Chronicles, June 6, 2012. "Unfortunately, the fan language--and other, similar codes like the language of the handkerchief and the language of the parasol--were largely the result of advertising campaigns meant to popularize and sell accessories. There is little evidence that the fan language was ever in widespread use, though the concept was satirized by several writers in the 18th and 19th centuries." Natasha Frost, The Victorian Cards That Explained How to Use a Book to Flirt , Atlas Obscura, March 23, 2018. A "Book Flirtation" card and other alleged flirting techniques. (Full disclosure: I'm quoted in this article, and it includes some of my calling and acquaintance cards .) Handkerchief Flirtation Drawing across the lips—Desirous of an acquaintance. Drawing across the eyes—I am sorry. Taking it by the centre—You are too willing. Dropping—We will be friends. Twisting in both hands—Indifference. Drawing across cheek—I love you. Drawing through hand—I hate you. Letting it rest on right eye—Yes. Letting it rest on left cheek—No. Twisting in the left hand—I wish to be rid of you. Twisting in the right hand—I love another. Folding it—I wish to speak with you. Over the shoulder—Follow me. Opposite corners in both hands—Wait for me. Drawing across the forehead—We are watched. Placing on the right ear—You have changed. Letting it remain on the eyes—You are cruel. Winding around forefinger—I am engaged. Winding around third finger—I am married. Putting it in the pocket—No more at present.

A unique acquaintance card. Albert W. Colter Way down in my heart I've got a feeling for you. May I see you home this evening. I don't smoke, chew, drink, tell lies, go with other girls, or break dates. I part my hair in the middle, crease my pants on the side, and shine my shoes in the front.

"Dear Miss, I will risk everything depicted here if you will permit me to see you as far as the gate. Yours very truly."

A unique combination of a business card on one side and an acquaintance card on the other. For another two-sided example, see Acquaintance Compliments with Confidence and Respect , which has a name—like a calling card—on one side and the text of an acquaintance card on the other. For more cards, see my album of Acquaintance Cards . For information regarding my book of detachable acquaintance cards, which was published recently by Clarkson Potter, see my Flickr profile page . O. M. Dolley Livery Both 'phones. Horses and carriages furnished for business or pleasure at reasonable rates. 21 Water Street, Auburn, N.Y. Typographical Union Label, Auburn. Let's Get Acquainted Capital, 10 millions in my dreams. Not married, 1906. Kind regards to friends and knockers. Out for a good time.

"Dear Miss, I very much desire the pleasure of your acquaintance and your company home this evening. If agreeable please keep this card, if not kindly return it. Yours truly, ________." See also Fair Lady, I Send You This Beautiful Chromo with My Compliments (below) and my Acquaintance Cards album for additional examples.

"Fair Lady, I send you this beautiful chromo with my compliments. If I may be the happy youth on the promenade, please retain it. If I must suffer misery on the fence, be so good as to return it. Yours truly, ________." See also Dear Miss, I Very Much Desire the Pleasure of Your Acquaintance (below) and my Acquaintance Cards album for additional examples.

For more information, see The Ghost Card, or the Skeleton on the Wall (below). For the back of the card, see Whip and Fan Flirtations (below).

A novelty card with instructions for experiencing a ghostly afterimage of a "skeleton on the wall." For a vertical view of the skeleton, see a rotated version of the card (below). The other side contains a list of Whip and Fan Flirtations (below). For other cards that use the afterimage effect, see Hank Keene's Magic Picture and Lasting Impressions . The Ghost Card, or the Skeleton on the Wall Directions . Select a small black spot on a white wall, or white sheet—a spot that you can find again at once; let this spot be in a deep shadow . Then holding the card in the hand gaze intently on the eye of the skeleton, while the light falls brightly on the card. Keep the eyes on this one spot without moving or winking for two minutes; then suddenly look at the spot on the wall for two minutes. Keep the eye very steady in both cases, you will then see distinctly the same skeleton on the wall. For a parlor entertainment this is one of the grandest things ever witnessed.

Flirtation lists like the ones printed on this card also circulated in books, newspapers, and other media in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. These lists suggested that common objects like buggy whips and handheld fans could be used by men and women to secretly signal their romantic intentions, but the coded gestures really seem too complicated for easy communication. Flowers, handkerchiefs, gloves, parasols, hats, cigars, and pencils were other items allegedly employed for covert courting. For more on flirtation cards and acquaintance cards , see " When 'Flirtation Cards' Were All The Rage ," an article by Linton Weeks on the NPR History Dept. blog. See The Ghost Card, or the Skeleton on the Wall (below) for the other side of this card. Whip Flirtation Holding stock in left hand and lash in right—Desirous of an acquaintance. Holding the same, and placing center against the waist—I am sorry. Holding in left hand by center—Will you bathe with me? Lash in right hand, stock down—I love you. Same in left hand—I hate you. Taking in both hands by center—I love another. In center, hands crossed—We are watched. Right hand in center, left on lash—Yes. Left hand in center, right on lash—No. Butt against right eye—I am engaged. Against the left eye—I am married. Holding it with the left hand against the right shoulder—Follow me. In right hand against left shoulder—Wait for me. End in each hand, center bent down—You are cruel. Same, with center up—You are too willing. Winding lash around forefinger—Repeat your last signal. Fan Flirtation Carrying in right hand in front of face—Follow me. Carrying in left hand in front of face—I wish to be acquainted. Placing on right ear—You have changed. Twirling in left hand—I wish to get rid of you. Drawing across the forehead—We are watched. Carrying in right hand—You are too willing. Twirling in right hand—I love another. Closing—I wish to speak to you. Drawing across eyes—I am sorry. Resting on right cheek—Yes. Resting on left cheek—No. Open and shut—You are cruel. Dropping—We will be friends. Fanning slowly—I am married. Fanning quickly—I am engaged. Handle to lips—kiss me. Shut—you have changed. Open wide—Wait for me. Drawing through hand—I hate you. Drawing across cheek—I love you.

A-La-Mode Fair One: 'Tis balmy eve, and gentle zephyrs blow With mildness seldom seen of late. If you'll permit me, I would like to go And see you safely to the garden gate. Illustration: Yum Yum. Scene at the gate. This is an example of a Victorian-era acquaintance card , which was also referred to in the nineteenth century as a flirtation, escort, or invitation card. The Encyclopedia of Ephemera (New York: Routledge, 2000), p 4, provides this definition: "A novelty variant of the American calling card of the 1870s and 1880s, the acquaintance card was used by the less formal male in approaches to the less formal female. Given also as an 'escort card' or 'invitation card,' the device commonly carried a brief message and a simple illustration.... Flirtatious and fun, the acquaintance card brought levity to what otherwise might have seemed a more formal proposal. A common means of introduction, it was never taken too seriously." Here's CNN's take on acquaintance or escort cards: "So, may I see you home? In the late 19th century, Americans exchanged cheeky personalized cards to start a romance. Call them the ink-and-paper Tinder. Escort cards helped people find intimacy while breaking the strict conventions of social interaction." That's the description of a video that appeared on CNN's Great Big Story today (February 12, 2016). The short piece (1:25) uses reproductions of my collection of acquaintance cards (see my complete set on Flickr or the ones I've posted on Ipernity so far ) to present The 19th Century Tinder: Welcome to the Racy World of Escort Cards over on YouTube (don't miss my acknowledgement at the end of the video ). For those who may not be familiar with the sometimes naughty Tinder , Wikipedia calls it a "location-based dating and social discovery application (using Facebook) that facilitates communication between mutually interested users, allowing matched users to chat." So, were acquaintance or escort cards--like the one above--the nineteenth-century equivalent of Tinder, as the video suggests? I don't really think that formally dressed Victorian men and women secretly gave each other cards in order to hook up like we see in the video. Although some of the cards may sound like cheesy pickup lines to modern ears, I think it's more likely that school kids and young adults used them to break the ice, get a laugh, or start a conversation rather than to arrange a tryst. In reality, acquaintance cards provided a lighthearted and humorous way to parody the more formal exchange of calling cards that took place in Victorian times. Acquaintance cards were sold by the same companies that supplied calling cards, rewards of merit, and advertising trade cards, and they show up alongside these other printed items in the scrapbooks that were popular with women and children in the nineteenth century. Back to the Yum Yum A La Mode card. Here's how it was advertised in the Argus and Patriot newspaper, Montpelier, Vermont, on September 18, 1878, p. 4. The following text appeared along with the "Yum Yum" illustration: Boss. Red Hot. If you want to smile all over your face for six months, just send for the Red Hot Flirtation Cards, 50 for 25 cts. Samples sent for 2 3-ct. stamps. Remember these cards are Red Hot Regular Tearers!! They cannot be beat. We stump everything of the kind. You will laugh till you cry if you send for them. P.O. stamps are better than silver to send in a letter, and are all the same to us. Write your orders plain. Address Marshall & Co., 35 Sudbury St., Boston, Mass. So what do you think? Was this a "Red Hot Flirtation Card" that Victorians used as a paper-based Tinder? For some other articles that have featured my acquaintance cards, take a look at these: Linton Weeks. When "Flirtation Cards" Were All The Rage . NPR, July 31, 2015. Becky Little. Saucy "Escort Cards" Were a Way to Flirt in the Victorian Era . National Geographic, January 4, 2016. Brett and Kate McKay. May I See You Home? 19th Century Calling Cards Guaranteed to Score You a Date . The Art of Manliness, February 13, 2014. Messy Nessy. The 19th Century Escort Cards with Pick-Up Lines You Definitely Haven’t Heard Before . Messy Nessy Chic, April 21, 2015. Esther Inglis-Arkell. Young People Used These Absurd Little Cards to Get Laid in the 19th Century . Gizmodo, January 6, 2016.

"I am (Comic Imp Card). Who the devil are you?" A card pasted in a Victorian-era "Agent's Sample Book" that was issued by an unidentified calling card company. I also have a blank copy of this card without the "Comic Imp Card" description or a name. See I Am ________, Who the Devil Are You? (below). For an example of another card that was in the "Agent's Sample Book," see the Fireman's Card (below).

"M________. May I have the pleasure of your company to attend a ________ to be held at ________ on ____ day of ________ 188__ at ____ o'clock __M. If so, please sign your name on the back of this card and return to me. ________." An escort or acquaintance card from the 1880s. For a discussion of these types of cards, see the article " When 'Flirtation Cards' Were All The Rage ," by Linton Weeks, on NPR's Web site.

Rebus: "Eye AM Uriah E. Heckert. W-Hoe T-He Devil R Yew?" Translation: "I am Uriah E. Heckert. Who the devil are you?" Acquaintance cards--like this rebus version--continue to attract some media attention. The latest is a Daily Mail posting by Annabel Fenwick Elliott on April 24. See her discussion of these "cheeky cards": " May I Have the Pleasure of Seeing You Home?' The 'Flirtation Cards' 19th-Century Men Used to Woo Ladies (But They Had to Be Returned If She Wasn't Interested) ."

"I am ________. Who the devil are you?" For another copy of this card, see Comic Imp Card: I Am ________, Who the Devil Are You? (below).

"Hot Air Post Card. Address, any old place. Holding hands a specialty. Wholesale and retail dealer in love, kisses, and up-to-date hugs. I have no agents, I attend to this work personally. Give me a trial. Sole proprietor of lover's row. Special attention to other people's friends. Address: any old place. Holding hands a specialty." Printed on the back of the postcard: "Copyright 1907, by E. W. Wilson, post card publisher, 278 B Tremont St., Boston, Mass."

"May I see you home?"