To a Bookbinder:
Of all the great knaves, and of all the great fools
That ever yet handled a bookbinder’s tools;
Of all the big boobies that ere met my view–
Thou lank-haired and crooked-backed ninny, ’tis thou
Oh, well may the maidens all giggle and laugh.
To see such a carcase well bound up in calf,
Oh! Believe me, for ever and ever you’ll whine,
Ere you press to pour chops a gay young Valentine.
Everybody’s Valentine Writer was a nineteenth century self-help book of sorts, to assist smitten romantics overcome stressful Valentine’s Day writer’s block. Some of the messages were quite targeted, even tailored to those in specific trades like bookbinding. There is another mid-nineteenth century valentine about a bookbinder with a wild image that I wrote about a few years ago. Both of these “vinegar valentines” share a common theme: bookbinders are undesirable foolish losers. Happy Valentine’s day, my dearest bookbinder colleagues!
Thanks to John Townsend for sending me to this Valentine!
Peachey Conservation 