Shall I Be the Proud Bird Who Escorts You Home Tonight?

Check out my book of detachable acquaintance cards: May I See You Home?: 19th-Century Pickups for 21st-Century Suitors, by Alan Mays.

 

This is an acquaintance card—also called an escort, invitation, or flirtation card—that dates to the nineteenth century.

 

Notice how the illustrations parallel the text on the card and suggest how a courting couple should behave—a formal greeting and a tip of the hat in the parlor, the man as the "proud bird" who escorts the woman down the street, the woman ignoring the "forlorn chap" on the fence as she walks home from church, and a loving embrace at home under the watchful eye of cupid.

 

For another version of this card, see May I Become the Proud Bird Who Shall Accompany You? For other cards, see my album of Acquaintance Cards.

 

Fair One:

 

Gaze on this picture, then on that. Shall I be the proud bird who escorts you home tonight or the forlorn chap who sits on the fence and sees you go by?

 

Yours Truly, ________

 

Escort Card, 30 for 10 cts.

Done