1800s A Baker Penny Dreadful Broadside Ballad Vinegar Valentine - Woodblock Engraving Comic Caricature Illustration Print - Hand Colored - Comedy Satire Poem

Antique Original 1800s A Baker Penny Dreadful Broadside Ballad Vinegar Valentine - Woodblock Engraving Comic Caricature Illustration Print - Hand Colored - Comedy Satire Poem

Broadside or 'vinegar valentine,' a sort of comic caricature that was popular in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It depicts a baker, drawn in a highly exaggerated and stylized manner, typical of caricature art of the time.

Beneath the image, there is a poem that criticizes the baker's products and practices in a rather harsh and satirical tone. The baker's bread and cakes are of such poor quality that they would sicken a hog and that they're made with adulterated ingredients like sawdust flour and rancid butter and lard. The poem ends by suggesting that for such deceitful practices, the baker should be punished by being tarred and feathered or baked in his own oven, calling him a "dirty old cheat, and rascal, and sloven."

This broadside, with its hand coloring and woodblock engraving, is a good example of the print techniques and comic satire of the time. The image and poem combine to deliver a moral message, albeit in a humorous and exaggerated way.

"A BAKER
The bread that you bake is not fit for a dog,
Your pies and your cake would sicken a hog;
Sawdust flour you use, rancid butter and lard,
For such practice you ought to be feathered and tarred,
Or else to be taken and baked in your oven—
You dirty old cheat, and rascal, and sloven."

Measures Approx. 7-1/8" Wide by 9-5/8" Tall - Ready For Framing

In Good Antique Condition - Newsprint Type Paper With Edge Wear / Tears, Staining, Folds, Paper Chipping, Some Paper Toning Due To Age And History-Collectors Watermarked That Is Not On The Print

Product Photos Include a Logo Watermark and Possibly an Object for Scale / Photography Purposes Only. Also, Product Listings May Include Newspaper Images, Display Photos or Short Video Clips Relevant to the Item Which Are Not Included in the Purchase. The Product Title is for the Exact Item Available

What's a 1800's Penny Dreadful?
What's a Vinegar Valentine?
What's a Broadside Ballad?