Vintage Valentine's Day Card Boy Ladder Window Love's Message

Like a parent texting their teenager to come home immediately, this card has been shaped like a giant red heart to maximize the urgency and menace of its message. Two children — one in red suspenders and a straw hat climbing a ladder, one in a white bonnet peering suspiciously out of a window — have been conscripted into delivering what is, let's be honest, a deeply aggressive piece of romantic correspondence. The boy's butt patch is inexplicably the most prominent feature of the entire composition, suggesting the Victorian greeting card industry had some unresolved priorities. A small cat at the base of the ladder gazes upward as if it, too, is deeply concerned about the urgency of the 'come quickly' messaging.