A mischievous red-haired boy in a battered grey cap and oversized blue coat squints with delightful impudence from a dark chalkboard background, clutching a tiny bouquet behind his back — the kind of kid who'd rather eat the flowers than hand them over. The chalkboard text, written in reverse as if scrawled by the boy himself, reads: "You kin hev these flowers if you be me stedied" (a dialect rendering of "if you be my steady"), a charming piece of early-1900s slang vernacular that gives this Raphael Tuck & Sons card its roguish wit. Published in 1902, this pre-linen era Valentine is part of an illustrated series by artist Ella Curtis, whose scratchy, expressive children became collector favorites in the golden age of postcards. The card design cleverly mimics a school slate framed in wood-grain with corner rivets, adding a tactile, dimensional quality. The reverse is unused and pristine, suggesting this card was kept rather than sent — perhaps too charming to give away.