"A receipt <i>[i.e. recipe]</i> for courtship", a Dec. 21st 1805 caricature mildly satirizing the courting customs or romance rituals of 1805 England.
<p>Poem contained in caricature:
</p>
<dl><dd>Two or three dears, and two or three sweets;</dd>
<dd>Two or three balls, and two or three treats;</dd>
<dd>Two or three serenades, given as a lure;</dd>
<dd>Two or three oaths how much they endure;</dd>
<dd>Two or three messages sent in a day;</dd>
<dd>Two or three times led out from the play;</dd>
<dd>Two or three soft speeches made by the way;</dd>
<dd>Two or three tickets for two or three times;</dd>
<dd>Two or three love letters writ all in rhymes;</dd>
<dd>Two or three months keeping strict to these rules,</dd>
<dd>Can never fail making a couple of fools.</dd></dl>
The keyboard instrument at left signifies that music also played a role in the courtship process...
unknown 1805 author/engraver; published by Laurie &amp; Whittle
1805
<p>Edited from image on Library of Congress website at  <a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://memory.loc.gov/master/pnp/cph/3g00000/3g04000/3g04700/3g04741u.tif">[1]</a>
</p><p>Bibliographic information found on the LoC site:
</p><p>TITLE: A receipt for courtship
</p><p>CALL NUMBER: PC 3 - 1805 - A receipt for courtship (A size) [P&amp;P]
</p><p>REPRODUCTION NUMBER:  LC-USZC4-4741 (color film copy transparency)
LC-USZ62-59614 (b&amp;w film copy neg.)
No known restrictions on publication.
</p><p>SUMMARY: Young man handing young woman a note; text of poem is caricature of romantic courtship.
</p><p>MEDIUM: 1 print : engraving, color.
</p><p>CREATED/PUBLISHED: London : published by Laurie &amp; Whittle, 1805.
</p><p>NOTES:
No. 417.
British Cartoon Collection (Library of Congress)
</p><p>SUBJECTS:
</p>
<ul><li>Courtship--England--1800-1810</li>
<li>Couples--England--1800-1810.</li></ul><p>FORMAT:
Cartoons (Commentary) British 1800-1810.
Engravings British Color 1800-1810.
</p><p>REPOSITORY: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division
Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
</p><p>DIGITAL ID: (color film copy transparency) cph 3g04741
<a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3g04741">http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3g04741</a>
(b&amp;w film copy neg.) cph 3b07356
<a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3b07356">http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3b07356</a>
</p><p>VIDEO FRAME ID: LCPP003B-07356 (from b&amp;w film copy neg.)
</p>
CARD #: 96512570