1883 Victorian trade card from Geo. M. Hayes

Presented for you enjoyment on this Friday night is a 130-year-old Victorian trade card. Printed in the lower corner is "Copyright 1883, By Geo. M. Hayes."

The verse at the top of the card is taken from "The High Tide on the Coast of Lincolnshire" by Jean Ingelow (1820–97). The full stanza is as follows:

The swanherds where their sedges are
Mov’d on in sunset’s golden breath,
The shepherde lads I heard afarre,
And my sonne’s wife, Elizabeth;
Till floating o’er the grassy sea
Came downe that kyndly message free,
The “Brides of Mavis Enderby.”