V

Variety:  A theatrical form popular in the second half of the 19th century, a precursor to vaudeville.

Views: John Wood, a 19^th century New York photographer, placed the following classified ad: Wanted—A PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTER; ALSO TO purchase a wagon for making views.  J. Wood, 208 Bowery.  New York Herald, June 4, 1872

Vicious: Usually paired with “habits" as a descriptor; implying a sort of behaviour typically associated with alcoholism.  It is possible to think of the terms “vicious habits” as a precursor to the contemporary constructions of addiction, however, whereas we would be more inclined to seek biological explanations for this behaviour, the 19^th century was predisposed to believe that drunkenness was habitual, therefore under the control of the drunkard. In all likelihood this phrase is an entry in the rhetoric of prohibition, moral reform, etc.