HUMOR

A varied selection of books of humorous, satiric or witty bent...

[Bordelon, Abbe Laurent]. The Management of the Tongue... Boston; Published by Isaiah Thomas, Jun.; John Elliot, Printer: 1814. 2nd edition. The first "Theophrastan" character-study to be published in America. Theophrastus, a student of Aristotle and famous scientist and author in his own right, wrote a series of character studies of Athenians which has been used as an inspiration by modern authors since at least the 16th century. Theophrastan character studies, while generally sharp-edged and with satiric overtones, are usually not overtly satirical.

"The Management of the Tongue" was written by the Abbe Laurent Bordelon [1653-1730] and first published in France in 1705. It includes such characters as The Babbler, The Silent Man, The Droll, The Jester, The Disputer, The Swearer, The Reprover, The Adviser and many more. He also includes a chapter on conversation in general, and the Language of Love, and focuses his text on self-help- "The reader will not find here any metaphysical abstractions, any advices more spiritual than practicable, nor any idea of a perfection so sublime, that men do commonly despair to attain to them. This book contains nothing but familiar truths, and such practices as are not above the reach of those who will make trial of them... I writ this book, and this book improves me every day. The more I reflect on what it contains, the more I polish and perfect myself".

The first English edition was printed in 1706 and the first American edition in 1783. There are Isaiah Thomas Jr. editions of 1813, 1814, and 1817. OCLC locates 10 copies of this, the 1814 edition.

Hardcover, 3.75"x6.5", 250 pages; bound in the original publisher's blue paper-covered boards, boards very rubbed, some soil; spine partially perished along the head and base; front hinge split and hanging on by two cords; scattered light to moderate internal foxing. Embossed stamp of the American Antiquarian Society, and embossed "duplicate sold" stamp of the A.A.S. [04920] $200.00

Born, Ignaz Edler von). Monachologia: or, Handbook of the Natural History of Monks; arranged according to the Linnaean System. By a Naturalist. Edinburgh; Johnstone and Hunter: 1852. A satire by a scientist and former Jesuit, first published in 1783. Born (1742-1791) was Austrian by birth and educated at a Jesuit college in Vienna. He spent 16 months as a member of the order before leaving, eventually becoming a Freemason. Restless after leaving the Jesuits he studied law for a time in Prague and then toured Holland, France and Germany studying mineralogy.

He returned to Prague in 1770, and worked in the department of Mines and the Mint. In 1776 he returned to Austria and wrote several books on mineralogy, including a very influential study in 1786 dealing with extracting precious metals through amalgamation. In addition to his scientific work, Born was known for his satire, especially of the Jesuits. In this work he studies the habits and habitats of that most pernicious of species -the clerical Monk, in a clever send-up of the new Linnaean system.

Hardcover. 6"x9", 77 pages, lithographed pictorial title page and 4 lithographed plates showing distinguishing characteristics of monks, plus 14 sepia plates of various types of monks in their natural habitats. Original gilt-pictorial cloth with a gilt-stamped bat holding the title in a banner; rebacked, with new endpapers and a new spine which matches the original red cloth. [03639] $250.00

Carelman, (Jacques). Petit Supplement a l'Encyclopedie de Diderot & d'Alembert... Paris; Chez Ballard, editeur: 1971. Master of the Absurd and Silly, artist Jacques Carelman delights in creating objects and "inventions" that are logical, but supremely over the top -like his radio controlled iron... In this inventive romp he takes a look at some fairly mundane 20th century objects and situations, but he does it through the eyes, and in the graphic style of, the creators of the famous 18th century "Encyclopedie", Diderot and d'Alembert. If you ever wondered how Diderot's meticulous, step-by-step drawings would deal with a French 20th century street riot, a striptease show, or a window washer, well... here is your chance to find out. Hardcover. 10"x14.5", 161 pages, more or less; b/w illustrations; light soil. [03988] $80.00

Evarts, R.C. & E.L. Barron. Alice's Adventures in Cambridge. Cambridge; The Harvard Lampoon: 1913. Genial hijinks from the staff of the Harvard Lampoon using the popular theme of Alice in Wonderland, and illustrated with amusing Tenniel-like pen and ink drawings. One might suppose that such undergraduate buffoonery would be unintelligible to people unfamiliar with Harvard or Cambridge, but, although there is certainly a certain amount of humor pertaining to Harvard of the day, there is also quite a bit which is applicable to college and scholarly life in general -the chapter on the Student Council Meeting, for instance, will be readily recognizable to almost everyone... Hardcover. 5.25"x6.75", 67 pages, b/w illustrations; pictorial covers; front cover with a crease and it appears a mend; a little internal soil and very light spotting to the preliminaries. [03579] $100.00

Fry, Christopher. The Dark is Light Enough. New York; Oxford University Press: 1954. The well-known historical comedy based on ther Empress of the Hungarian Empire in 1848-9. The jacket illustration is drawn by Ronald Searle. Hardcover. 5"x7.5", 102 pages, jacket; inscription on half-title; name on endpaper; jacket with some soil. [03451] $10.00

(Graves, Richard). The Triflers; consisting of trifling essays, trifling anecdotes, and a few poetical trifles. By an Adept in the Art of Trifling... London; printed for the Author's Executrix and sold by H.D. Symonds...: 1805. "to which is added The Rout. A new edition. With a few Additions, corrected by the Author. Also the Farmer's Son, by the late Rev. R. Graves...". A curious compilation of essays and poetry, some vaguely-humorous with a dry-as-bone wit, some simply preachy. But there is a very interesting and witty essay on an afternoon at the action rooms at Bath-

"Now came the principal object of Lady Bustleton's attention -an elegant mahogany chest of drawers; an useful piece of furniture which her ladyship wanted. "Half a guinea, (cries one of her ladyship's humble companions) "A guinea and a half," (cries some spirited bidder) "five shillings more", says the young lady; in short it went on to three guineas and a half! - four guineas!" cries her ladyship herself, when down it was knocked. Well! says one of her companions, it is a perdigious bargain! Yes! indeed, says another of her ladyship's friends, I had no ideur it would have gone under five guineas. A plain looking man, who sat beside me (and who I found was a cabinet maker) whispered to one who sat next to him "it went new out of my shop for three guineas"."

A second edition was published in 1806. Neither edition is all that common -OCLC locates six copies of each. Hardcover. 4.5"x7.5", viii + 177 + 2 pages, engraved frontispiece. Rebound in 1/2 red leather with a ribbed spine and gilt title; red cloth boards. Spine rubbed; pp. 83/4 with a professional-looking tape repair; some scattered foxing and a little browning. Handsome bookplate and small bookseller's ticket on front pastedown. [03348] $150.00

Hunt, Cecil. Here I Lie. London; Jonathan Cape: 1932. Another collection of humrous epitaphs from the inveterate enthusiast. This title is illustrated with 6 charming and humorous plates drawn by Maurice Arthur.   Hardcover. 5"x7", 111 pages, 6 b/w plates. A near fine copy in the brightly patterned boards. [00500] $25.00

Kitman, Marvin. The Making of the President - 1789. The Unauthorized Campaign Biography. New York; Harper & Row: 1989. The author of "George Washington's Expense Account" attempts to abuse the First President humorously and fails. Kitman needs more facts, as well as more humor, but a necessary book for the completist, I suppose. Hardcover. 6"x9.5", 358 pages, dj; a very good copy in a somewhat soiled dj, with one closed tear and a sticker mark. [02298] $30.00

Serio, Anne Marie. Political Cartoons in the 1848 Election Campaign. Washington; Smithsonian Institution Press: 1972. The 1848 election pitted the Whigs against the Democrats on the related issues of slavery and the annexation of Texas. These nine political cartoons were selected from the Harry T. Peters Collection of lithographs at the Smithsonian. Softcover. 8.5"x11", 21 pages, b/w illustrations, covers rubbed, some wear, tips thumbed, etc. [03558] $25.00

Stevens, Geo[rge]. Alex[ander]. A Lecture on Heads... with additions by Mr. Pilon, as delivered by Mr. Charles Lee Lewis, to which is added an Essay on Satire. With forty-seven heads by Nesbit, from designs by Thurston. London; Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown: 1821. A New Edition. Stevens' satiric lecture on heads, fashion, and the whims and foibles of those who have heads was first performed in 1764, and met with such popular acclaim that pirated editions soon began to surface. Lewes, an actor who performed the lecture himself, describes these problems in his "Address to the Public".

The lecture owes much to Stevens' observant wit, and its popularity into the 19th century to the craze for physiognomy, which it parodies. Stevens [1710-1784] was a poet and playwright, but nothing he did ever equaled the popularity of this lecture. He also achieved some minor note as (apparently) the person who coined the term "merry-go-round" for carousels, in a 1729 poem. Hardcover. 4"x6.5", 110 [ii] pages, b/w frontispiece and line illustrations in the text; nicely bound in dark brown quarter leather with raised bands and gilt medallions; marbled boards; slight wear, text a bit browned and with a little soil, but a nice copy. Binding signed with an embossed "JB". [03580] $250.00

An Early "Casey at the Bat"-

"The outlook wasn't brilliant for the Mudville Nine that day;
The score stood four to two with but one inning more to play.
And then when Cooney died at first, and Barrows did the same,
A sickly silence fell upon the patrons of the game...
They thought if only Casey could but get a whack at that-
We'd put up even money now with Casey at the bat."

Thayer, Ernest Lawrence.  "Casey at the Bat" (in) A Treasury of Humorous Poetry. Being a Compilation of Witty, Facetious, and Satirical Verse Selected from the Writings of British and American Poets.  By Frederic Lawrence Knowles (ed.).  Boston; Dana Estes & Company: October, 1902. First printing, presumed 1st state with binding "A" in white cloth.

The first hardcover popular anthology printing of "Casey at the Bat" by Ernest Lawrence Thayer. The poem had first appeared in the June 3rd, 1888 issue of the San Francisco Examiner, and was popularized by actor De Wolfe Hopper who recited it thousands of times on the stage. It was reprinted as a pamphlet in 1901, and a year later saw it printed in hardcover in this treasury of humorous poetry where it was attributed, for an unknown reason, to a "Joseph Quinlan Murphy".

The book presents a fascinating bibliographical tangle, with four distinctly separate states having been identified, featuring three different bindings and two states of the text. The presumed first issue binding features clown faces and a winged horse's head, and is known in both white (Binding "A") and green ("Binding "B"). The presumed second issue binding is also in green and features a clown's head on a stick, framed with a wreath (Binding "C"). There were two separate printing states- one of which has the poem attributed to Murphy and another where Murphy's name has been removed completely from the index of authors at the front, and the poem attributed to Thayer in the Index of Poems at the rear. The first printing state has been observed with Bindings A, B and C; the second, corrected printing state has only been seen in Binding C.

Hardcover. 5"x7.5", xxiv + 407 pages, portrait frontispiece and 15 b/w plates. Covers with some soil and a few light spots; Christmas gift inscription on the front pastedown dated 1902; ownership inscription on the endpaper also dated 1902; one plate with a short, closed tear; red cloth ribbon laid-in at page 40/41, with slight resulting discoloration. Pages ever so slightly toned. [03315] $2,000.00

Thayer, Ernest Lawrence. Casey at the Bat. Boston; Dana Estes & Company: October, 1902. First printing, presumed 1st state with binding "B" in green cloth. The first hardcover anthology printing of "Casey at the Bat" by Ernest Lawrence Thayer, contained in "A Treasury of Humorous Poetry. Being a Compilation of Witty, Facetious, and Satirical Verse Selected from the Writings of British and American Poets", edited by Frederic Lawrence Knowles.

Hardcover. 5"x7.5", xxiv + 407 pages, portrait frontispiece and 15 b/w plates. Covers with some very minor wear, tips ever so slightly abraded, spine corners abraded, but overall a very crisp, bright cop. Pages ever so slightly toned. With the period rubber stamp of "Fred. H. Dooley, Denver Wheel Club, Denver Colo." on the front paste-down, front endpaper, and rear paste-down. Fred Dooley's large ownership signature on the front endpaper, along with some notations of dates, running from 12-24-02 to 2-17-03. The Denver Wheel Club was an early bicycling club, formed in 1881, and adds another element of sporting interest. [04190] $2,000.00

Thayer, Ernest Lawrence.  "Casey at the Bat" (in) A Treasury of Humorous Poetry. Being a Compilation of Witty, Facetious, and Satirical Verse Selected from the Writings of British and American Poets.  By Frederic Lawrence Knowles (ed.).  Boston; Dana Estes & Company: October, 1902. First printing, presumed 2nd state with Binding "C" in green cloth and Thayer credited with writing "Casey".  Hardcover. 5"x7.5", xxiv + 407 pages, portrait frontispiece and 14 (of 15) b/w plates. Covers with some soil and wear, slight stain and a ripple or two; tips worn; rear cover creased; spine base somewhat worn, spine head worn and chipping; there is a 3/4" gouge in the front spine; front and rear inner hinges cracked, rear hinge badly, with the underlying webbing also broken through; pages with very light water residue mark along the fore edge; some scattered light soil; lacking the plate at page 108. An indifferent copy of a scarce state. [03317] $1,000.00

Trudeau, Gary. "Bull Tales" (and) "michael j" New Haven; Yale Daily News: 1969 (2nd printing) & Yale Record: 1970 (1st printing). Doonesbury Incunabula. A wonderful pair- "Bull Tales" is a 2nd printing, "michael j" a first. This is the first book-form appearance of BD, Michael, Mark, Bernie, Nichole and the rest of the cast, from its original incarnation when Trudeau was a student at Yale and the strip was called "Bull Tales". Brian John Dowling, the original "BD", wrote a foreword for "Bull Tales" and Kingman Brewster appears to write the introduction to "michael j". Softcovers. 6"x6", each about 60-70 pages, b/w illustrations. Light cover soil, a few very slight creases, but hey, they went through the '60s... [02914] $450.00

Webb, T. A New Select Collection of Epitaphs Panegyrical and Moral, Humorous, Whimsical, Satyrical, and Inscriptive; including the most Remarkable Inscriptions in the collections of Hacket, Jones and Toldervy; together with one thousand epitaphs never before published. London; S. Bladon: 1775. 1st Edition.

"The difficulty experienced in procuring the Collections of Epitaphs published by Jones, Hacket and Toldervy, first suggested the Idea of the following Compilation, which was originally intended to preserve the most curious or valuable Inscriptions in their Publications from Oblivion. Scarcely was the Plan of the following Sheets conceived, when Accident threw the Editor into the Company of an ingenious Gentleman, whose Situation in Life had furnished him with Opportunities, and whose literary Taste and Industry had led him to form a collection of Epitaphs. To this Gentleman, who has visited many of the principal Towns and Villages of this Island, and never left any without adding to his Monumental Compilation, the Editor acknowledges himself indebted for the major Part of the unpublished Epitaphs which will be found in this Collection...

"To this Gentleman's valuable Compilation, and most Curious or Remarkable Inscriptions in Jones, Hacket, and Toldervy's Publications, the Editor has added a small MSS. Collection of his own, with a very considerable Number of Epitaphs, equally valuable, extracted from the Gentleman's and London Magazines, and Annual Registers, and which he never remembers to have seen in any former Publication of this Kind".

Hardcover. 2 volumes. 4.25"x7", [vi] + 341 + 249 pages; Volume I extra-illustrated with a tipped-in 19th century photograph opposite the title page, showing an early 18th century gravestone. Bound in a Zaehnsdorf quarter leather binding with marbled boards and endpapers; gilt spine titles and medallions. Covers somewhat rubbed, a little internal soil and toning. Spine labels lightly chipped. [00637] $400.00

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