humor

Hardcover. NY, Viking Studio, 1st, 2000, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket. This lavish, photo-laden tour of Tinsel Town's history is coffee-table condensation of 87 years of Vanity Fair coverage of the Hollywood scene. Visually, it's a thrilling compendium of images that have defined not only the film industry and its workers but how the American public has understood them. Ranging from Edward Steichen's iconographic black-and-white portraits of Louise Brooks, Norma Shearer and Irving Thalberg, and Gloria Swanson (which defined the "look" of Hollywood in its first half-century) to the contemporary and often shocking color photographs of Annie Leibovitz (of nearly everyone from Sylvester Stallone and John Travolta to Cate Blanchette and Johnny Depp)Dand peppered with shots by Bruce Weber, Irving Penn, Helmut Newton, Griege Hurrell and othersDthe book traces how these stars have come to embody pop mythologies of everyday life. The photos are interspersed among 13 (mostly short) essays by writers as diverse as Carl Sandberg, Patricia Bosworth, P.G. Wodehouse, Dorothy Parker, Peter Biskind and D.H. Lawrence, which range from the humorous to the illuminating. Clean copy.

Hardcover. Cambridge MA, The MIT Press, 1st, 2013, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, red cloth stamped in white. 288 pages in b&w and color. In the 1960s and 1970s, the artist Ed Ruscha created a series of small photo-conceptual artist's books, among them Twentysix Gas Stations, Various Small Fires, Every Building on the Sunset Strip, Thirtyfour Parking Lots, Real Estate Opportunities, and A Few Palm Trees. Featuring mundane subjects photographed prosaically, with idiosyncratically deadpan titles, these "small books" were sought after, collected, and loved by Ruscha's fans and fellow artists. Over the past thirty years, close to 100 other small books that appropriated or paid homage to Ruscha's have appeared throughout the world. This book collects ninety-one of these projects, showcasing the cover and sample layouts from each along with a description of the work. It also includes selections from Ruscha's books and an appendix listing all known Ruscha book tributes. These small books revisit, imitate, honor, and parody Ruscha in form, content, and title. Some rephotograph his subjects: Thirtyfour Parking Lots, Forty Years Later. Some offer a humorous variation: Various Unbaked Cookies (which concludes, as did Ruscha's Various Small Fires, with a glass of milk), Twentynine Palms (twenty-nine photographs of palm-readers' signs). Some say something different: None of the Buildings on Sunset Strip. Some reach for a connection with Ruscha himself: 17 Parked Cars in Various Parking Lots Along Pacific Coast Highway Between My House and Ed Ruscha's.

Hardcover. Garden City, NEW YORK, Doubleday Doran, 1st, 1930, Book: Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, 340 pages. True 1st edition. Foxing to end papers. Fading to spine. No dust jacket.

Hardcover. London, Book Club Associates, reprint, 1978, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 192 pages, b&w illustrations. Clean, bright copy in a similar dust jacket.

Hardcover. Paris, J. Hetzel, Reprint, 1867, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, 636 pages. Hardcover. French text only. Previous owners name at top left corner of preliminary page dated 1868. Gilt title and decorations on red leather spine with embossed pebbled cloth covers. Satirical black & white illustrations by Jean-Jacques Grandville. Marbled endpapers. All edges gilt. Light rubbing to cover edges and spine. Small area of discoloration on lower section of front cover. Clean, bright pages.

Great Neck, NY, Musical Vistas, 1st, 1987, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, A collection of cartoons all about violins by an Hungarian artist who became one of the world's best violin makers. Dust jacket with light edgewear to corners.

Hardcover. Seattle, Fantagraphics, 1st, 2013, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, 240 pages. Only a few months after the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor and the same year that Albert Camus offered the world his bleak vision of man's existence by introducing his philosophical dictum of The Absurd, Virgil Partch burst onto the scene with his own twist on the phrase. Partch was a cartoonist who offered comic counterpoint to the grim headlines and a unique perspective on human nature in the pages of the nation's most popular magazines. Known to millions by his jazzy signature, VIP, this comic genius ushered in a new era of the gag cartoon-zany, sometimes surreal, always hilarious-that inspired a generation of fellow cartoonists starting in the 1940s and '50s. His madcap style of humor was reflected in the cutting-edge comedic sensibilities of Burns & Allen, Jack Benny, Ernie Kovacs, Bob & Ray, Stan Freberg, and Jean Shepherd, and would position Partch as one of the most prolific "gag-men" of his day. VIP contributed to an astonishing array of magazines, wrote gags for other cartoonists, illustrated books, album covers, and advertisements, and adorned merchandise including, appropriately, cocktail glasses.VIP: The Mad World of Virgil Partch is the first time Partch's life and career has been treated in full, collecting amazing artwork from the entire range of his inspired career and featuring his own writings.

Softcover. NY, Grolier Club, 1st, 2017, Softcover, oblong format, 136 pages. A fascinating overview of the Golden Age of social and political satire in nineteenth-century France, Vive Les Satiristes! focuses on controversial and wildly popular journals like La Caricature and Le Charivari, and such great illustrators as Daumier and Grandville, who captured in their pages the foibles of those around them with unmatched humor, skill, and style. Published in conjunction with a Grolier Club exhibition, and beautifully illustrated, it includes a collector's statement, an introduction, and an essay by Josephine Lea Iselin. Still in publisher'e shrinkwrap.

Hardcover. NY, Grove Press, 1st US, 2005, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket. In 1753, Voltaire -- playwright, poet, philosopher, and one of the most feted figures in Europe -- was forced by Louis XV into exile, where he remained for the last twenty-five years of his life. These years heralded a startling new beginning for this remarkable man. Voltaire carved out a new and vibrant world in his isolation, becoming a successful entrepreneur and writing his masterpiece Candide. In Voltaire in Exile, Ian Davidson re-creates this period in the life of one of the giants of the Enlightenment. By painstakingly translating the rich correspondence between Voltaire and his family, members of the Court at Versailles, and the French intellectual elite, Davidson allows us to discover Voltaire the artist, the campaigner, the aesthete, the lover, the humorist. The result is a wonderfully vivid portrait of this extraordinarily funny, iconoclastic, complex, and, above all, ferociously intelligent individual. Clean copy.

Hardcover. NY, St. Martin's Press, 1st, 1996, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 128 pages. Brian Nissen's talented art work make this lovely book not only a collection of erotica, but also very humorous. Clean copy.

Hardcover. Montreal, Drawn & Quarterly, 1st, 2003, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, unpaginated. B&w illustrations by Crumb. "Yo! People! Here's yet another book of placemat drawings done while sitting in restaurants. Wow, doesn't this guy ever stop drawing?? Hey, now I have a good reason for making artwork on placemats. I'm no longer simply doodling to pass the time 'til the food arrives. I'm earning money while waiting to be served! I'm getting paid for it! Can you imagine??" (from R. Crumb's forward)

Hardcover. US, Baby Tattoo Books, 1st, 2013, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Like new in publisher's shrink-wrap. Hardcover, 64 pages. SIGNED book plate. A beautifully produced and richly illustrated book that showcases the day-to-day adventures of independent girl-about-town Victoria Psismall and her pet land octopus Otto. Thirty panoramic, full-page illustrations humorously chronicle the duo's home and social activities that include (among other things) bathing, biking, dating, cooking, playing croquet, and pumpkin carving. Accompanying text explains the "do"s and "don't"s of living with a large land octopus. The book's art is extremely detailed, and each illustration tells its own visual story. The Victorian era characters and period-influenced design elements combine to create a wonderful, collectible art-object for those who still value the classic elegance of ink-on-paper. The hardcover binding is plussed with two-layer embossing and spot varnish, and the interior is printed on extra heavy paper. An exquisite volume for lovers of books, art and pets.

Hardcover. Jaffrey NH, Sparhawk Books, 1st, 1981, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover. Contains black & white and color cartoons by Tripp. Book and dust jacket in excellent condition.

Hardcover. Montreal, Drawn and Quarterly, 1st, 2006, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 352 pages. Extensive b&w illustrations throughout. Illustrated paste downs and end papers. Gilt titles on spine. Blind stamp on cover. Some edge wear to dust jacket, otherwise clean, tight copy. Reprints the original newspaper dailies from 1923 & 1924. King was the first cartoonist to have his characters age in real time and have modern story lines, a landmark conception for comic strips in the early twentieth century. There is a new eighty-page introduction by journalist Jeet Heer.

Hardcover. Montreal, Drawn and Quarterly, 1st, 2005, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 352 pages. Extensive b&w illustrations throughout. Illustrated paste downs and end papers. Gilt titles on spine. Blind stamp on cover. Some edge wear to dust jacket, otherwise clean, tight copy. Reprints the original newspaper dailies from 1921 & 1922.

Hardcover. Milan, Mondadori, 1st, 1973, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, large folio, illustrated boards, 191 pages. Color illustrations from early animated shorts by the Disney Studio. Classic cartoons from Plane Crazy in 1928 to Ferdinand The Bull in 1938. Binding is oversz. bds. Scarce.

Hardcover. Seattle WA , Fantagraphics, 1st, 2015, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, 191 pages. Hardcover. Extensive color illustrations by Don Rosa throughout. Includes appendix of color comic book covers by Don Rosa. Clean, tight copy in excellent condition. Uncle Scrooge, the world's richest duck, knows exactly where he got every coin he ever earned. And in this fourth book of Duck epics by Don Rosa, that story begins to unfold at last! Relive Scrooge's Scottish boyhood as Last of the Clan McDuck,then his teenage years as Master of the Mississippi on Uncle Pothole's steamboat! Witness Scrooge's first fights with the Beagle Boys and Flintheart Glomgold and in a bonus chapter, his earliest meeting with Magica De Spell! Presented with brilliant color and a treasure trove of Rosa's cover art and behind-the-scenes factoids, these Duckburg epics are back in a definitive, comprehensive edition.

Hardcover. Seattle, Fantagraphics Books, 1st, 2024, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, pictorial boards, 215 pages in color. From the Everglades to the Grand Canyon, danger and intrigue at every turn! Carl Barks' first foray into his signature series of adventures in lost civilizations takes the Ducks deep into the Everglades, where they find themselves bedeviled by the enigmatic Gneezles, who have escaped detection from outsiders since the days of Ponce de Leon - and want to keep it that way. The fun comes fast and furious as Donald invents a radar detector to track the nephews, the boys open their own detective agency, an ice-skating race, a water-skiing race, the nephews fall into the Grand Canyon, and Donald decides to build the largest kite in the world! Plus: Barks's only Mickey Mouse mystery, Mickey Mouse and Riddle of the Red Hat. Clean copy.

Hardcover. Seattle, WA, Fantagraphics Books, Inc., 1st, 2015, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, 210 pages. Hardcover without dust jacket. Extensive color illustrations throughout by Carl Barks, Includes appendix of sources and historical information. Clean, tight copy.

Hardcover. Seattle, Wa, Fantagraphics Books, 1st, 2016, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, 242 pages. Hardcover with no dust jacket. A very clean, unmarked copy. Color illustrations throughout by Carl Barks. Uncle Scrooge sends Donald and the nephews to the jungle; the nephews solve a Western ghost mystery; and there are 10,000 hungry baby turkeys to deliver.Donald and his nephews visit an Old West ghost town that was suddenly abandoned when the sheriff vanished while in hot pursuit of a passel of outlaws. Now the remains of the town are haunted - and it's up to the plucky nephews to solve the mystery of "The Ghost Sheriff of Last Gasp" before it's too late! Then, Donald is made stationmaster for a tiny out-of-the-way railroad station, but his first delivery is 10,000 baby turkeys - and they're all hungry! And when the Coast Guard announces it found the wreck of a steamship that sank with Uncle Scrooge's gold on board, the race is on to recover it ahead of Scrooge's rivals. Scrooge hustles Donald and the nephews into his private submarine - but it's Christmas Eve, and the boys are afraid Santa won't be able to find them to deliver their presents. The boys appeal to Uncle Scrooge, but - well, his name is Scrooge.Plus lots more stories with Barks favorites, including the wacky inventor Gyro Gearloose, the irritatingly lucky Gladstone Gander, and the ever-glamorous and sensible Daisy Duck. Carl Barks delivers another superb collection of outrageous hijinks, preposterous situations, and all-around cartooning brilliance. Over 200 pages of stories, each meticulously restored and newly colored. Insightful story notes by an international panel of Barks experts. Full-color illustrations throughout.

Hardcover. Seattle, Wa, Fantagraphics Books, 1st, 2016, Book: Very Good, 242 pages. Hardcover with no dust jacket. A very clean, unmarked copy. Color illustrations throughout by Carl Barks. Donald and his nephews visit an Old West ghost town that was suddenly abandoned when the sheriff vanished while in hot pursuit of a passel of outlaws. Now the remains of the town are haunted - and it's up to the plucky nephews to solve the mystery of "The Ghost Sheriff of Last Gasp" before it's too late! Then, Donald is made stationmaster for a tiny out-of-the-way railroad station, but his first delivery is 10,000 baby turkeys - and they're all hungry! And when the Coast Guard announces it found the wreck of a steamship that sank with Uncle Scrooge's gold on board, the race is on to recover it ahead of Scrooge's rivals. Scrooge hustles Donald and the nephews into his private submarine - but it's Christmas Eve, and the boys are afraid Santa won't be able to find them to deliver their presents. The boys appeal to Uncle Scrooge, but - well, his name is Scrooge.Plus lots more stories with Barks favorites, including the wacky inventor Gyro Gearloose, the irritatingly lucky Gladstone Gander, and the ever-glamorous and sensible Daisy Duck. Carl Barks delivers another superb collection of outrageous hijinks, preposterous situations, and all-around cartooning brilliance. Over 200 pages of stories, each meticulously restored and newly colored. Insightful story notes by an international panel of Barks experts. Clean, bright copy.

Hardcover. Seattle, WA, Fantagraphics Books, Inc., 1st, 2015, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, 264 pages. Hardcover without dust jacket. Extensive b&w and color illustrations throughout. Clean, tight copy. It's World War II, and Uncle Sam wants Mickey Mouse's "'Lectro Box," an amazing ray cannon that can shapeshift living matter! But also hot on Mickey's trail is gruesome Dr. Grut, who wants to use the ray to turn humans into plants-so Grut's mind-controlled "Aberzombies" can rule the world! Floyd Gottfredson produced a canon of legendary tales starring Mickey as a bold, two-fisted hero: ready to wallop the walking dead... and face off with our wartime foes! You'll see Mickey's awesome role in the war effort, as he tackles Axis bad guys, Schickelgruber subs, and the treasonous Pegleg Pete! Meanwhile, back home in Mouseton, Goofy adopts... a man-eating lion?!Black & white with over 60 pages of color

Hardcover. Seattle, Fantagraphics Books, 1st, 2014, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, 286 pages. Hardcover. Extensive b&w illustrations by Floyd Gottfredson throughout. 8 pages of color illustration. Illustrated front end paper and frontispiece. Small bump to bottom edge, otherwise clean, tight copy.

Hardcover. New York, Disney Press, 1st, 1993, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Non paginated. Hardcover. Full color illustrations by Larry Moore. Features one full color fold-out. Clean, bright copy.