New York: Hyperion, (2006). Hardcover first edition - A humorous look at the Republican Party during the George W. Bush era. The title page states "By reading this book, I promise to swear in a court of law that I have never read this book, I have never seen this book, and that this book does not exist, so help me GOP." Illustrated. Index. 157 pp. ISBN: 978-1401302900.

New York: Workman Publishing Company, (1998). First edition - The self-help book we all need! A manifesto for surviving the 90s and beyond illustrated with more than 200 cartoons by this award-winning columnist and cartoonist. Among the chapters are 'College is for Suckers', 'Making the Most of Your Dead-End Job' and 'Bring on the Stock Market Crash.' Introduction by Jules Feiffer who called it, "a spicy stew of high-handed judgments - part drawing, part essay, part memoir-confession, part tantrum. The text is the thing. Funny, fractious here and there, nasty now and then, brilliant." Slightly oversized format. 216 pp. Review copy with publisher's material laid in. ISBN: 0-761107452.

New York: Simon & Schuster, (2001) dj. Hardcover first edition - A collection of "hilarious true-life tales inspired by his sometimes dysfunctional relationships with the dogs in his life " by this humorist, children's book author, and essayist. Illustrated by Jill Pinkwater. 203 pp. ISBN: 0-684856328.

Kansas City, Andrews McMeel Publishing, (2008). SIGNED first edition - Comic strips in both full color and black and white. SIGNED on the half title page with a small drawing. Square format. 127 pp. ISBN: 978-0740770968.

London: Methuen, (1930). Hardcover first edition - A collection of humorous articles, most of which originally appeared in Punch under 'A.A.' Illustrated with drawings by Rene Bull. Armstong was also known for his crime novels. 142 pp. plus 8 pp publisher's catalogue.

New York: Beechhurst Press, (1951). Hardcover first edition - Caricatures of the famous and infamous - from Harry Truman to Truman Capote, from writers to politicians to musicians, including Mao, Benny Goodman, Jimmy Durante, J. Edgar Hoover, Sartre, Faulkner, Bing Crosby, Sinatra, Stalin, Churchill, Dali, Mencken, Einstein, Hemingway, and more. Large format. 64 pp.

New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, (1962) dj. Hardcover first edition - The first combined edition of Potter's series of humorous books on how to secure an unfair advantage. The first one - Gamesmanship, written to show how poor players can beat better ones by subtle psychological ploys - was originally published in 1947. These books were adapted for the cinema in the 1960s ('School for Scoundrels' adapted by Peter Ustinov, recapitulates many of the 'one-up' ideas) and later for television in the 1970s. Illustrated with drawings by Lt.-Col. Frank Wilson. Index. vii, 487 pp.

New York & Boston: Little Brown, (2017). First edition - "For forty years, David Sedaris has kept a diary in which he records everything that captures his attention - overheard comments, salacious gossip, soap opera plot twists, secrets confided by total strangers [and] now, he shares his private writings with the world. . . Written with a sharp eye and ear for the bizarre, the beautiful, and the uncomfortable, and with a generosity of spirit that even a misanthropic sense of humor can't fully disguise, [this is] a potent reminder that when you're as perceptive and curious as Sedaris, there's no such thing as a boring day." 514 pp.

Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, (1912). Hardcover first edition - A collection of essays and speeches by this American newspaperman, humorist and later a clergyman who became well-known through his paragraphs in Iowa's 'The Burlington Hawkeye' which he joined in 1872. Includes his most famous lecture, "The Rise and Fall of the Mustache" - in the foreword, he claims to have given this speech more than 5000 times. Laid in is a newspaper article from shortly after his death and tipped onto the rear endpaper is a picture of his final home in California. Top edge gilt. 325 pp.

New York: Wallaby Books / Simon & Schuster, (1983). First edition - Single panel cartoons, which live up to the title. Some are even funny. Oblong format, unpaginated. ISBN: 0-67150083.

Atlanta, Georgia: Turner Publishing, Inc., (1984). Hardcover first edition - Dark humor by Jones (of Monty Python fame) The publisher (at the request of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Fairies) notes that no fairies were injured or killed in the manufacturing process. Illustrated throughout in soft color by Brian Froud. The die cut fairy bookmark/window sticker and the sealed band that goes around the "erotic" pages of the book, reading "For the protection of the innocent", still in place. Large format, marbled endpapers. ISBN: 1-570360626.

Los Angeles: Price Stern Sloan, (1972). First edition - A slim book of cartoons about ecological catastrophe - although published 50 years ago, it is just as funny - or more accurately, not funny - now as it was then. They really are now carrying salmon upstream now to try and save them from extinction. Small square format, unpaginated (48 pp). ISBN: 0-84310192X.

Kansas City: Andrews and McMeel, (1996). First edition - Dilbert is "the comic strip for the downsizing, techno-talking workplace of the '90s. Cartoonist Scott Adams provides an outrageously fresh and farcical take on the work-a-day world and Dilbert's own pathetic life." Square format. 128 pp. ISBN: 0-752222651.

New York & London: James H Heineman / Curwen Press. 1989. First edition - For two months in 1982 there was, in the foyers of the National Theatre in London, an exhibition to celebrate P. G. Wodehouse's centenary. In conjunction with this exhibition, there were frequent talks in the Lyttelton Theatre on Wodehousian subjects. Three are printed here along with an after-dinner speech. Printed in letterpress and limited to 500 individually numbered copies, of which this is 76. Tall thin format. 52 pp. plus 2 pp of information on the series. ISBN: 0-870081268.

San Francisco: Last Gasp, (2001). SIGNED first edition - "What were those dot com people thinking? An inside look at dot com life in the chaotic months leading up to the new millennium. . . A book which follows the adventures of five larger than life characters as they prepare an IPO (Initial Public Offering)." INSCRIBED on the title page and dated in the year of publication. 224 pp. ISBN: 0-867195355.

New York: Norton, (1978). Hardcover first edition - The poet and the prolific science fiction writer join forces to produce a bunch of these short humorous verses - includes 144 limericks collected by Asimov and 147 by Ciardi in this literary duel. 101 pp. ISBN: 0-393-014835.

New York: Akashic Books, (2019). SIGNED hardcover first edition - With his trademark humor, Mansbach "tackles a new addition to the family and all the fears and frustrations attendant to the simple, math-defying fact that two is a million more kids than one. As you probably know by now, you shouldn't read it to a child." Illustrated by Owen Brozman. INSCRIBED by Mansbach on the title page with the words "Play nice." Small oblong format, unpaginated. ISBN: 978-1617757600.

New York: Grand Central Publishing, (2016). SIGNED first edition - Here are "the most outrageous wrecks in Shipwreck's three-year history, drawn kicking and moaning from twenty-three of history's most cherished books and illustrated for your pleasure." Contributors include Seanan McGuire (who wrote the introduction as well as the first selection on The Great Gatsby), Mara Wilson, Joseph Fink, John Scalzi, Carolyn Ho, Jacquelyn Landgraf, Alexander Chee, and many others. SIGNED on the title page. Index. 285 pp. ISBN: 978-1455566426.

New York: McGraw-Hill, (1959). First edition - Award-winning cartoonist's second book - Ella was a chimney sweep in a big office building who lost her job when it became automated, but with the help of her "friendly neighborhood godmother" she became a big-bosomed movie star known as Passionella. By contrast, the final story "Boom" is on the rush to test ever bigger and bigger bombs.

New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, (1971). First edition - Black and white comic strips, unpaginated. ISBN: 0-030867134.

Paris: Dargaud, (1994). Hardcover first edition - Illustr de nombreux dessins en couleur. Conception graphique - Didier Gonard; couleurs - Claire de Graef. Texte en francias (Text in French). Cartoons. The 24th book in this Belgian comic series about an eponymous inventor and self-proclaimed genius and his long-suffering assistant, Basile, who most often serves as a guinea-pig for the inventions. Looking on are are Raoul the cat and Bernadette the mouse. Large format. 48 pp. ISBN: 2-884250050.

New York: Random House, (1961). Award-winning cartoonist's fourth book.

Washington, D.C.: Institute for the Study of Man, (1983). Hardcover - Anecdotes about literary figures, actors, artists and more ( the last chapter is "religious revelling"), originally published in 1953. 183 pp. ISBN: 0-941694127.

New York: Simon & Schuster, (1995) dj. SIGNED hardcover first edition - "A survival guide for the midlife male, addressing virtually all of his concerns and offering outrageous suggestions on everything from sexual performance anxiety to memory lapses to cars" as well as dating again, wives and ex-wives and much more. Illustrated with several full-page caricatures. INSCRIBED on the front endpaper, and simply signed "Bruce." 158 pp. ISBN: 0-684802066.

Berkeley, CA: Viva Editions, (2013) dj. Hardcover first edition - Vintage photographs from the 1950s and 1960s are combined with Joseph's pithy captions to create a book that is fun to browse. Small square format, unpaginated. ISBN: 9781936740680.

Newport Beach, CA Funny Books (2007). SIGNED first edition - A compilation of funny e-mails from debut authors Billie Jo Mouren and Gwen Anderson. INSCRIBED on the first page " To - - Laugh out Loud!" and dated. Includes over 300 colored prints and over 400 e-mails, index, 261 pp. ISBN: 9780980122206.

New York: Random House (1999) dj. Hardcover first edition - The author, an editor for Harper's Magazine, writes a tongue-in-cheek guide of how to advance in life . Witty guidelines cover everything from what to wear, and whom to befriend, what to say, and what not to say. 131 pp. ISBN: 0-679-426051.

New York: Simon & Schuster, (2008) dj. Hardcover - . . and 50 Other Mind-Blowing Essays That Will Blow Your Mind All Over Your Face. The first book by this comedian, actor and screenplay writer. 224 pp. ISBN: 9781416964056.

New York: Putnam, (1983.) dj. SIGNED hardcover - *At My Age, Sex Gets Second Billing. The comedian shares his secrets for a long life and a good martini with readers everywhere. INSCRIBED on the front endpaper. Illustrated with photographs. 187 pp plus a final double spread photograph. ISBN: 0-399-129391.