Author: MOTTLEY (Johm), compiler:
Title: Joe Miller's Jests; Or, the Wit's Vade Mecum: Being A Collection of the most Brilliant Jests, the excellent Bon Mots, and the most pleasant short Stories, in the English Language: A originally edited by John Mottley, Esq. Author of the Life of Peter the Great, &c. With Considerable Additions. A Collection of Witty and Moral Sentences; And the most pointed and truly valuable Epigrams and Epitaphs; With the Names of the Authors, to such as are know. Inscribed to the Choice Spirits of the Age! A New Edition.
Description: London: Printed and Published by J. Barker, Dramatic Repository... [no date] [?1796}. 12mo, 184 x 111 mms., pp. [vi], [5] 6 - 164, engraved frontispiece, engraved portrait of Joe Miller as Teague (Published by T. Rodd...), printed obituary notice on recto of leaf after portrait, with adverts on verso and next leaf, many leaves uncut, later half calf, marbled boards; front joint cracked and weak. Joe Miller's Jests was first published in 1739, and there have probably been umpteen jillion later editions, along with facsimiles of the first edition offered for sale as a genuine first edition. Th work was compiled by Elijah Jenkins under the pseudonym of John Mottley. The comic actor and singer Josias Miller (1683/ - 1738) provided a name for the "jests," but very little of the material comes from him. The only listing for Barker as printer and publisher in OCLC is for an edition of 1796, but adding "His Majesty's Poet-Laureat, Mr. David Garrick, Mr. The. Cibber, Mr. Justice Boden's house, Tom Jones, the most impudent man living, the Rev. Mr. Henley, and Job Baker, the kettle drummer" before "A New Edition," words which do not appear in this copy of the title-page. ESTC also gives 1796 for a similar text, but with 168 pages, and with a watermark of 1796 on the frontispiece; again, the frontispiece, with horizontal chain lines, has no watermark. The ESTC listing, T225377, seems to be for the same book, with a watermark, and 168 pages. In the above copy, the word "Finis" appears on the lower margin of page 164. This, and the presence of the black-bordered obituary suggest that this is an unrecorded edition.

Keywords: WIT humour prose


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