MOTTLEY, John.

£4,500 · Offered by Peter Harrington · No longer available

Joe Miller's Jests: or the Wits Vade-mecum. First edition of this popular joke book. So many editions were subsequently published that the term "Joe Miller" entered the language to refer to a stale joke.Joe Miller (1683/4-1738) was a comic actor, known for his reputation as a comedian off-stage. The "jests" included, however, were mainly drawn from earlier sources "and had little to do with Miller; he features in only three tales" (ODNB). His name was likely used to draw on Miller's popularity after his death. The phrase became so ubiquitous as to be mentioned in works as diverse as A Christmas Carol (1843) and a 1942 Daffy Duck cartoon.Provenance: Ralph Sneyd (1793–1870) of Keele Hall; sale, Sotheby's London, 30 November 1927, lot 603 – James F. Drake, bookseller, cataloguing note loosely inserted – Marjorie Wiggin Prescott, sale Christie's New York, 6 February 1981, lot 263 - Stephen C. Massey.

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