For People who Laugh by Adair Welcker
Description
Second Hand / Antiquarian
For People who Laugh – Showing How, Through Woman, Came Laughter into the World
by Adair Welcker
Published: Adair Welcker, San Francisco 1904
Condition: Good, no dust jacket. An ex-library book, from the Edinburgh Lodge of the Theosophical Society. There is a library plate attached to the inside of the front board. On the front flyleaf, possibly from around the time the book was published, someone has written in blue fountain pen the words of dedication purportedly inscribed by the author in the copy sent to the German Emperor. Also an extra page has been inserted just prior to publication with a concise statement by the author outlining his aim. This page features an additional inscription by the same hand as the one on the front flyleaf drawing attention to the author’s mention of a copy sent to the Archbishop of Canterbury. The binding is firm, the pages (apart from the inscriptions mentioned) are clean and unmarked.
Adair Welcker (1858-1926) was a California-based lawyer. His works, including plays and poems, drew on science, law journalism and historical research. He styled himself ‘the Sacramento Shakespeare’. The response of critics at the time was scorn and bewilderment. Despite rejection from commercial publishers he self-published and sent copies of his works to major libraries and universities worldwide. The University of Chicago keeps an extensive archive of his writings. He argues in this work that laughter was introduced to the world specifically by women. The text explores how women have have shaped comedy and entertainment from ancient times to the modern era.
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