Immortalia Bibliography (2004)

Below is the first edition of Immortalia along with various reissues. Last revised 7 April 2020.

Immortalia: An Anthology of American Ballads, Sailors' Songs, Cowboy Songs, College Songs, Parodies, Limericks, and other humorous verses and doggerel. 1927. "Now for the first time brought together in book form, By A Gentleman About Town" [Thomas R. Smith. New York: Macy-Masius; later Jacob Baker, Vanguard Press.] iii, 184 pp., 4to. Signatures gathered in eight leaves.

To the left is a true first edition which is limited to 1000 copies and sold by subscription only. It has a watermark that says Warren's Olde Style with visible laid lines in the paper and there is an inverted line, "And he learned to pray 'mid the hogs and hay", on page 55, line 19. The first edition appeared in the first three months of 1927 because the Samuel Roth's "Louvain Book" pirated 4to edition dates no later than April 1927.

This first edition was reprinted four times: 1928, 1960, 1964 and 1975 (see below).

The "Warren's Olde Style" Watermark.

In issuing The Horn Book, a book on erotic bibliography, G. Legman teasingly reused the Warren's Olde Style watermark from Immortalia. This joke would only be known to future erotic bibliographers because he mentions neither Immortalia's nor The Horn Book's watermark.¹

Immortalia: An Anthology of American Ballads, Sailors' Songs, Cowboy Songs, College Songs, Parodies, Limericks, and other humorous verses and doggerel. 1927. "Now for the first time brought together in book form, By A Gentleman About Town" [1928?] iii, 184 pp., 4to. Size: 10.75" by 7.75", Signatures gathered in eight leaves.

This 2nd edition was printed from plates that produced noticeable type impression to the paper hence this was not offset. Methods that may have produced this edition are collotype or, less likely, stereotype. The later hypothesis assumes access to the original plates or typeset.

This edition is printed on wove paper is watermarked "Warren's Olde Style" with no visible laid lines. Plate production was very poor and introduced many defects. Typographical peculiarities of this edition are as follows:

1) On page 8 the poem is missing title & author. It should have "Lady Lil / Eugene Field" at the top of the page.

2) The last word, "two", of poem "King David" on page 10 is omitted.

3) Text "squished" on page 37 in the song "Sweet and Pretty Little Nose". This lends support to the photo-mechanical phototype hypothesis.

4) It retains uncorrected the 1st edition defect of the inverted line on page 54.

5) On page 67 this edition hand corrects the missing "CH" of the title MARY'S LITTLE WATCH.

6) On page 138, this edition connects the middle E in BEE.

7) On page 160, "XX" is smudged.

8) On page 169, "LXV" is missing.

9) The page numbers have been reset and there are no brackets around the page numbers of the index (see pg. 183).

We have seen two later copies of this edition one was a small 4to (Size: 8.75" x 7") with signatures gathered in 16 leaves. Another later copy was further reduced 8vo (Size: 8.5" x 5.5") and rebound in quarter green leather. Both copies have noticeable type impression in the paper and are not offset because the offset printing process does not produce relief.

This phototyped edition was offset in reduced size, both 4to and 8vo, by one publisher (see below).

Immortalia: An Anthology of American Ballads, Sailors' Songs, Cowboy Songs, College Songs, Parodies, Limericks, and Other Humorous Verses and Doggerel No For the First Time Brought Together in Book Form. By a Gentleman About Town. [2], iii, 184 pp. 9-1/2" by 7-1/4", cloth, paper spine label. 1 of 1000 copies privately printed for subscribers. No place: 1927

NOT SEEN. The above description was taken from Pacific Book Auctions website. Note that 9 1/2" x 7 1/4" size, in cloth, and with a paper spine label.

Immortalia. Privately Printed for Subscribers. (S.F.?). 1927 (c1930) 8"x11" 3/4 morocco with raised bands and gilt spine decorations and marbled boards and endpapers. I+iii+184. Elegantly printed, entirely reset edition with all the typographical errors of the original (such as the inverted line on page 54) corrected. Complete text of the original. Legman p 394; Hoffman p 116.

NOT SEEN. The above description was taken from Dr. Scheiner's, a noted Brooklyn, NY erotica dealer, Compendium of Erotica. Scheiner said that edition was printed in San Francisco for Jacob Zeitlin and may have been issued a few days before the actual 1st edition. If you have a copy, please email me at .

Immortalia: An Anthology of American Ballads, Sailors' Songs, Cowboy Songs, College Songs, Parodies, Limericks, and other humorous verses and doggerel. 1927. "Now for the first time brought together in book form, By A Gentleman About Town" [New York: Samuel Roth, early 1927.] iii, 184 pp., 4to. Signatures gathered in eight leaves.

A piracy, printed on paper watermarked Louvain Book, with visible laid lines which was concurrently used by Roth in his magazine Casanova Jr.'s Tales. By April 1927, Roth stopped using the "Louvain Book" watermarked paper for the Casanova Jr.'s Tales as most likely because it was being diverted to print -- or had already been used up in printing -- this edition of Immortalia.

Very similar in appearance to the 1st edition. This edition has a double set note on page 40 and the note on page 108 ends "*Field said his wift (sic) took the boy away on a visit," This line should read "officers singing this hymn."

This edition was offset reprinted twice -- once as The Karman Society edition and as A Book of Vulgar Verse (see below).

Later Bindings:

Immortalia: An Anthology of American Ballads, Sailors' Songs, Cowboy Songs, College Songs, Parodies, Limericks, and other humorous verses and doggerel. 1927. "Now for the first time brought together in book form, By A Gentleman About Town" [c.1932. New York: Samuel Roth or, less likely, Philadelphia: Nathan Young and Robert Sterling]. iii, 184 pp., 8vo. Signatures gathered in 16 leaves. (Size: 6" x 8.75").

A pirated edition printed on paper which has no watermark or laid lines. Text has been offset -- but not reduced -- from the "Warren's Olde Style" 2nd printing. Hence it retains the typographical peculiarities of that edition:

1) On page 8 the poem is missing title & author. It should have "Lady Lil / Eugene Field" at the top of the page.

2) It lacks the last word "two" on page 10 of the "King David" poem.

3) Text squished on page 37 in the song "Sweet and Pretty Little Nose"

4) The inverted line on page 54

5) On page 67 this edition hand corrects the missing "CH" of the title MARY'S LITTLE WATCH.

6) On page 138, this edition connects the middle E in BEE.

7) On page 160, "XX" is smudged.

8) On page 169, "LXV" is missing.

9) There are no brackets around the page numbers of the index (see pg. 183).

The titlepage and pg 184 are both much yellower than the other pages because they have been "burned" by the red endpaper that has been used by this publisher.

I have seen five copies of this edition. Four copies were bound in 1/4 leather with matching brownish red cloth corners (making it appear to be 1/2 leather), with a contrasting green label and red marbled boards. I also have one copy in a full green cloth with original dustjacket. This green cloth binding has nothing to identify it. All of these bindings, which share the same red endpaper, appear original and from the 1930's.

A difference between the cloth & leather printings is on page 40 on the 4th line of "What My Wife Wants Tonight" poem. The full cloth has replaced the letters "ell" of the word "hell" whereas these three letters are completely missing in the 1/4 leather printings. More copies need to be examined before this can be used as an identifying point.

The "Philadelphia: Nathan Young and Robert Sterling" assertion above is from Legman's 1990 JAFL "International Erotic Songs Bibliography". Dr. Cliff Scheiner, a Brooklyn, NY erotica dealer, believes this edition to be the work of Samuel Roth and says that the red construction paper is consistent with his other books of this time period. Thanks you Dr. Scheiner for that input.

Variant bindings:

The Yellow Stream. c. 1932. I. P. STANDING [pseud.; U.S. c. 1932.]. Cover title, (38) pp., 12mo, offset from typewriting. Made-up book, for private mail sales in response to classified magazine advertisements ("Price Five Dollars"), composed almost exclusively of texts copied from Immortalia but it does one or two additions. Also reported as: The Yellow River, "Privately Printed" [c. 1940]. This may be a predecessor to the reported typed version of Immortalia below.

Immortalia: An Anthology of American Ballads, Sailor's Songs, Cowboy Songs, College Parodies, Limericks, and other Humerous Songs, brought to you by a gentleman about town. [Hand numbered limited edition].

This unidentified edition of Immortalia is a typescript version of the book. It is reported in a post by John B. to the usenet group rec.arts.books.marketplace 26 Apr 1997 (see here [screenshot below]) and there is another typed copy of Immortalia reported by Guy Logsdon on pg 356 of The Whorehouse Bells Were Ringing. This may be a successor to The Yellow Stream above.

Immortalia: An Anthology of American Ballads, Sailors' Songs, Cowboy Songs, College Songs, Parodies, Limericks, and other humorous verses and doggerel. "Edited by Arthur Mackay. The Karman Society." [1956-1964. Tokyo: The Rockmay Press.] iii, 184 pp., 12mo.

"2nd Printing
1952"
|

This DJ is priced in dollars.

Text is offset & reduced from the Roth "Louvian Book" pirated edition (see above) and retains the errors and double-settings of that edition, e.g., the notes on pages 40 & 108. The title page has been redesigned and the first and last line of the introduction have been changed from the "The Man in Town" to "The Editor".

There is at least one printing of this edition (c1962) gives the name of the publisher as The Rockmay Press on both the dustjacket and the title page. The dustjacket is priced is priced in Yen and Dollars. This confirms Legman's statements that this was printed in Japan for US soldiers. (See second copy on the left).

One printing of this edition has "First Published 1927 / Second Issued 1952 / by / The Karman Press / Calcutta and New York" on the last page with a dustjacket which is priced in dollars (see images to the right).

This DJ is priced in Yen and dollars

Immortalia: An Anthology of American Ballads, Sailors' Songs, Cowboy Songs, College Songs, Parodies, Limericks, and other humorous verses and doggerel. 1960. "Now for the first time brought together in book form, By A Gentleman About Town". iii, 184 pp., 4to.

Issued in full pink cloth. This is an offset reissue of the first edition. There are changes to the title page. The date is changed from 1927 to 1960 and the floral design is replaced with an Andre Durenceau image from Immoral Ballads. The inverted line "And he learned to pray 'mid the hogs and hay" on page 54 has been corrected but is slightly to the RIGHT of the other text.

Immortalia: An Anthology of American Ballads, Sailors' Songs, Cowboy Songs, College Songs, Parodies, Limericks, and other humorous verses and doggerel. "Now for the first time brought together in book form, By A Gentleman About Town. 250 copies reprinted by Another Gentleman About Town for his friends. None is for general sale. 1964." [1966. San Francisco]. iii, 184 pp., 4to.

Offset reprint of the 1st edition which, like the edition directly above, has corrected the inverted line "And he learned to pray 'mid the hogs and hay" on page 54 but this line is noticeably to the LEFT of the other text.

The "1966. San Francisco." assertion above is from Legman in his 1990 JAFL "International Erotic Songs Bibliography".

Immortalia By A Gentleman About Town. 1968. Pendulum Books, 123 Simpson Street, NW Atlanta, Georgia. 194 pp., 12mo.

Two page introduction by "Frank Hoffman, Ph.D., Buffalo New York, August 1968." This trade paperback is entirely reset.

________. 1969. Same. Facsimile title page. On verso: "Presented to the public, 1969, by Parthena Press, Venice, California" [Arlington, Texas: John Newbern]. (3), iii, 183 pp., 16mo.

Entirely reset in pocket size. Announces a sequel in preparation for which contributions are to be sent to "Betty Parthena." Sequel did not appear, as publisher died of a heart-attack in Chicago while climbing into a taxicab laden with sample books.

Immortalia: An Anthology of American Ballads, Sailors' Songs, Cowboy Songs, College Songs, Parodies, Limericks, and other humorous verses and doggerel. "One thousand copies of this book were privately printed in 1927 and none were for general sale." 1975. Immortalia Press: Long Beach, Ca. iii, 184 pp., 8vo.

This is an offset reissue of the first edition. There are changes to the title page. The inverted line "And he learned to pray 'mid the hogs and hay" on page 54 has been corrected but is to the LEFT of the other text but not as much as the 1964 San Francisco edition.

Issued in full red cloth, endpapers in white wove paper. The text is printed on a yellowish chain laid paper. This was offset from the 1st pirated edition. It retains the peculiarities of that edition.

A Book of Vulgar Verse: An Anthology of American Ballads, Sailors' Songs, Cowboy Songs, College Songs, Parodies, Limericks, and other humorous verses and doggerel. 1981. Toronto: Checkerbooks, Inc. iii, 184 pp., large thick 8vo.

Offset from the "Louvain Book" edition. It retains the peculiarities of that edition (e.g. the double set note on page 40 and the note on page 108 ends "*Field said his wift (sic) took the boy away on a visit," This line should read "officers singing this hymn.")

¹ The hypothesis that someone chose the Warren's Olde Style watermarked paper is a testable theory. It predicts that there should be no watermarked paper being used by University Books in 1963 and it allows, at most, one print run of another title in 1964 to be partially of this paper as the watermarked paper is being used up. Dr. Scheiner has reported that not every book in the first printing has the Warren's Olde Style watermark. It will take some private correspondence with the publisher or claims from the hand of Legman to support my supposition that Legman was responsible for the use of the Warren's Olde Style paper.