(left: Canada postage stamp; right: 1st ed. John Lane, 1919, rare signed of his most famous book)
(rare signed letter to Frank S. Myers who was in a landmark legal case–1923-26–vs. United States; Leacock also wrote him the following note and sent him a signed postcard and a complimentary book via Dodd Mead, his publisher, pictured below)
(rare dj of U.S. Ed., Dodd Mead, 1932 with 3 signed letters and postcard laid and tipped in)
(scarce dj, John Lane, 1919–1st ed.; Carlton Ellinger–artist))
(scarce dj, Gundy, 1920–1st ed.)
(rare dj, Dodd Mead, 1922)
(rare dj, Bodley Head, 1923; artist–Hassall)
(scarce dj, Gundy, 1924–1st ed.; artist–John Reld)
(rare dj, Dodd Mead, 1926–1st ed.; artist–John Reld)
(scarce dj, Dodd Mead, 1928–1st ed.)
(rare dj; Dodd Mead, 1931–1st ed.; artist–Arthur Hawkins)
(rare dj, Bodley Head, 1933)
(highly recommended Leacock A/V: left to right, top to bottom: sealed Stephen Leacock: Gertrude the Governess–read by Christopher Plummer, Caedmon–artist: Hirschfeld; An Evening with Stephen Leacock–by John Stark, narrator: Gordon Pinsent, Tapestry/CBC, 1981; John Drainie Reads Stephen Leacock, Melbourne/London, 1967; photos: Karsh & Thompson; Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town movie adaptation; CBC/eOne, 2012; early paperbacks– Literary Lapses–Collins, 1945; Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town–Collins, 1944; CD–Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town–CBC, 1946 radio production; not pictured here: Life & Times: Stephen Leacock–CBC)
(recommended reading with visuals: Leacock, Jackdaw No. C24, Clarke Irwin, 1970–includes rare Leacock on record; The Stephen Leacock Picture Book, Dundurn, 1998; Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town–McClelland & Stewart, 1996, illustrator: Wesley W. Bates)
Satirist Stephen (Butler) Leacock (1869-1944) was Canada’s first great humorist; he was also a notable political economist and professor at McGill (1908-1936, retiring at 65 against his will). The Leacock Medal for Humour was established in his honor. His first book Elements of Political Science (1906) was the best-selling book in his lifetime. His first humor book was Literary Lapses (1910), published the year Mark Twain died; in fact, Leacock was often referred to as the Canadian Mark Twain. In all, he wrote 60+ books; his last were Last Leaves and The Boy I Left Behind Me, published posthumously. Leacock was a raconteur and platform speaker with a world-wide reputation. My Discovery of the West won a Governor-General’s Award for Non-fiction in 1937.