Lucretia J. Weed's Copy of Stop Trying to Cheer Me Up! by Frank Modell

Publisher Lucretia J. Weed's copy of Stop Trying to Cheer Me Up! was inscribed to her by cartoonist Frank Modell in 1978, the year of publication. For a collection of Modell cartoons, the title is perfect.

The back cover features a unicorn on a unicycle. What else? The play on words might not be immediately apparent.

Modell inscribed the front free endpaper, but it takes two efforts for him to spell Lucretia correctly.

Half title

Title page

All but four of the one-hundred sixty drawings were first published in The New Yorker. The work spans thirty years in the magazine, 1948-1978.

The book is dedicated to three people. The former Daisy Simon and Irving Modell were the cartoonist's parents. James Geraghty, of course, was the magazine's art editor from 1939 to 1973.

"And when did it first occur to you that perhaps life is not a cabaret?"

Frank Modell
eBay listing ended July 12, 2025

https://www.ebay.com/itm/405533414673?_skw=Stop+Trying+to+Cheer+Me+Up%21+Signed+Frank+Modell%2F1st+Ed%2FHCDJ+1978+Humor+Cartoons&epid=4598692&itmmeta=01K3YVYB47HC3XDE2BQEYY1J9M&hash=item5e6bacd511:g:Y4UAAOSwILJnqQEi&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAABEFkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1dAsTDW17yImIO0vsR7QhtTIVkQ0w1Tvf2WfV3kuRMgsjxAEn7CiQrbWtUldBpke2SZ5kVNFp7k9liJZdYj83Pyr4Txi2%2FPtudzw28F2

H%2BH7yCWtpRmcSHjxQ7dvwgIt4P779K0xxTAqh8M8%2BwRyB8VACcWh32t6NdSmRNdLV%2FfY037sea0fomLzsN2C%2B2ttUWm0LbAhI1%2FOzq2RTvexVyjtxmRzUz0A3tcWXPbotwY338mHsLuJ1P0pCbN7Sk3Mb%2BcGhVmDIVbvL3%2BxoIZZyp4otVXD5F%2BOGFizNcBbq01WXAzBwJpDuDSqpt6Byb4K9LAmyTuw18QAR%2FukV5%2FE2S%2B%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR5iy-dufZg&pfm=1

Frank Modell
eBay item description

Sold for a Best Offer of $40.

And for anyone who doesn't get the one cartoon this eBay seller chose to photograph, this might very well help:

05049

Of Spam and Spelling

Even spammers should proofread. Here's a peek at what I found in my spam box on September 9, 2018. As you can see, I'm always on the trail of better performance:

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Spam

Spelling

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The African Svelte Signed by Daniel Menaker and Roz Chast

A bibliophile friend of mine happily passes along the advice that one should always try to obtain the best copy of a book one can. I had an opportunity to put this advice to practice in January when I shopped for a signed copy of Daniel Menaker's The African Svelte:  Ingenious Misspellings that Make Surprising Sense (2016). The book is illustrated by cartoonist Roz Chast.

I had a choice between two copies of the book. The first was offered by Daedalus books. It was the less expensive copy and had a signed bookplate.

The African Svelte
Daedalus Books Listing as of January 10, 2017

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=20613481721&searchurl=sts%3Dt%26kn%3Dsigned%26sortby%3D17%26an%3DRoz%2BChast%2B

The African Svelte
Daedalus Books Item Description

The other selection comes from Ryan Books in New York. It was the more expensive option but was signed by the author and illustrator at the Thalia Book Club at Symphony Space on November 14, 2016. I think my choice was clear, the money be damned.

The African Svelte
Ryan Books Listing as of January 10, 2017

The African Svelte
Ryan Books Item Description

My purchase:

Daniel Menaker, The African Svelte:  Ingenious Misspellings
That Make Surprising Sense, 2016
Drawings by Roz Chast
Foreword by Billy Collins

Signed by Daniel Menaker and Roz Chast

Daniel Menaker, Calvin Trillin, and Roz Chast

Note:  This is Daniel Menaker's first mention here on the old blog. I think he's earned it.

I have not been fortunate enough to obtain a signed copy of Calvin Trillin's No Fair! No Fair! and Other Jolly Poems of Childhood also illustrated by Roz Chast and also published in 2016. Would anyone present at the Thalia Book Club event care to send photos or scans of a signed copy?

The bookplate-signed copy of The African Svelte from Daedalus books is still available as of this posting.


Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Roz Chast

Signed Books

Calvin Trillin

Jack Ziegler (1942-2017)

Attempted Bloggery's Mispelled Index

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