1901 The Bilioustine: Magazine Parody of The Philistine Roycroft Elbert Hubbard For Sale

The Bilioustine. A Periodical of Knock. Printed whenever we need the money by the Boy Grafters at East Aurora, Illinois. Written by Bert Leston Taylor. This edition consists of two hundred and fifty copies, of which this is Number 25. Evanston, Illinois: William S. Lord, 1901. Contemporary binding measures 8 x 5\".
In good to fair condition. Woven cloth boards normally scuffed at edges and worn/bumped at corners; black permanent ink stamped title on boards lightly rubbed. SPINE LACKING - cloth binding exposed. Ownership bookplate found on front paste-down: \"Peter Cadley. Book-keeper\". Pencil marginalia above bookplate on front paste-down. Text-block lightly toned in margins. Red & black ink lettering bright and clean. Binding intact. Please see photos and ask questions, if any, before purchasing. The Bilioustine may have been this country’s first full-length magazine parody, though no one thought to make that claim when it was published back in 1901. It’s still one of the funniest, thanks to the wit of author Bert Leston Taylor and the barn-size targets provided by Elbert Hubbard and his self-published organ, The Philistine. On April 12, 1901, Taylor introduced his readers to one “Fra McGinnis,” spiritual leader of “the Society of Boy Grafters” and purveyor of “gold bricks and other articles calculated to con the community, especially that part of it which is female and literary and adores speaking eyes and conversational long hair.” Within a month, Taylor-as-McGinnis had written enough material to fill a small magazine, and in May he collaborated with publisher William S. Lord of Evanston, Ill., on the first issue of The Bilioustine: A Periodical of Knock. It wasn’t the first burlesque of the little-magazine phenomenon, but it was the first to target a specific title. Taylor was a former typesetter, and he made sure his 24-page, 6″-by-4″ pamphlet resembled The Philistine in layout, page size and paper stock. It was an immediate hit. “
RAREA1901BNOD - 10/26 - HK4038