ForewordThis is the original Joe Miller's Joke Book. Or more Joe Miller’s Jest An Immense Collection of the Funniest Jokes, Quaint and Laughable Anecdotes, Mirth Provoking Stories, Brilliant Witticisms, and Queer Sayings, As told by the Original Joe Miller (1684-1738), compiled and edited and published by John Mottley in 1739, a year after Joe Miller's death. Two later editions are known to have been published in 1815 and 1844 and Mark Lemon (1809-1870) added a significant number of jokes and published “The Jest Book” in 1864 in the style of Joe Miller and by not using his own name, may have intended that readers would believe these were all Joe Miller’s jokes . There are some who would argue that every joke you’ve ever heard is a variation on a joke or anecdote in Joe Miller’s Jest Book and it’s a treat to see how many of the jokes hold up centuries later.Joe Miller was a real person—an actor whose life bridged the 17th and 18th centuries. His eponymous book was a big hit—even back then—and was plagiarized shamelessly and re-printed many times over. The joke book as an entity almost immediately became synonymous with Joe Miller’s name and as a result, publishers tacked his name on virtually every facsimile to ensure demand for the books, which by now boasted jokes and anecdotes numbering in the thousands. Ironically, Joe Miller, while a popular stage performer did not actually write the book that bears his name as, by all accounts, he was illiterate. The reader of this original text by Mottley will readily see that, even taking into account the manner of speaking in the 19th century, the original editor might not have won any spelling bees or aced the English grammar exam.Many of the jokes are topical a propos the times in which the jokes were published, and as a result many names may not be familiar. Other names of well-known people who were the butt of the jokes were spelled out with missing letters to avoid offending the high and mighty.About half of the jokes are funny today. Humor is so dependent on the local culture of the period that some of the puns may be incomprehensible because you don't know the customs, headlines, prejudices and scandals of the time. But the half that are funny will probably be just as funny in another 200 years or more.In the period that these jokes were written, it was customary to put the punch line in italics. That may offer some help in deciphering the more obtuse gags.Remember as you read these, that this was much funnier 150 years ago when you knew all the famous people whose names Mr. Mottley drops throughout the pages. Whether yesteryear’s personalities, politicians and celebrities really said these remarks is another question. The tradition of immortalizing the wit and wisdom of a country’s icons has never gone out of style. Celebrities, people who are famous for being famous, most politicians and yes, even stand-up comics and comedians, have writers who put words into their mouths to boost their career, their recognition factor and, of course, in turn, their incomes.In times past, displaying a sense of humor of any sort was a precious attribute and it is no less so now. So here it is, pretty much the way it first appeared in print. Indeed, the image of the cover is just as it first appeared in print. Enjoy! R.D.S.
