archys life of mehitabel

1933 sort of but 1938 doubleday edition
don Marquis
illustrated by george herriman
archys life of mehitabel
original price unknown bought used for three bucks
worn hardcover
b


the copyright page goes from 1916 to 1933
but then the title page says 1938
but wotto hell
there are flappers and the great depression
and a few other sort of topical things
like hollywood and free verse
in this book of archy the cockroach
and his pal mehitabel the cat the latter
making for comparison and contrast
with ann vickers
although no crusading reformer like
miss vickers mehitabel is also
a free spirit and unwed mother
who cant live with or without mr wrongs
despite her ambitions for a career
in her case as an artist
of unspecified path
the illustrations are by the
krazy kat guy which is ironic
considering he cant draw cats without
making them look like pointy eared dogs
however there is a classic pic on page 61
of ellis island officials armed with
everything from a magnifying glass to
a telescope quote investigating her morals
unquote which are happily nonexistent and
which Miss Vickers would probably
get a kick out of

gee boss its not easy typing without
punctuation or capitals as poor archy
has to do due to being so small
wonder what hed make of keyboards
and the interwebs and all that stuff
but its not just a gimmick and theres
some nice philosophy and gags that
have aged pretty well not just from the
early twentieth century but from when
i picked up this book as a kid because
it was illustrated and wotto hell
wotto hell
toujours gai