Cupid’s Cyclopedia

Compiled, so its title page claims, for Daniel Cupid himself, Cupid’s Cyclopedia (1910) pairs the humorist Oliver Herford with illustrator John Cecil Clay (1875-1930), a West Virginia born artist whose drawings of pretty young women ran in Life, The Century Magazine, and Good Housekeeping. Charles Scribner’s Sons published the little volume, which poses as a reference work and runs through the alphabet of courtship with mock dictionary definitions. Clay’s paintings, which often blended women’s faces into flowers, gave the joke its visual charm and made first editions popular Valentine gifts. The pairing proved successful enough to produce a sequel the following year. The book survives as a snapshot of Edwardian American humor about romance. Free PDF download available on BDeBooks.