The Limerick

The Limerick

When George Alexander Legman, later Gershon, was a freshman at the University of Michigan (before he was expelled for stealing a typewriter), he became acquainted with two young instructors of English, Charles Walcutt and P. H. Erbes, Jr. Walcutt and Erbes had a manuscript collection of bawdy limericks which they titled Lapses in Limerick . Although they declined to grant Legman's request for a copy of their collection, they did share their limerick headings — "Little Romances from Real Life," "Organs: Strange, Heroical, and Inadequate," "Abuses of the Clergy," "Strange Intercourse."  These headers were to become the inspiration for Legman's landmark volumes.

Over the years, Legman's own limerick collection grew by leaps and bounds. Unable to publish The Limerick, as he titled it, in the United States, he turned in 1953 to the less straight laced French publishing industry. Although the French showed no hesitation in printing the bawdy collection, they refused him the protection of a copyright, a fact which was to haunt him all his days. Unlike American printers who print more copies than ordered, the French printers printed the exact number ordered — after subtracting misprints and thefts (the Parisian printers supplemented their income by free enterprise) a shrunken order was delivered, another thorn in Legman's side.

When the Fanny Hill case opened the United States to limericks and other material with "redeeming social value," a number of legitimate reprints and pirated editions appeared. Since The Limerick was not copyrighted, publishers were free to copy at will. Appearing here are the editions, authorized and unauthorized, of G. Legman's classic endeavor.

Les Hautes Etudes   Panther    Bell   Castle Oppel   Castle 1992 Collectors Publications
Brandywine    Wings Jupiter Greenleaf   Citadel Fredonia Poplar Excel Regalia   Peek-A-Boo


The Limerick: 1700 Examples, with Notes, Variants and Index
Paris: Les Hautes Etudes, 1953
No Copyright
515 pp.
1739+ limericks
Soft Cover
5.1" X 7.4" tall



The Limerick, Volume I
G. Legman, Editor
Frogmore, St. Albans, Herts: Panther, 1976
Copyright 1964, 1969 by G. Legman
283 pp.
1739+ limericks in two volumes
Soft Cover
4.4" X 7.0" tall



The Limerick, Volume II
G. Legman, Editor
Frogmore, St. Albans, Herts: Panther, 1976
Copyright 1964, 1969 by G. Legman
285 pp.
1739+ limericks in two volumes
Soft Cover
4.4" X 7.0" tall



The Limerick: 1700 Examples, with Notes, Variants and Index
Edited by G. Legman
New York: Bell Publishing Company
Copyright MCMLXIV, MCMLXIX by G. Legman
517 pp.
1739+ limericks
Hard Cover
6.3" X 9.3" tall



The Limerick
Edited by G. Legman
New York: Brandywine Press, 1970
Copyright 1964, 1969 by G. Legman
517 pp.
1739+ limericks
Hard Cover
6.5" X 9.3" tall



The Limerick: 1700 Examples, with Notes, Variants and Index
Edited by G. Legman
New York: Wings Books, 1964
Copyright 1964, 1969 by G. Legman
ISBN 0-517-06505-3
511 pp.
1739+ limericks
Hard Cover
6.2" X 9.3" tall



The Limerick: 1700 Examples, with Notes, Variants and Index
Edited by G. Legman
London: Jupiter Books, 1974
Copyright 1964, 1969 by G. Legman
511 pp.
1739+ limericks
Hard Cover
6.2" X 9.3" tall



The Limerick, 1700 Examples, with Notes, Variants and Index Book One
with an introduction by L. T. WOODWARD, M.D.
Source page cites the uncopyrighted Les Hautes Etudes edition
San Diego: Greenleaf Classics, Inc., 1967
Copyright 1967 by Greenleaf Classics, Inc.
233 pp.
1739+ limericks in two volumes
Soft Cover
4.25" X 7.0" tall



The Limerick, 1700 Examples, with Notes, Variants and Index Book Two
with an introduction by L. T. WOODWARD, M.D.
Source page cites the uncopyrighted Les Hautes Etudes edition
San Diego: Greenleaf Classics, Inc., 1967
Copyright 1967 by Greenleaf Classics, Inc.
289 pp. paginated 239-522
1739+ limericks in two volumes
Soft Cover
4.25" X 7.0" tall



The Limerick: 1700 Examples, with Notes, Variants and Index
The Famous Paris Edition, Complete and Unexpurgated
Secaucus NJ: Citadel Press, nd
No copyright
517 pp.
1739+ limericks
Soft Cover
5.4" X 8.3" tall



The Limerick: 1700 Examples, with Notes, Variants and Index
The Famous Paris Edition, Complete and Unexpurgated
Secaucus NJ: Castle Books, nd
No copyright
ISBN 8148-0699-6
515 pp.
1739+ limericks
Hard Cover
6.2" X 9.3" tall



Limericks
This book is often listed as Limericks, Limericks, Limericks by Frank Oppel - "Oppel," however, does not appear in this (my) copy
Edison NJ: Castle Books, 1992
Copyright 1992 Castle Books
ISBN 1-55521-783-4
515 pp.
1739+ limericks
Hard Cover
6.4" X 9.3" tall



Limericks
Secaucus NJ: Castle Books, 1992
Copyright 1992 Castle Books
ISBN 1-55521-783-4
515 pp.
1739+ limericks
Hard Cover
6.4" X 9.3" tall



The Limerick: An Anthology with Notes, Variants and Index
Tolstoi, Sergei Mikhail (Compiled by)
Amsterdam: Fredonia Books, 2005
Printed on demand
ISBN 1410108430
528 pp.
1739+ limericks
Soft Cover
5" X 8" tall

Bawdy Limericks
Canada: Poplar Press, 1980
Copyright 1980 Poplar Press
517 pp.
1739+ limericks
Soft Cover
5.3" X 6.4" tall



The Bagman's Book of Limericks
Milan: Regalia Press, 1962
[Paris: Brentano's]
No copyright
100 pp.
252 limericks
Soft Cover

The Bagman's Book of Limericks
Paris: Brentano's Excel Books, 1963
No copyright
100 pp.
252 limericks
Soft Cover
4.4" X 6.9" tall



The Bagman's Book of Limericks
City of Industry CA: Collectors Publications, 1968
Copyright MCLXVIII Collectors Publications
100 pp.
252 limericks
Soft Cover
4.3" X 6.3" tall



The (Color) Book of Limericks
Toronto: Peek-A-Boo Press, 1980
Copyright 1980 by Peek-A-Boo Press
Soft Cover
4.2" X 5.4" tall





Information about other editions of The Limerick, especially
scans of cover, title page, and copyright, is welcome.

(all scans are of the Deex Collection)

Collector's Page