GEMS OF AMERICAN ARCHITECTURE

St. Paul, MN: Brown & Bigelow, ( 1935 ). First Edition. stapled wrappers. Fine. Oblong 16mo, 48 unnumbered pages, the likely original mailing envelope is not present, but this copy was sent with the compliments of the Heatbath Corporation of Springfield, Mass.

A humorous "sales catalog" showing photographs of - apparently genuine - outhouses (from Plentywood, Montana to Skowhegan, Maine), each given a model name (e.g., a somewhat tilted one is called "Leaning Tower") and catalog nos. for ordering from "The L.A. Vitorie Company" [ Got it? Lavatory ... ]. Apparently Greer's only book. This one is very, very clever. Each loo is also priced Each description is written like a genuine sale catalogue, and an achievement by the copywriter to find enough different words to describe each product. For example, The Sportsman model is "Complete with a trailer hitch and pontoons for boat use,". The Eureka: " The special open back permits the owner to find out whether or not the donnicker is in use. By merely looking through it he gains the desired information by counting the number of feet or legs seen there, thus saving tiresome walks up and down the hill every time the dooley is used."