Laughing Stock was published by Grosset & Dunlap in 1945, following immediately on the massive success of Try and Stop Me (1944). Cerf had accumulated far more material than could fit in a single volume, and his publisher (again, not his own Random House) was eager to capitalize on the market. The result was a book that is essentially the companion to its predecessor — same format, same mix of literary anecdotes and general humor, same warmth of tone — and that sold nearly as well.
The book’s subtitle — “Over 1,000 of the World’s Best Humorous Stories and Anecdotes” — conveys its ambition and its method. Cerf was a collector of stories the way some people collect stamps or first editions: systematically, comprehensively, and with an expert’s eye for quality. Each anecdote in Laughing Stock had been tested in social settings, refined in retelling, and verified (when possible) against the original source. Cerf was scrupulous about attribution — if he knew who had first told a story, he credited them — and his introductory notes often contain as much entertainment as the anecdotes themselves.
The wartime context gives the book a particular flavor. Many of the stories involve soldiers, military bureaucracy, and the absurdities of wartime life — material that American readers in 1945 found both funny and cathartic. The civilian stories — about publishers, writers, actors, and politicians — provide a counterpoint, reminding readers that the normal world of social comedy still existed and would resume when the war ended.
Collecting Laughing Stock
First edition (Grosset & Dunlap, New York, 1945): Cloth, dust jacket.
Market values:
- First edition in dust jacket: $10–$25
- Without jacket: $3–$8