Curse you, MisterThyristor, and your thorough research! I had thought Lively Lays was an actual book . . . Now my dreams of having it (and Tit Bit for Tiny Wits!) adorning my coffee table have been ground to dust. *Dust *. . .
I encountered Jim Phenix’s Big Bulge on bookfinder, when doing a search for “dime novels.” It turned out his “big bulge” was a wad of money he was trying to deliver—probably to Pay Off the Mortgage. The only available copy was ludicrously overpriced, no doubt because of the hilarious title.
Check out alibris.com – they have a copy of “Birdie’s Little Picture Book.” I think it’s the same book (maybe not). It’s $114.95–a little pricey (but it is a “scarce book”.
There was a book that came out circa 1987 listed all sorts of book titles that had once seemed innocent but that become risque, or at least interesting, by events and by changes in the language. Unfortunately, I can’t recall the title of the book or its author. One book listed had a title something like “The Adventures of Lady Di” (from the late 1800s). Another they unfairly listed was Fredric Brown’s book “We All Killed Grandma”. Obviously the authors had never read Brown’s wonderful mysteries.
Martin Gardner lists a few examples of unfortunate lines of poetry in one his essays. One poet talks about giving his lover a raspberry. Another poem quoted is an Emily Dickinson poem that talks about a tiger’s “mighty balls” (meaning eyeballs. Unless Ms. Dickinson was more forward than I think.)
I guess any of the Ragged Dick books by Horatio Alger would count. Considering the subject of the books and Alger’s “proclivities” that just makes it worse.
