“Treasury” is defined as a “book or person thought of as a valued source.” Here we have both the book and the person, and valued” is what they truly are. We’ll leave to the eminent poet, scholar, wit, and man of letters, Louis Untermeyer, to explain his interest in ribaldry, the subject of this delightful anthology. “In the broadest sense, the world’s favorite humor has been a playful expression of primitive sensuality. It has, at times, been tinctured with self-mockery, a sort of protective derision, a comic exposure of what is condemned in public and gleefully practiced in private. The satisfactions of the body, from food to sex, are responsible for some of the wisest and wittiest as well as some of the most rollicking and ribald writing in literature…” Here are about 300 separate ribald items, prose and poetry, arranged chronologically by the author (from Arnacreon-500 B.C. to late Twentieth century). Here are the “naturals” in ribaldry, taken from the works of Boccaccio, Chaucer, Villon, Rabelais, Balzac-and some surprises, by such talented folk as Cervantes, Defoe, Burns, Franklin, Byron, Maugham, Anderson, Mencken, Runyon, and a host of others.

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This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.