A lark with The Lark

So I'm cataloguing a very nice copy of two volume complete run of The Lark (San Fran, 1897). It was, for those who are not familiar with it, the American equivalent to the British "Yellow Book"...a blend of creative writing, cartoons and miscellany.

It was also the first place that Gelett Burgess' famed, "Purple Cow" first appeared (in Issue One):

I never saw a purple cow
I never hope to see one;
But I can tell you, anyhow,
I'd rather see than be one!

In the final issue (24 [N.B. this was followed by the penultimate issue, "Epilark"]), Burgess wrote the following (also with a great woodcut):

Ah, yes, I wrote the "Purple Cow"—
I'm Sorry, now, I wrote it;
But I can tell you Anyhow
I'll Kill you if you Quote it!

Vol. 2 includes two great photographs of R.L. Stevenson. Sometimes you forget how many truly wonderful things there are "out there". Sometimes they show up in your hands.