The Satirical Weekly "Der Blofer" – A Volume of Issues – Caricatures and Illustrations – Warsaw, 1929

The Satirical Weekly "Der Blofer" – A Volume of Issues – Caricatures and Illustrations – Warsaw, 1929
Der Blofer, der vokhenblat far vits, humor un satire [The Bluffer, a weekly magazine for jokes, humor and satire] edited by Pinkhes Kats. Forty-nine issues bound together. Warsaw: Central Press, 1929. Yiddish.
A volume of issues of the satirical weekly "Der Blofer". Issues no. 1-53 from the fourth year, except issues 9, 16, 28 and 35. Each title page feature a large caricature, followed by dozens of caricatures and small illustrations. The title pages of the Holiday issues are printed in color.
The humorist weekly "Der Blofer" was published in Warsaw by the publisher Shlomo Zucker and was edited by the publicist and humorist Pinkhes Kats (1891-1942). Published during the years 1926-1930 (an exceptionally long period for a Yiddish satirical weekly at the time), it introduced highly blatant and biting humor: folk jokes ("From the Treasure of Jewish Humor", "Tales of Helm"), political humor, an erotic section and even a humorous section of "Obituaries". The weekly's manifesto (which was published in the first issue) states: "In times when the entire world is bluffing mercilessly, in times when 'bluff, bluff, bluff above all' has become the slogan of half of humanity… Der Blofer alone is honest, open, visible, an unhidden bluffer! It is the only bluffer in the world to call itself by its real name".
See: The Cheerful Pessimism, Yiddish Humorous-Satirical Journalism in Poland between the Two World Wars (Hebrew) by Marian Fuks ("Kesher", issue 21, Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University, 1997, pp. 80-90).
49 issues (8 pp. in each issue), 34.5 cm. fair-poor condition. Tears (some long, a few partly restored). Several issues with open tears. Brittle paper, some leaves crumbling at edges. Several leaves detached. Hard binding, without a spine, with blemishes and wear.