Dere Mable Love Letters of a Rookie WWI Trench Humor Book, c.1919

Original World War I-era illustrated humor volume titled Dere Mable: Love Letters of a Rookie, written by Edward Streeter of the 27th (New York) Division and published in New York by the Frederick A. Stokes Company. This book is a classic piece of American First World War soldier literature, presenting fictionalized “phonetic” letters home from an American doughboy, written in exaggerated vernacular to capture the voice, humor, and frustrations of a newly arrived U.S. soldier overseas.

This example retains its original illustrated softcover binding, featuring the iconic Bill Breck cover artwork depicting a seated American soldier in uniform composing a letter home. The title page confirms authorship by Edward Streeter and credits 35 black-and-white illustrations by G. William Breck (“Bill Breck”), himself a wartime cartoonist closely associated with U.S. Army humor publications. The book includes numerous full-page illustrations integrated throughout the text, combining satire, trench life observations, and soldierly banter.

Physically, the book is complete and intact. The paper covers show pronounced wartime handling wear, including edge chipping, surface soiling, creasing, and spine stress consistent with field or pocket use. The spine remains present but shows fragility at the edges. Interior pages are complete, with moderate age toning and scattered foxing. Several pages show pencil doodles and period childlike sketches on the rear cover and end areas, almost certainly added during the book’s early life. These drawings are period and contribute to the artifact’s lived-in character rather than detracting from originality.

The text is entirely in English and written intentionally in phonetic slang; no translation is required, as the unconventional spelling is a stylistic choice meant to convey the voice of an American enlisted man. Representative phrases such as “I had a reputashun for a devil with the wimmen” are intentionally spelled to reflect spoken dialect rather than formal grammar.

Historically, Dere Mable is one of the most recognizable and enduring works of American WWI trench humor. Edward Streeter later achieved international fame with Father of the Bride, but Dere Mable remains his most important wartime contribution. The book captures the morale, humor, and everyday psychology of American Expeditionary Forces soldiers, making it an essential reference point for collectors of U.S. WWI literature, trench art culture, and soldier-written narratives.

Condition is best described as good overall, with heavy but honest wear, no modern repairs, and complete contents. The presence of period doodling and handling wear reinforces its authenticity as a contemporary, well-used wartime or immediate postwar reading copy.