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y separately published work icon Stories by 'Kodak' selected work   short story   humour  
Issue Details: First known date: 1933... 1933 Stories by 'Kodak'
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Notes

  • Publishers' Note. The stories of Ernest O'Ferrall have not previously been collected in book form. This representative selection has been made from the files of The Bulletin and The Lone Hand. 'Kodak' died, aged 43 years, on March 22nd, 1925.
  • E. Morris Miller's Australian Literature from Its Beginnings to 1935 (1940): 749 comments: 'Represented in Souvenir of All Nations Fair (Syd., 1911); Copy, ed. by F. Bignold, 1913; Norman Lindsay's Book, No.1, 1912; Melba's Gift Book, 1915, and The Australian Soldiers' Gift Book, 1918. In 1921 the 'Bookstall' series included a first collection of O'Ferrall's stories under his own name, entitled Bodgers and the Boarders. The opening piece, 'The Lobster and the Lioness', was reprinted in Mackaness's Australian Short Stories, 1928, and given pride of place in Stories by Kodak, 1933, the items of which are taken from the Bulletin and the Lone Hand.'

Contents

* Contents derived from the Sydney, New South Wales,:Endeavour Press , 1933 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
The Lobster and the Lioness, Kodak , single work short story humour
Thomson, clutching his lobster, is being escorted home from the pub by the friendly policeman, Murphy, when they encounter an escaped circus lion. Murphy bolts, but Thomson, mistaking the lion for a large dog, is unpeturbed. The lioness follows Thomson back to his boarding house and mayhem ensues.
 (p. 9 - 18)
The Bishop and the Buns, Kodak , single work short story humour
The Bishop and his assistant are attempting to buy lunch, but there is no sign of the waitress. Faced with missing an important appointment, the Bishop takes the tea and buns guarded over by a unpleasant-looking small boy. He intends to replace them, but his intentions are seriously misunderstood.
 (p. 19 - 27)
The Stolen God, Kodak , single work short story
The ship's engineer, Mr McClyde, is infamous for buying animals, which he keeps on board and sells at the next port. But when he steals a sacred monkey the local people rise up against him and he is forced to return it.
 (p. 28 - 32)
The Automatic Barmaid, Kodak , single work short story humour
Gwennie, the barmaid automaton, seems to be working perfectly, until a voluble journalist with no respect for barmaids grasps her arm to tell her an off-colour story.
 (p. 33 - 38)
The Four Organists, Kodak , single work short story

Wagglin is operating Old Blind Dick's organ because Dick is ill. Fatty and his two mates decide to 'assist' him, despite Wagglin's protests. Things go from bad to worse and end in disaster for Wagglin, Dick and the organ.

 (p. 39 - 54)
The Bishop and the Merry-Go-Round, Kodak , single work short story humour
The Bishop and his assistant are escorting a party of children on a picnic. He drives a hard bargain with the merry-go-round operator to allow the children on the merry-go-round at a cheap rate, but when he decides to have a ride himself things go horribly wrong.
 (p. 55 - 62)
Force of Habit, Kodak , single work short story
North cannot understand it when his old friends ignore him on the morning train.
 (p. 63 - 65)
The McSozzle Ministry, Kodak , single work short story humour
McSozzle, an alcoholic and morose cartoonist, bewails the difficulty of drawing characterless politicians, none of whom he considers to have any individuality. Then he has a brilliant idea and sets about compiling the First Really Picturesque Ministry.
 (p. 66 - 71)
My Financial Position, Kodak , single work short story humour
Kodak contemplates his financial situation, which leads him to ponder the various responses to debt demonstrated by people of varying temperaments.
 (p. 74 - 80)
The Lost Bishop, Kodak , single work short story
A female impersonator and a bishop are castaways on a small island. Concerned at the bishop's pessimistic outlook, the actor teaches him to dance.
 (p. 81 - 90)
Balloons and Sausages, Kodak , single work short story humour
After they leave the bar Thomson buys his glum friend, Whiskers, a parcel of sausages. The sausages attract a persistent retinue of hungry dogs, but Thomson eventually comes up with a way to get rid of the sausages, the dogs, and an irate balloon-seller all at the same time.
 (p. 91 - 99)
Romance and the Caterpillar, Kodak , single work short story
Mrs Dredglin plans to run away with her singing teacher and lover, the stout Bertie Soper. She is convinced her husband does not care for her because he would rather collect caterpillars from his garden than be with her. However, it is caterpillars that finally decide her fate.
 (p. 100 - 107)
Dodgewick's Divorce, Kodak , single work short story
Dodgewick drags Johnson to meet Dodgewick's wife and her solicitor to 'explain everything'. Unfortunately, Johnson does not know what it is he is supposed to explain. When he attempts to do as Dodgewick asks he finds he has become the accused.
 (p. 108 - 118)
Gold-in-His-Teeth, Kodak , single work short story humour
Toey refuses to give up the gold crown on his tooth so his mates can get a drink.
 (p. 119 - 127)
The Municipal Dragon, Kodak , single work short story humour
Bill Sunset sells a rubbish-eating dragon he acquired in China to the Bogstown council. All goes well at first, but then the dragon escapes.
 (p. 128 - 136)
All at Sea, Kodak , single work short story
Rivers frantically pursues his daughter, who has eloped. He chases the couple onto the steamer on which they are fleeing, but a storm defeats him.
 (p. 137 - 149)
The Sympathy Bureau, Kodak , single work short story

American Elvin G. Barnstutter arrives in Australia full of plans to make his fortune. He installs Laura Jane Sweetbread, a widow living in the same boarding house, in an office with two typists and proceeds to advertise his new business, The Sympathy Bureau. The purpose of the Bureau is to extend the sympathy and influence of Mrs Sweetbread, the 'sweetest and wisest' of women, to those who are alone in the world. The Bureau is a success, but Mrs Sweetbread begins to change.

 (p. 150 - 161)
Household Help Limited, Kodak , single work short story humour
Bill Sunset establishes a business selling trained apes to take the place of domestic servants.
 (p. 162 - 169)
Some People and a Shark, Kodak , single work short story
Cadger warns a man swimming in the ocean that there is a shark heading for him. The man, a judge, manages to reach a rock and scramble on top of it. But instead of thanking Cadger he starts to abuse him.
 (p. 170 - 180)
The Chemical Feeder, Kodak , single work short story humour
The writer is about to enjoy his meal of chops when he is visited by a Reformed Food Missionary.
 (p. 181 - 185)
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Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

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Works about this Work

Why Men Leave Home : The Flight of the Suburban Male in Some Popular Australian Fiction 1910-1950 Michael Sharkey , 2009 single work criticism
— Appears in: Serious Frolic : Essays on Australian Humour 2009; (p. 110-123)
Kodak Book Chases Gloom 1933 single work column
— Appears in: The Australian Women's Weekly , 29 July vol. 1 no. 8 1933; (p. 39)
A Reader's Notebook Nettie Palmer , 1933 single work review
— Appears in: All About Books , 13 July vol. 5 no. 7 1933; (p. 101-102)
— Review of The Wells of Beersheba : A Light Horse Legend Frank Dalby Davison , 1933 single work novella ; Earth Kindred James Devaney , 1931 selected work poetry ; Lost Dale Collins , 1933 single work novel ; Stories by 'Kodak' Kodak , 1933 selected work short story
Untitled 1933 single work review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 12 July vol. 54 no. 2787 1933; (p. 5)
— Review of Stories by 'Kodak' Kodak , 1933 selected work short story
A Reader's Notebook Nettie Palmer , 1933 single work review
— Appears in: All About Books , 13 July vol. 5 no. 7 1933; (p. 101-102)
— Review of The Wells of Beersheba : A Light Horse Legend Frank Dalby Davison , 1933 single work novella ; Earth Kindred James Devaney , 1931 selected work poetry ; Lost Dale Collins , 1933 single work novel ; Stories by 'Kodak' Kodak , 1933 selected work short story
Untitled 1933 single work review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 12 July vol. 54 no. 2787 1933; (p. 5)
— Review of Stories by 'Kodak' Kodak , 1933 selected work short story
Why Men Leave Home : The Flight of the Suburban Male in Some Popular Australian Fiction 1910-1950 Michael Sharkey , 2009 single work criticism
— Appears in: Serious Frolic : Essays on Australian Humour 2009; (p. 110-123)
Kodak Book Chases Gloom 1933 single work column
— Appears in: The Australian Women's Weekly , 29 July vol. 1 no. 8 1933; (p. 39)
VIEW ALL WORKS ABOUT (4)
Last amended 17 Jul 2012 09:00:42
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