The Baby in the Manger

(Iowa City): Monotreme Press, 2002. Hardcover. Fine. First edition. Printed by Chelsey Johnson. Illustrated by Lisa Brown. 12mo. Red cloth boards with decorative endpapers and illustrated cover label. Fine. One of 65 numbered copies Signed by Brown and Daniel Handler in his typical manner with the blindstamp of Lemony Snicket, along with his handwritten message ("With all due respect") and the date. This is copy number 35. A sardonic take on the nativity story centered on a down-on-their-luck herbalist and costume designer couple looking for a place to stay for the night with their baby. While originally commissioned for *The Washington Post*, it was rejected upon submission, likely for fear of offending its readers. The manuscript remained unpublished until Johnson, a friend of Handler and Brown, needed a story to complete a book binding class at The University of Iowa. This story has never been reprinted and remains the rarest of all Lemony Snicket's books.