Classic? [WAS Re: red-headed stepchild]

[Erik Hoover]

The cited quotation piques my curiosity.  How old is the vernacular use
of "classic" to indicate something particularly amusing?

Erik



On Mar 5, 2005, at 12:57 AM, Benjamin Zimmer wrote:

> -----
> _Chicago Tribune_, Nov 16, 1919, p. 1/7
>
> An advertisement which may be considered a classic appears today in the
> classified section of The Tribune. It reads:
> "I own a frame building with two flats and two stores, all vacant
> except
> one store. Can find no one to give it better attention than is commonly
> given by a woman's second husband to her cross-eyed stepchild by the
> first
> wife of her first husband. Property is at 5749-51 Wentworth avenue; is
> all
> clear and needs many repairs. Make me an offer."
> -----
>
> (A classic indeed.)