In 1909 the meals that one would get at a boarding house were a constant source of jokes (Nat Wills' ode to such fare, "Our Boarding House", can be heard over at the
UCSB Special Collection). Edward Favor, one of the more stellar of the early recording pioneers, recorded
this for 2-minute Edison cylinder in November of 1909 and delivered it with his usual jocular aplomb. Seymour Firth, active from about 1890 to 1920, wrote this song as well as "I'm Looking For the Man That Wrote the Merry
Widow Waltz" and "Budwiser's a Friend of Mine." The cylinder from which this was sampled was in very nice shape and only needed some rumble removed.