The writer and entertainer Albert Smith (1816-60) composed these spoof Acts of Parliament in direct imitation of then current Acts: the front page bears a parody of the royal coat of arms found on regular Acts, and the paragraphs address social mores and characters. The first Act is titled ‘An Act to amend the Laws relating to the giving of Dinner and Evening Parties’, the second ‘An Act for Promoting the Public Health in Towns and Elsewhere’. Smith issued a third Act in 1849 (not present here)