An extensive file of hand-written jokes by the late comedian Tommy Cooper are to be preserved and put on display at London's Victoria and Albert Museum.
The museum has acquired an archive of papers and props once owned by Cooper, however the collection doesn't contain the star's trademark red fez.
The highlight is a a metal cabinet containing Cooper's hand-written jokes, filed alphabetically "with the meticulousness of an archivist," of which only a small proportion were ever used.
Curators at the V&A said that the cabinet shed new light on the "previously unknown, scrupulously organised" working methods of the entertainer, best known for his bungling stage persona, absurd one-liners and his catchphrase, "just like that".
Cooper, who was one of Britain's best loved comedians, suffered a fatal heart attack during a live TV broadcast in 1984.
The collection, purchased from a private collector also includes the comedian and magician's writings and observations, some jotted down on the backs of posters and cardboard packaging.
One of the V&A's senior curators, Simon Sladen, said it's "fascinating insight into one the best-loved entertainers of the 20th Century and reveals much about his practice, process and legacy".
Some of the 116 boxes of archive material will go on display at the V&A's Theatre and Performance Galleries in the autumn.
