Pirates, Autographs, and a Bankruptcy

It is well know that Hoyle was widely pirated and that he took to autographing every copy of his work to distinguish genuine copies. For the full story, please see The Edmond Hoyle Home Page for my article "Pirates, Autographs, and a Bankruptcy: A Short Treatise on the Game of Whist by Edmond Hoyle, Gentleman." It was originally published in Script & Print, 34 no. 3 (2010): 133-61.

The article identifies the pirates, traces the origin of the famous autograph and discusses the efforts of Hoyle and his publisher to defend the copyright. Included is a descriptive bibliography of all editions of Hoyle's A Short Treatise on the Game of Whist from 1742-4.