tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55599152230295400122024-03-14T01:58:23.356-07:00Edmond Hoyle, Gent.David Levy's bibliographical musings about the writings of Edmond Hoyle (1672-1769)David Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903897122730648287noreply@blogger.comBlogger149125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5559915223029540012.post-48907547903435384602023-12-07T09:06:00.000-08:002024-03-08T13:56:09.018-08:002023: The Year in Collecting<p>An even dozen books came my way in 2023. I've discussed two of them in the <a href="https://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2023/05/oddly-imposed-oddly-signed.html">essay</a>
"Oddly Imposed. Oddly Signed." I'll write about four more here,
ignoring some 19th century books on whist that filled gaps and ignoring
some 19th century books in Italian that are on lesser-known card games. </p><p>The earliest is a French work on the game of piquet dated 1683. My experience with French and English gaming literature is that small pamphlets appeared treating a single game appeared first in the 17th century. The booksellers learned that those interested in one game were likely interested in more of them, and anthologies replaced works covering a single game. In France, early works on games such as piquet, reversis, and hoc gave way to anthologies such as <i>La Maison Académique</i>. In London, early works on piquet and hombre gave way to <i>The Compleat Gamester</i> and later, <i>Mr. Hoyle's Games</i>. </p><p> </p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6b6g077TJ0wW1lpdOKmFYPpAid1OAs-g9zi2CXPyWJOJ9rrniB0eoFaPmrODD6joMVfvDEc_wOTRPIXTrd1bEtf1H3_X22jBBZkLYxZ9clprOg0j7zgOBi1BMoq5uD2-q7rEmIrAiT-MUWitTte1PTO8gdyuluY7FaonTM7NJSvchpY20DR4Zb1iX2CYt/s2700/1683%20Piquet.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2700" data-original-width="1482" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6b6g077TJ0wW1lpdOKmFYPpAid1OAs-g9zi2CXPyWJOJ9rrniB0eoFaPmrODD6joMVfvDEc_wOTRPIXTrd1bEtf1H3_X22jBBZkLYxZ9clprOg0j7zgOBi1BMoq5uD2-q7rEmIrAiT-MUWitTte1PTO8gdyuluY7FaonTM7NJSvchpY20DR4Zb1iX2CYt/w110-h200/1683%20Piquet.jpg" width="110" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Piquet 1683<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p> It was a treat to find this late 17th century work, of which only one other copy is recorded. An earlier version of the book was published in 1631 and portions were translated into English in 1651 in a book I discuss in the <a href="http://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2016/11/piquet-provenance-and-puzzle.html">essay</a> "Piquet, Provenance and a Puzzle." Actually, I'm lying a bit. The first 25 pages of this 43 page pamphlet are on piquet, but it has a couple of pages each on another nine card games. Nonetheless, it is a small (12.5 x 8.7 cm) pamphlet and feels more like one of the single-game pamphlets. </p><p> </p><p>Next is a manuscript on the game of trictrac. I've shared other trictrac manuscripts <a href="http://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-left-hand-of-bougy-trictrac.html">here</a>, <a href="http://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2021/01/2020-year-in-collecting-part-2.html">here</a>, and <a href="http://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2021/12/2021-year-in-collecting-part-2.html">here</a>. As noted on the title page, the scribe copied the book while he was staying in the parish of St. Jean de Brayes just outside Orleans in 1787. The printed book is quite rare with three copies known other than mine, one in Lyon, one in Grenoble, and one Châlons-en-Champagne, Marne. All these cities are several hours’ drive from Orleans, so perhaps there remains another copy closer to Orleans. I wonder if our 1787 scribe was aware of the book’s rarity when he spent hours making his copy. </p><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2jkGJdyLW1OS_aRO8ME0bIvZ4a1EKW09Z0EAZlVzsDpVjQTaslFxTbE6e_3_4CjVgLbRxSxkwzirrDSinvH1JPonsSC8cID0-xMq3uUVWb89XlNZ2XMOuX781SqCcHoI6XEDIubr8bI1zgdItbmXxk0Akdvj3krFjUFp3CcA4PIW8jCVxOtdA3t0n2HL4/s4200/1749%20Principe%20(ms).jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4200" data-original-width="2792" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2jkGJdyLW1OS_aRO8ME0bIvZ4a1EKW09Z0EAZlVzsDpVjQTaslFxTbE6e_3_4CjVgLbRxSxkwzirrDSinvH1JPonsSC8cID0-xMq3uUVWb89XlNZ2XMOuX781SqCcHoI6XEDIubr8bI1zgdItbmXxk0Akdvj3krFjUFp3CcA4PIW8jCVxOtdA3t0n2HL4/w133-h200/1749%20Principe%20(ms).jpg" width="133" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Manuscript</td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJtYrd245GSnUysEF-8tFZFaed_zP2z-L5mAEQa44t1Dkh1fbE84eTqilaN-ig0ZhLMN04U9zXHw7WezK9KTIdLrU4rOxerjpRi2_0Sw9dKsR5FwHjkL6o0jOPe-U2QcJSQ2x9C_AoOSdc3ZIJ13UEjafHdNFHQYmt94dMI14Tfqgo2NVng3fa-rdXriqv/s4200/1749%20Principe.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4200" data-original-width="2516" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJtYrd245GSnUysEF-8tFZFaed_zP2z-L5mAEQa44t1Dkh1fbE84eTqilaN-ig0ZhLMN04U9zXHw7WezK9KTIdLrU4rOxerjpRi2_0Sw9dKsR5FwHjkL6o0jOPe-U2QcJSQ2x9C_AoOSdc3ZIJ13UEjafHdNFHQYmt94dMI14Tfqgo2NVng3fa-rdXriqv/w120-h200/1749%20Principe.jpg" width="120" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">printed book<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><p>But the year would not be complete without finding <i>some </i>Hoyle. It gets harder and harder for me to find something new and most of the recent acquisitions have been either cheap books or translations. I've often written about Robert Withy, the author of <i>Hoyle Abridged, or Short Rules for Short Memories at the Game of Whist</i> by "Bob Short". My overview <a href="http://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2011/12/bob-shorts-short-rules-for-short.html">article</a> listed editions known to me in more than ten years ago. </p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC-Lulowkk_OrleKOETNsbI94xwVcprZmrAdu-GhN-uiFud400xPB1mq0_4QPc-msncetmqc2ON7mGnFy-ZgHbElBo2Q3eNlHaUX0jSmH6WfJuVGVrS2mJ_Y6fIM039R-1G4Do4y9vMb0L6Z66JwxkZEsatPjKROMTTLsaYmaB6E3QO3Taq2j3wtJCpZnd/s3342/harris.whist.1806.london.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3342" data-original-width="1494" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC-Lulowkk_OrleKOETNsbI94xwVcprZmrAdu-GhN-uiFud400xPB1mq0_4QPc-msncetmqc2ON7mGnFy-ZgHbElBo2Q3eNlHaUX0jSmH6WfJuVGVrS2mJ_Y6fIM039R-1G4Do4y9vMb0L6Z66JwxkZEsatPjKROMTTLsaYmaB6E3QO3Taq2j3wtJCpZnd/s320/harris.whist.1806.london.jpg" width="143" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">London 1806 Harris<br /></td></tr></tbody></table> <p></p><p> More continue to turn up, including an auction find, pictured at left. It is an 1806 "twenty-second" edition printed in London for John Harris, described more fully <a href="https://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/books/harris.whist.1806.london.xml">here</a>. I have seen an advertisement for a "twentieth" Harris edition of 1801, an 1806 "twenty-first" edition printed in Bath, and an 1809 "twenty-second" edition printed in London. They are all different settings of type. It is hard to make sense of the fanciful edition numbering and the fact that 1806 saw books published in London and in Bath. No other copies of this one are known, so I won't much complain about the indifferent condition. <br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtj2qwPp9PRwSL7H2YHZNvDwKQB9eZhfLbMGr6iklEuIgZ6y6BAUgvEHgrhcNCUCMkEx1bTjS3t_PB-oIx8S2ym4KUt0CaAJE6azIPCyPv5JCT6cGT47o0radtHNtgyFva3wTw1yxviQARUp6Ntklr-4PKXJuyZtQsNm6NnaKAxXL-2_fw6ftBsJXKXfor/s3552/whist.it.1823.balatresi.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3552" data-original-width="2124" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtj2qwPp9PRwSL7H2YHZNvDwKQB9eZhfLbMGr6iklEuIgZ6y6BAUgvEHgrhcNCUCMkEx1bTjS3t_PB-oIx8S2ym4KUt0CaAJE6azIPCyPv5JCT6cGT47o0radtHNtgyFva3wTw1yxviQARUp6Ntklr-4PKXJuyZtQsNm6NnaKAxXL-2_fw6ftBsJXKXfor/w119-h200/whist.it.1823.balatresi.jpg" width="119" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Firenze 1823<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Recently, I have done a lot of work on my online bibliography. I have added photographs of books in my collection and have reworked the section covering Hoyle in translation. See <a href="https://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/index.xml">here</a> and scroll down to "Continental Translations." A couple of clicks away is a full description of this 1823 Italian translation of "Bob Short" on whist, one of two recorded copies. It is the first of two Italian translations of "Bob Short," followed by another Florence imprint in 1832. </p><p> </p><p> Happy holidays and best wishes for 2024!</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>David Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903897122730648287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5559915223029540012.post-18680064069962196312023-05-09T11:30:00.003-07:002023-05-09T16:55:04.586-07:00Oddly Imposed. Oddly signed.<p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Last month I ended a six-month dry spell, adding two French gaming books to my collection. Each has bibliographical oddities. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">The first book is <i>L'Arithmétieque du Jeu de Boston</i> published in Cherbourg. Although no author or publication date is given, secondary sources identify the author as Louis-Guillaume-François Vastel and the date as 1815. Boston is a game of the whist family, discussed <a href="https://www.pagat.com/boston/">here</a> and in more detail in Hans Secelle's recent book <i>From Short Whist to Contract Bridge</i> Toronto: Master Point Press (2020). The book is rare, with copies found only at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France and the Houghton Library at Harvard. <br /></span></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkYfXiygAdxzvZZ-kdLY4D7wQARrBFjcIyauFJd1a3i4j4kPSHwVanECrDLaXIXwz1d0qCBQD0IhmdKVgdI_PcOQdjIVYKQfRFQAYTC9pN1vvfQJfVzTjU4s5eG18W7uc3VbrPf5iGsqP3GADtyEb6g1L0pC25bfvGBBTOTxwRQzcZdxWdcmBKwk1x6Q/s3270/title.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3270" data-original-width="1855" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkYfXiygAdxzvZZ-kdLY4D7wQARrBFjcIyauFJd1a3i4j4kPSHwVanECrDLaXIXwz1d0qCBQD0IhmdKVgdI_PcOQdjIVYKQfRFQAYTC9pN1vvfQJfVzTjU4s5eG18W7uc3VbrPf5iGsqP3GADtyEb6g1L0pC25bfvGBBTOTxwRQzcZdxWdcmBKwk1x6Q/w182-h320/title.jpg" width="182" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Vastel, <i>Boston</i><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">As is evident from the title, this is a book on the mathematics of the game, a book on probability. Vastel was a lawyer and mathematician and translated the first part of Bernoulli's <i>Ars Conjectandi </i>into French in 1801. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">The book is in a lovely, but tight binding. The sewing threads are nowhere visible, so when I collated it, I had to rely on the signature marks. <br /></span></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-bxGpaAC5S69vCr5Y-xRaFow6yzXNP5l1NFzVU4HELNqjUrhDPT-XECFa-ouzwmqRxPTrdiW2Zt4tdYJP_HL0Y2TlljE1v1x2jpO0qsTHzo4OpJiBArArPkMDGkbx_ViBx3N5JkYjl9lGzZZgcNEhOrEu7lfI67YH6mDyfIUXIQngslQiMlAkyxFacA/s3180/front%20board.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3180" data-original-width="2105" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-bxGpaAC5S69vCr5Y-xRaFow6yzXNP5l1NFzVU4HELNqjUrhDPT-XECFa-ouzwmqRxPTrdiW2Zt4tdYJP_HL0Y2TlljE1v1x2jpO0qsTHzo4OpJiBArArPkMDGkbx_ViBx3N5JkYjl9lGzZZgcNEhOrEu7lfI67YH6mDyfIUXIQngslQiMlAkyxFacA/w133-h200/front%20board.jpg" width="133" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">front board<br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs5aLr-XIapHKzK_E-ealcWeYcLSdr8b9QctJLtiGOj90DzT2beuaHflS3o20SLdHkI9bcpAUgPAzBoaagj00gdPfKZTmUijrjO_n_Oh7EEyup8QVT2yrQkWfpzCfHjf6JnVQu4TvKVZuOE2D6zdCoezBKfH5uNkPKUdDh0eKO5HzdcVCwG2VSHP5ECA/s3805/spine.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3805" data-original-width="520" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs5aLr-XIapHKzK_E-ealcWeYcLSdr8b9QctJLtiGOj90DzT2beuaHflS3o20SLdHkI9bcpAUgPAzBoaagj00gdPfKZTmUijrjO_n_Oh7EEyup8QVT2yrQkWfpzCfHjf6JnVQu4TvKVZuOE2D6zdCoezBKfH5uNkPKUdDh0eKO5HzdcVCwG2VSHP5ECA/w28-h200/spine.jpg" width="28" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">spine</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> <br /><br /><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">The book appears to collate 12<sup>o</sup>: [1-2]<sup>4/2</sup> 3-20<sup>4/2 </sup>plus
three leaves at the end. Numeric signing became common in the 19h century (see the discussion of the second book below); it is the imposition that I find most strange. I have never seen a duodecimo gathered in fours and twos. I commented about the unusual format to my friend J.P. Ascher and he pointed me to a 19th century printer's manual, William Savage, <i>A Dictionary of the Art of Printing</i>, London: Longman et al (1841). There is a large section of imposition diagrams and figure 36 is a half sheet of twelves, with two signatures, eight pages and four pages, as here. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">So the imposition scheme was known to contemporary printers, but why would it be used? A more normal scheme would be to have gatherings of six leaves, reducing the number of gatherings by half, and thus reducing the amount of sewing by the binder. Savage cited a number of earlier printer's manuals for this imposition scheme and, unlike Savage, they clarified why a printer might want to use it. I'll mention only one of many examples. Stower, <i>The Compositor's and Pressman's Guide to the Art of Printing</i>, London: Crosby (1808) called the imposition scheme "half sheet of twelves with two signatures, being 8 concluding pages of a work, and 4 of other matter." </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Ah! That makes perfect sense. If 8 pages will complete a duodecimo, you could use this imposition to set 4 pages of another book, or some advertising, or any other job work. But, but but--why would you set an entire book this way? It remains a mystery to me. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">The second acquisition is a translation of Hoyle's <i>Whist </i>into French, published by Fournier in the late 1780s. Fournier published many editions the <i>Almanach des Jeux </i>from 1779 into the 19th century. The Almanach included a calendar and sections on the games of whist, reversis, tressette, piquet, and trictrac. The individual sections were often published separately, as with whist:</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhWu6uUS4o2N5663a1JQ9VUJjL3bUpp9decfIGZOlsnmD6QNNJkUd0OryKgwKTQi4yPX2Hdae2Dij3_huQEMOyBKZ7Y3UEGgfJqNbr-nd91jq91OVZEX2qzWQG-oQHJJIrgiT5IBYPJbhmqVqbCep9i9vlLWwTt39sG2KWDCHe1nnq7lLf-aBHWTGBQA/s3205/fournier%20title.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3205" data-original-width="1710" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhWu6uUS4o2N5663a1JQ9VUJjL3bUpp9decfIGZOlsnmD6QNNJkUd0OryKgwKTQi4yPX2Hdae2Dij3_huQEMOyBKZ7Y3UEGgfJqNbr-nd91jq91OVZEX2qzWQG-oQHJJIrgiT5IBYPJbhmqVqbCep9i9vlLWwTt39sG2KWDCHe1nnq7lLf-aBHWTGBQA/s320/fournier%20title.jpg" width="171" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fournier, <i>Whisk</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">As mentioned many times in this blog, I do like books in original unsophisticated bindings as here:<br /></span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3340" data-original-width="1985" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3i8WI_fWgO8TwtPfRYMKxlIARXXTPGtlcr_-eOtlcpSA918mdnFp8dssmsGpHALXs1cO79inV4mk7cpDS-zq_653BRkzWZe6g60esS0PKXwk9sKlVcctjHd_FBIIHP9FER0RWEeot7CTiLfLqgIg0BXaIY6WNtLYFm0SJA4xCbC0U2sGUbfJcJxwqtA/s320/fournier%20cover.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="190" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">drab paper cover<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This book, like Vastel above, is signed numerically, collating 12<sup>o</sup>: 1-4<sup>12</sup> 5<sup>6</sup> (-5<sub>6</sub> missing, blank?). In general, the second leaf is signed with an asterisk, and the fifth with two, such as 1* and 1**. This would help the binder make sure the gathering is folded and quired correctly, but the numeric signing is unusual. The bible for signing practices is an article by R. A. Sayce in <i>The Library</i> (5th ser, XXII:1 1966), "Compositorial Practices and the Localization of Printed Books, 1530-1800." Sayce studied nearly 3000 books and examined others more casually, and wrote about numeric signing: </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><blockquote>This, perhaps the commonest method of signing in the nineteenth century and after, is found in only three cases in the sample, two from Paris (1755, 1788) and one from Parma (1795). </blockquote></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I can now add another Parisian example from the 18th century. I haven't seen other Cherbourg imprints from the early 19th century and can't say how common numeric signing might have been in 1815. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I hope these two French delights mean the collecting dry spell is over!<br /></div>David Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903897122730648287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5559915223029540012.post-43672210329873357802022-12-27T10:06:00.000-08:002022-12-27T10:06:16.695-08:002022: The Year in Collecting<p>A dozen books came my way this year--some condition upgrades, some of interest only to the Hoyle completist, plus a few gems. I'll discuss five of them in the order they were published. <br /></p><p>The earliest acquisition is a third edition (1671) of <i>Wits Interpreter: The English Parnassus</i>. Most collectors want first editions, but I would not have been interested in the first (1655) or second (1662). The book collects love songs, poems, and dialogues from plays in reaction against the Cromwell revolution. With Charles II restored to the throne in 1660, the third edition included material on games, as highlighted in the preface:</p><p></p><blockquote>I took advantage from this golden season...the golden age of His Majesties happy Restauration, from which all manner of Wit and Ingenuity received as it were a new birth, to add several Games and Sports, the most <i>A la Mode </i>and Curious, that are now in <i>esteem</i> among the Gentilest...</blockquote>Part 7 contains chapters on ombre, piquet, gleek, cribbage, and chess. Jessel observes that this book is the earliest that has come down to us with a treatise on card games, predating <i>The Compleat Gamester (</i>discussed <a href="http://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-compleat-gamester.html">here</a>) by three years. <br /><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGOA-M9mOKyNJgm-Y-9uvD5Z1zTQySvsRZI432oS1JrPeQU1oSIqV1J_rixOhuynpoMA-fHUkLqQPkrXpAGvCLj9Doj26TyEa10Apq9mFbdMw5h71V6VS82B-AzvTkBPZoAbFu8X7f7MPnieutlbIuQVm0aSzhIQQjRunmmNprhjptJkIq4WiqFCpHBg/s3616/1671%20Cragge.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2864" data-original-width="3616" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGOA-M9mOKyNJgm-Y-9uvD5Z1zTQySvsRZI432oS1JrPeQU1oSIqV1J_rixOhuynpoMA-fHUkLqQPkrXpAGvCLj9Doj26TyEa10Apq9mFbdMw5h71V6VS82B-AzvTkBPZoAbFu8X7f7MPnieutlbIuQVm0aSzhIQQjRunmmNprhjptJkIq4WiqFCpHBg/w320-h253/1671%20Cragge.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1671 <i>Wits Interpreter</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>My copy is in a luscious, extensively decorated morocco binding with the bookplate of Charles Tennant of The Glen in Scotland. <br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs2Go2uFsO85cl-ZpswgsSjMg56GKhNA50RCoL5inj7UHdgmUsN5CMijczt3fqLqFRWA_D9O3bCN_SSp0AlWCEgkbPG9KMMe30avv29TfINzq1fLzMbbiyXI_HZIgh38R2m4KaYqjiuiINcspgvEHddYJFpcmJFrHdtDeN8KlDvfOLBlvGsTB-yNqULw/s3630/1671%20Cragge%20plate.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3630" data-original-width="2610" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs2Go2uFsO85cl-ZpswgsSjMg56GKhNA50RCoL5inj7UHdgmUsN5CMijczt3fqLqFRWA_D9O3bCN_SSp0AlWCEgkbPG9KMMe30avv29TfINzq1fLzMbbiyXI_HZIgh38R2m4KaYqjiuiINcspgvEHddYJFpcmJFrHdtDeN8KlDvfOLBlvGsTB-yNqULw/s320/1671%20Cragge%20plate.jpg" width="230" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bookplate of Charles Tennant<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>There are two minor bibliographical oddities about the book. First, the title page identifies the author only as J. C. and the book it has universally been attributed to John Cotgrove, including by the <a href="http://estc.bl.uk/R225554">ESTC</a>. Joshua McEvilla recently demonstrated conclusively the the author is John Cragge in <i>The Library, </i>18:3 337-344 (2017). </p><p>Second, there appear to be at least two versions of the third edition. Mine (like ESTC <a href="http://estc.bl.uk/R2199">R2199</a>) has the imprint "printed for N. Brook, at the Angel in Cornhill, and Obadiah Blagrave, at the Printing Press in Little Britain, MDCLXXI." Other copies (like ESTC <a href="http://estc.bl.uk/R225554">R225554</a>) omit the second line of the imprint. Moreover, at least one copy of the second issue ends on page 351, while other copies have a catchword at the bottom of 351 and the book continues through page 520. Library inquiries would be required to understand the variants I have seen in a small number of copies. </p><p>I purchased another copy of <a href="https://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/books/games.5.xml">Games.5</a>, the "fourteenth" edition of <i>Mr. Hoyle's Games</i> (1767). As I wrote in an earlier <a href="http://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2011/07/every-cancel-tells-story-dont-it-part-2.html">essay</a>, some copies have a cancel title page, others the uncancelled page, and a couple have both. I found a copy with both title pages, crossing a completist variant off my list. </p><p>Also among my desiderata was the New York <a href="https://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/books/beaufort.us.1.2.xml">edition</a> of Beaufort's <i>Hoyle's Games Improved </i>(1796). I found a Boston <a href="https://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/books/beaufort.us.1.1.xml">edition</a> in 2014. When I purchased a Philadelphia <a href="https://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/books/beaufort.us.1.3.xml">edition</a> in 2018, I <a href="https://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2018/12/2018-year-in-collecting-addendum.html">wrote</a> "Does anyone know where I can pick up the one sold in New York?" I got an email from a bookseller friend noting that another dealer had listed that book for sale and can now cross that off the list.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeRKnDpvvvPGOAadnQGtP2LOis_alDyMIdF1wLTLbKuJEqaht0tOTn6XfGXOeAmprJWViGzo_JyEpybAymY1bhy6MzyPU1W_fscVyabNLAbgwXJT3wTqYcVk7wxNdY1C17uAzoYGXKxR-45IH3J8q214pEJ1Cc1JRbY6SJAGo1fW_biczGPHiRakTPRA/s3545/1796%20Beaufort%20US.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3545" data-original-width="1950" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeRKnDpvvvPGOAadnQGtP2LOis_alDyMIdF1wLTLbKuJEqaht0tOTn6XfGXOeAmprJWViGzo_JyEpybAymY1bhy6MzyPU1W_fscVyabNLAbgwXJT3wTqYcVk7wxNdY1C17uAzoYGXKxR-45IH3J8q214pEJ1Cc1JRbY6SJAGo1fW_biczGPHiRakTPRA/s320/1796%20Beaufort%20US.jpg" width="176" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Hoyle's Games Improved</i><br />New York (1796)</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>The next item is not obviously by Hoyle, although the text is almost entirely his. It was first published in 1798 by H. D. Symonds. I noted an 1817 reprint by John Harris in an <a href="http://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2012/10/eighteenth-century-backgammon-literature.html">essay</a> on eighteenth century backgammon literature. I bought an earlier Harris edition (1801) at auction. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKcxaaIvmBCEqtT0r_V8bfKNhh661dHPlx6cTXCdWHpVHRYCedyKRoUFljXMtUfkTxVauinHyP34Ir4kIi4tiyE-Gx-j3wKlwXPE5Ct-LYRufBROZurxsB76dLLxvPRus-NuwoX8CsdLP2VnARLSmWt_JrMYADGHo1lWSEkX3Ys1iTjZddQu0jyGi6XA/s3861/1801%20BG%20Cover.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3861" data-original-width="3294" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKcxaaIvmBCEqtT0r_V8bfKNhh661dHPlx6cTXCdWHpVHRYCedyKRoUFljXMtUfkTxVauinHyP34Ir4kIi4tiyE-Gx-j3wKlwXPE5Ct-LYRufBROZurxsB76dLLxvPRus-NuwoX8CsdLP2VnARLSmWt_JrMYADGHo1lWSEkX3Ys1iTjZddQu0jyGi6XA/w171-h200/1801%20BG%20Cover.JPG" width="171" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1801 <i>Rules and Directions for Backgammon</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPERNbw1qCsZz0DRQwuE91PScUPA1uQT6wiWWwvRH4yP1ooBdwuMMy_c09Traax7ZhrBjXnoMGIaKyrE7tftkktBuLwwJP_XYuYFqizI8giQgZt__qQRgjzM7Um-9JT0fsd4f-3kmyVnvqLtkCV3M5WQ1nuCfl_4wFOMIEcK4SLinVaiYH9BY7OAyE7w/s5375/1801%20BG%20title.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3415" data-original-width="5375" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPERNbw1qCsZz0DRQwuE91PScUPA1uQT6wiWWwvRH4yP1ooBdwuMMy_c09Traax7ZhrBjXnoMGIaKyrE7tftkktBuLwwJP_XYuYFqizI8giQgZt__qQRgjzM7Um-9JT0fsd4f-3kmyVnvqLtkCV3M5WQ1nuCfl_4wFOMIEcK4SLinVaiYH9BY7OAyE7w/s320/1801%20BG%20title.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1801 <i>Rules and Directions for Backgammon</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>The last book came from an annoyingly mixed lot at auction, consisting of a <i>Compleat Gamester</i> worth thousands, a signed Hoyle (which I had) worth hundreds, and a later obscure Hoyle worth not very much. The obscure Hoyle is an 1820 reissue of a book first published in 1808 with a cancel title, although why it got reissued I cannot say. The book is rare, with copies recorded at Cleveland Public, Louisiana State, and Vanderbilt. Great rarity does not always mean great value. </p><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWN1vOtSIVgj9zFoKqlL07siT9keFkCJLK1SSw7Ab0Ff3aJ09-JoffHc7zooWxQQ2bVvO0X7FcQKE7bA6U0JP60JRTS1uNRQ2rNISy8gStLTCpaHOa_Jokt3dMUTwodILBW4GdSIQG71oHpQpR-t2GeAdk1Pfif13gD568iCvdNd_kWhx-19h-Fvcg2Q/s680/1820%20Jackson.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="666" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWN1vOtSIVgj9zFoKqlL07siT9keFkCJLK1SSw7Ab0Ff3aJ09-JoffHc7zooWxQQ2bVvO0X7FcQKE7bA6U0JP60JRTS1uNRQ2rNISy8gStLTCpaHOa_Jokt3dMUTwodILBW4GdSIQG71oHpQpR-t2GeAdk1Pfif13gD568iCvdNd_kWhx-19h-Fvcg2Q/s320/1820%20Jackson.png" width="313" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1820 <i>The New Pocket Hoyle</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>I was not willing to bid anywhere near enough to be competitive on
the lot, but I tried an approach that is usually unsuccessful. I wrote
the auction house and told them of my interest in the least of the books
and asked them to pass my name onto the winning bidder. They did so and
I heard back from the winning buyer, a bookseller I know casually, and
he was delighted to sell me the book for a modest price. A happy ending, and another to cross off my list. </p><p>Best wishes for a happy 2023!<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p>David Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903897122730648287noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5559915223029540012.post-7947532951618698012022-02-02T08:18:00.002-08:002022-02-02T08:18:16.262-08:002021: The Year in Collecting (part 4) <p>The Hoyle I purchase at a German auction in late November has finally arrived. Before taking a close look at it, let's return to the December auction where I bought four lots, fourteen books, including the whist manuscript discussed in the last <a href="https://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2022/01/2021-year-in-collecting-part-3-who-is.html">essay</a>. There were some early books on the game of ombre, but I'll focus on the Hoyles. My collection is deep and the opportunities for me are mostly with cheap literature and with translations. </p><p>For cheap literature, it is hard to top this <i>Hoyle's Games in Miniature</i>, purportedly by Bob Short, Jun. <br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3600" data-original-width="2297" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjQ5MwSZKcjXYZgYvImUu8DNQUIWEr3LUFQvZxdhLNYUlzcS7FdSlcwQTnPx8zSO0YgG7Ezv2gRP7EpM_ttDKM0udx8GOPwNZVkpUUzwsVmKkm9Ze4Yuzc2b3Qdl0dU4Sbiuh4B8jMaZT450j-JQQLoaHGy-meow7FfO1NWXqLkGESPfyP-0oFeL55FyA=w204-h320" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="204" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Hoyle in Miniature </i>1825c. wrapper<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>I've written about the <a href="https://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2011/12/bob-shorts-short-rules-for-short.html">chapbooks</a> by "Bob Short," which I have shown is the pseudonym of Robert Withy (see "Who is 'Bob Short'?" parts <a href="https://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2015/01/who-is-bob-short-part-1.html">one</a>, <a href="https://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2015/01/who-is-bob-short-part-2.html">two</a>, and <a href="https://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2015/02/who-is-bob-short-part-3.html">three</a>). Like Hoyle himself, Bob Short became a brand. Withy himself wrote only about whist and quadrille in the 1780s and 1790s, but in the first half of the 19th century, you could find all sorts of chapbooks and cheap books offered under his pseudonym, sometimes, as here, with a disingenuous "Jun." appended. There is a charming and naive hand-colored frontispiece:</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiar1axq_htgxYO0WHMJKBJsIHw2Nsr46VIjAwckBubtmQjs0i3ki4mUTd7FryezsYnDDI13-jMZ7H-qiHZCAyF-5NizqGOWGI47dpeJUI2AvJ4qrhpLgfNLA5ICfB9lHFN3ijW3iuunPpEG1e2LBnPiHCATEmi1cIqlKHh-9kHvhMmA0ilhDAQDBXcmw=s4196" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3600" data-original-width="4196" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiar1axq_htgxYO0WHMJKBJsIHw2Nsr46VIjAwckBubtmQjs0i3ki4mUTd7FryezsYnDDI13-jMZ7H-qiHZCAyF-5NizqGOWGI47dpeJUI2AvJ4qrhpLgfNLA5ICfB9lHFN3ijW3iuunPpEG1e2LBnPiHCATEmi1cIqlKHh-9kHvhMmA0ilhDAQDBXcmw=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">frontispiece and title page<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>This is a reissue of a book first published in 1820 or so. The <a href="https://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/books/fairburn.1.xml">original book</a> was imposed in eights; the <a href="https://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/books/fairburn.2.xml">reissue</a> in sixes, still the same setting of type. The reissue also adds eight pages on the games of brag and domino, which are listed on the title page, but not on the wrapper. These cheap books are quite rare. The only copy of the first issue is at the Bodleian Library and mine is one of two surviving second issues. </p><p>I'll show without comment two French translations of Hoyle treatise on whist, one published in the Hague by Staatman in 1765, the other in Amsterdam by Prault in 1767. <br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj-RfX6RJtPhKrWx2DjN_DHsKspMFvzRv2ACYbR7gibIVuqh0i0oDkyRRy-85pmtt5mv3wB7GYroH9eqPs80TvoqnLa1HlBWuYBNNj-o1FvU2yA50QC7vbtnFXPjtPEImUtcDLkePlzNgmmcwFmZtZfbwJzrLZzEwNQ2bjTlLrSKkWPQgCgkWBbQEuXPA=s3600" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3600" data-original-width="2386" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj-RfX6RJtPhKrWx2DjN_DHsKspMFvzRv2ACYbR7gibIVuqh0i0oDkyRRy-85pmtt5mv3wB7GYroH9eqPs80TvoqnLa1HlBWuYBNNj-o1FvU2yA50QC7vbtnFXPjtPEImUtcDLkePlzNgmmcwFmZtZfbwJzrLZzEwNQ2bjTlLrSKkWPQgCgkWBbQEuXPA=s320" width="212" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Staatman 1765<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjKk398hVvGz6zgdUKmSigNzVcoonDoJUGZ5rBz2TTtG0v7eHpRB5RpViG7LULUl_Rc4zZmH9KLZ42W4AFbDBpThNEiR_FwA_1WwwlBVXHML58duio7mPPTQSwUBRqZGGuG07mjMZXIqaQ7ZdFdFNU-IdMtPCrkYcOfaeVquhtHmsh5S4VgojIHILa-mg=s3600" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3600" data-original-width="1835" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjKk398hVvGz6zgdUKmSigNzVcoonDoJUGZ5rBz2TTtG0v7eHpRB5RpViG7LULUl_Rc4zZmH9KLZ42W4AFbDBpThNEiR_FwA_1WwwlBVXHML58duio7mPPTQSwUBRqZGGuG07mjMZXIqaQ7ZdFdFNU-IdMtPCrkYcOfaeVquhtHmsh5S4VgojIHILa-mg=s320" width="163" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Prault 1767<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><p></p><p>Now onto the gem. In general, editions of Hoyle are objects of commerce, not luxury. With the exception of the first edition of Hoyle's first book, pictured <a href="http://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2011/06/discovery-at-morgan-library.html">here</a>, the bindings are cheap, utilitarian, and not particularly attractive. Here is a second exception, albeit a bit stained: <br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhIKq-se4KmM43PELP1PfnEkskNEAV1NM3HiR6HsZPyXtMWCTBCE9xKwuKuwKNvrzpmhdp8aGp10nyfwY536UamZjHRGjvrPtMClBpn_mEmdk-17L-LNgaKS-Bemqv-0rDbzZsaJ-UUXFU7O7Mgq9buKphjN6kj6G7Nzi2B0xVsf98MoBGYrZslotFYUg=s3600" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3600" data-original-width="2464" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhIKq-se4KmM43PELP1PfnEkskNEAV1NM3HiR6HsZPyXtMWCTBCE9xKwuKuwKNvrzpmhdp8aGp10nyfwY536UamZjHRGjvrPtMClBpn_mEmdk-17L-LNgaKS-Bemqv-0rDbzZsaJ-UUXFU7O7Mgq9buKphjN6kj6G7Nzi2B0xVsf98MoBGYrZslotFYUg=s320" width="219" /> </a></td><td style="text-align: center;"> </td><td style="text-align: center;"> </td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">deluxe Italian? binding<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The book is an Italian translation of Hoyle on chess printed in Florence in 1768. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhrTtc2t0Uh9uG2aBcYiKTshyMmFN8Qx69j2T0WYry2zj0CfQpSk5jxr6jfFC0IyKEyUm44SVnP92wROhMpXdUJEg8AnjW02-Twkro16-SDWulFFJgTY7lm1L7X60K4TQKB3ML--lylWw7NC1LD9hF350xiDWgBnXcBQSNa-7blxENcBGercLoQBTMVXQ=s3600" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3600" data-original-width="2329" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhrTtc2t0Uh9uG2aBcYiKTshyMmFN8Qx69j2T0WYry2zj0CfQpSk5jxr6jfFC0IyKEyUm44SVnP92wROhMpXdUJEg8AnjW02-Twkro16-SDWulFFJgTY7lm1L7X60K4TQKB3ML--lylWw7NC1LD9hF350xiDWgBnXcBQSNa-7blxENcBGercLoQBTMVXQ=s320" width="207" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Scacchi</i>, Florence, 1768. <br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The long title translates as <i>The game of chess with some rules and observations to play it well, by the Englishman Mr. Hoyle translated into our language and dedicated to incomparable merit of Mr. Dudley Digges, English officer of the navy in the service of his British Majesty</i>. We'll return to Mr. Digges in a moment. The book is quite rare with only three institutional copies in major chess collections: the White collection at Cleveland Public (pictured <a href="http://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2013/08/a-research-trip-to-cleveland.html">here</a>), the van der Linde collection at the Koninklijke Bibliotheek (available on <a href="http://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2013/08/a-research-trip-to-cleveland.html">Google</a>), and the Fiske collection at the National and University Library in Iceland. A label in my copy says it is a duplicate from the collection of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lothar_Schmid">Lothar Schmid</a> (1928-2013), so perhaps a fifth copy remains in that collection, which I understand is still intact. <br /></p><p>The text is not from Hoyle's 1761 <a href="https://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/books/chess.1.xml">work</a> on chess, as one might expect, but rather from the second half of Hoyle's treatise on piquet, first published in <a href="https://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/books/piquet.1.1.xml">1744</a>, and included in all editions of <i>Hoyle's Games </i>thereafter. To give a sense of the typography, here is the beginning of the text:<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi-aJFxIs2siz2tQV3Te3tMUEAKydy5TrCJMcprDxMVpOb4jKxW0xd4vmU-W59bRnofxgfRUhHbeh96Pd7drkuoFWviJRMgLTCc2Bmk9PZ9K7xQ7FVrxX_AEeWEK2VUnH0ZqwQliMcIiQ6TNjzoCLH1SpFE0cahrC9zQATqe1-gurEkN7W9qfxtL6eFiw=s3600" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3600" data-original-width="2253" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi-aJFxIs2siz2tQV3Te3tMUEAKydy5TrCJMcprDxMVpOb4jKxW0xd4vmU-W59bRnofxgfRUhHbeh96Pd7drkuoFWviJRMgLTCc2Bmk9PZ9K7xQ7FVrxX_AEeWEK2VUnH0ZqwQliMcIiQ6TNjzoCLH1SpFE0cahrC9zQATqe1-gurEkN7W9qfxtL6eFiw=s320" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Chess, </i>part one<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>There are a few additions by the translator. The first is a two-page letter to the reader: </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi1zaLO9Gpogof_XoqPzQkFw3F4AM0ZUO3hp8ToOXMKurCMwijjB1o68vmVo8kZxLDBssm8X5miP7cTov6lnx-How8cLDz4it5gjHoaRrtQ5ZaL5rhVdhcCkjrXBEOoC7UfiYDCraOEnsDJI47qPfy91uFI6Lh84sEqoR0brca7QaZhB66YQsc3ZbecVA=s4440" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3600" data-original-width="4440" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi1zaLO9Gpogof_XoqPzQkFw3F4AM0ZUO3hp8ToOXMKurCMwijjB1o68vmVo8kZxLDBssm8X5miP7cTov6lnx-How8cLDz4it5gjHoaRrtQ5ZaL5rhVdhcCkjrXBEOoC7UfiYDCraOEnsDJI47qPfy91uFI6Lh84sEqoR0brca7QaZhB66YQsc3ZbecVA=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Translator's preface<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The translator is Ranieri Collini and the preface expresses fawning admiration of Digges. Some rough translations: </p><p></p><blockquote><p>"To whom better than you to be able to dedicate this book..."</p><p>"...having reendered yourself ably in the service of your august monarch..."</p><p>"...long undertakings, and painful voyages by land and sea..."<br /></p><p>"I know that your soul is very alien to conceit..."</p></blockquote><p>In the third and final section of the book, Hoyle had 14 numbered paragraphs and Collini adds a fifteenth: </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhx1TUkxUs7llk7XVkHnpDwLnuyLAsgiRUtATm3OVuubZUN87RWlf835DgXcBfspxL-oRzV-5OWPqKDiffv0Sn-xJQvpiIMtJ7qc3ph66eBASjrWSw10cQiHbtFdPYYvAHifZT-E9j8TLdAwV61E3rD8pfY4fN_yp3V4ZEDF7vd-tVThpUZBWWM4a-j8w=s2931" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="2931" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhx1TUkxUs7llk7XVkHnpDwLnuyLAsgiRUtATm3OVuubZUN87RWlf835DgXcBfspxL-oRzV-5OWPqKDiffv0Sn-xJQvpiIMtJ7qc3ph66eBASjrWSw10cQiHbtFdPYYvAHifZT-E9j8TLdAwV61E3rD8pfY4fN_yp3V4ZEDF7vd-tVThpUZBWWM4a-j8w=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Part 3, paragraph XV<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>It connects the game of chess to antiquity, noting that the title of Augustus was given to one of the imperial Romans for having won ten games of chess in a row. I haven't seen that anecdote before!</p><p>So how did Collini and Digges cross paths? <i>A Dictionary of British and Irish Travellers in Italy, 1701-1800</i>, Yale University Press, 1997 is based on an archive assembled by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brinsley_Ford">Sir Birnsley Ford</a> and edited by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ingamells">John Ingamells</a>. It is an alphabetical listing of visitors to Italy, many undertaking the grand tour. The dictionary shows Captain Dudley Digges and his brother West Digges visiting Florence in 1767, a year before the Hoyle was published:</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg_VMKfeDbQUl-VTnkoOrRw4ZLF1CSfR98S_6rMFv38eeEWK0IbTIRjNzEY0zXLCc3sm_OuSMmdckaU3bjLjpSguintO7-jwkkD56YX6RWY0IKF1MdIY2Tx5arVaX9f3O8lSu6tDTksVDAQOqdQ-BAVP20jDOKVi9xDAp3YGk4sr7Sr1mxwm3dGWd-UMA=s261" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="123" data-original-width="261" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg_VMKfeDbQUl-VTnkoOrRw4ZLF1CSfR98S_6rMFv38eeEWK0IbTIRjNzEY0zXLCc3sm_OuSMmdckaU3bjLjpSguintO7-jwkkD56YX6RWY0IKF1MdIY2Tx5arVaX9f3O8lSu6tDTksVDAQOqdQ-BAVP20jDOKVi9xDAp3YGk4sr7Sr1mxwm3dGWd-UMA=w320-h151" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Dictionary </i>p301<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Astonishingly, the source document, <i>Gazzetta Toscana</i>, is available on <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=AUCHQxyOtMIC">Google books.</a> An entry marked "Florence, December 26, 1767" reads:<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhk2wajXlM2go5Q6oRO-iaghL5kBprJGAvxQzRLyqItxX1m7HGnNr0afg_bP_zD_tHOy2bZJomnefuJqsOPvm-OZ9bs-avuJoOLw-D79WE47H-nUin_njF6CfFWTykavlPGM9F2-muhngzdaw_7WbAuVpDtlXLUHjDqx2975exYmQWhsCD3sr44s0liRg=s262" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="167" data-original-width="262" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhk2wajXlM2go5Q6oRO-iaghL5kBprJGAvxQzRLyqItxX1m7HGnNr0afg_bP_zD_tHOy2bZJomnefuJqsOPvm-OZ9bs-avuJoOLw-D79WE47H-nUin_njF6CfFWTykavlPGM9F2-muhngzdaw_7WbAuVpDtlXLUHjDqx2975exYmQWhsCD3sr44s0liRg" width="262" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Gazzetta Toscana</i>, p215<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span><p></p><p><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Correcting the misspelling of the names, this translates in part:</span></p><p></p><blockquote><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">"Among the foreign gentlemen who came to this capital in the space of eight days are...Messrs. Belven, West Digges, English gentlemen, Mr. Dudley Digges, captain in service of his British Majesty."</span></blockquote><p></p><p>I have not been able to track down Belven. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Digges">West Digges</a> is a quite well-known comic actor, but if Collini had met them both, he must have been more impressed with brother Dudley. The text in the gazette almost matches the dedication on the title page. So it is possible to connect Collini and Digges in time and space. It would be fascinating to learn how they came to meet. <br /></p><p>It took more than six weeks for this gem to travel here, but it was well worth the wait, don't you think?<br /></p><p> </p>David Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903897122730648287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5559915223029540012.post-9588124857541731662022-01-09T20:05:00.002-08:002022-01-17T14:06:14.148-08:002021: The Year in Collecting (part 3) Who is William H?<p>In <a href="https://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2021/12/2021-year-in-collecting-part-2.html">part 2</a>, I said that I wasn't ready to write about the bundle of books I bought at a mid-December auction. This essay will discuss just one of them, an extraordinary manuscript on the game of whist. First, the description from the auction catalogue:</p><p></p><blockquote><b>Manuscript</b>. Rules for the game of whist, circa 1820s, <i>196 leaves, written throughout in a neat legible hand in sepia and red ink, Contents at front with step index, some marginal toning, marbled endpapers, hinges splitting, armorial bookplate of Joseph Tasker, Middleton Hall, Essex, all edges gilt, contemporary straight-grained red morocco by Frank Murray of Derby, Leicester & Nottingham, with his label to front pastedown, flat spine ruled and lettered in gilt ‘Game of Whist’, spine rubbed and darkened, upper cover re-jointed, gilt single fillet on covers and edges, gilt roll on turn-ins, 8vo</i></blockquote><blockquote>Bearing the bookplate of Joseph Tasker whose library was sold at auction in 1862 and 1868.<br /></blockquote><p></p><blockquote>A beautifully-written manuscript comprising rules for the game of whist, containing references throughout to Hoyle and Payne, and with a list of contents included at the front.</blockquote><p>The manuscript consists primary of excerpts from Hoyle. It is peculiarly numbered--it is the openings that are numbered, rather than the pages or the leaves. Here is opening 11, which will give you a sense of the manuscript:</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjX2zFTcPnMTy2Jv-DLiBGlmMv7H-IXEstzdMnaDY3NVPEepAQgOapsCA2c52epQK1OPQrlzm5nW_-Ae3j3NH_7a9LIJtVdCXyekOajU1NjGEoOQJrMEBuO4fAFnZv0mQxcw-fxQeF_iXv6H9IjgLkEoQM5nBbOIjDYgt80buUmFnRbmkDgQXXAOJEogQ=s3923" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="3923" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjX2zFTcPnMTy2Jv-DLiBGlmMv7H-IXEstzdMnaDY3NVPEepAQgOapsCA2c52epQK1OPQrlzm5nW_-Ae3j3NH_7a9LIJtVdCXyekOajU1NjGEoOQJrMEBuO4fAFnZv0mQxcw-fxQeF_iXv6H9IjgLkEoQM5nBbOIjDYgt80buUmFnRbmkDgQXXAOJEogQ=w400-h306" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">opening 11<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p> The paragraph in the upper right is one such Hoyle excerpt: </p><p></p><blockquote><span style="color: red;">A</span> and <span style="color: red;">B</span> are Partners against <span style="color: red;">C</span> and <span style="color: red;">D</span>; <span style="color: red;">A</span> leads a Club, his Partner <span style="color: red;">B</span> plays before the Adversary <span style="color: red;">C</span>; in this case <span style="color: red;">D</span> has a right to play before his Partner <span style="color: red;">C</span>, because <span style="color: red;">B</span> played out of his Turn.</blockquote><p style="text-align: right;"> P-C<span>. <br /> </span>Hoyle<span> 50-9. <br />Payne 8-3.</span> <br /></p><p>This is what Hoyle and contemporaries called a "law" of whist. It was not a rule telling how to play the game, but a remedy to redress an irregularity that can occur at that table, here a play out of turn. <br /></p><p>It took some work to decipher the references to Hoyle and Payne. P refers to a page number and C a "case," as Hoyle frequently designated sections of his text. The hunt was on to find this text on page 50 of an edition of Hoyle. It turns out that the Hoyle references are to the 1796 edition of <i>Hoyle's Games Improved</i>, revised and corrected by Charles Jones (<a href="https://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/books/jones.5.xml">Jones.5</a>). Here is page 50, case IX of that book, matching the text of the manuscript:<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjlF0SBQpM1R6nwDO1-H5sORx-l_03AwfrDvJsJUeNGS5Hc2MjY-ACM8yN7UnF7D6BSjIM4r_hp6buCHy4al8OCYJnXw0xcmF_gWI7FTCFu2saplIipo4S4YBgXNQ7FDKC0_6NQlZQAgEPF6jdFTdhT5HIvHDHdX5N14ze80KKLvUa1YU_MU86MdChMAg=s3000" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="1635" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjlF0SBQpM1R6nwDO1-H5sORx-l_03AwfrDvJsJUeNGS5Hc2MjY-ACM8yN7UnF7D6BSjIM4r_hp6buCHy4al8OCYJnXw0xcmF_gWI7FTCFu2saplIipo4S4YBgXNQ7FDKC0_6NQlZQAgEPF6jdFTdhT5HIvHDHdX5N14ze80KKLvUa1YU_MU86MdChMAg=w217-h400" width="217" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Hoyle's Games Improved </i>(1796)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The reference to Payne was more difficult. Payne wrote the second book on whist after Hoyle, <i>Maxims for Playing the Game of Whist </i>(1773), discussed <a href="http://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2011/07/most-important-hoyle-after-hoyle.html">here</a>. In no edition of Payne did the laws appear as early as page 8. Finally I found the reference, not in Payne, but in the Charles Pigott's <i>New Hoyle (</i><a href="https://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/books/pigott.1.1.xml">Pigott.1.1</a>). There were three issues of the first edition of that book, all with the same setting of type. Here is a photo from the third issue, again matching the text of the manuscript:<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjCwy8tFi1C--87k8CEiQ-Vjf6qF1FFAyJFK5ejJa6TJvZGkXCT6QTaobkFejctc0sdRbJU_E58dz1cquJc1KxgMjk23C9Vh7qSJOUj6TPTXWgyk1zj7gUqRN8s28mFxuOVnbDGMv1vQdTCHAje1hz_x1oJNxx7OA2S0KpjUXPwnp0OI1lOfZD2arIMLw=s3000" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="1851" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjCwy8tFi1C--87k8CEiQ-Vjf6qF1FFAyJFK5ejJa6TJvZGkXCT6QTaobkFejctc0sdRbJU_E58dz1cquJc1KxgMjk23C9Vh7qSJOUj6TPTXWgyk1zj7gUqRN8s28mFxuOVnbDGMv1vQdTCHAje1hz_x1oJNxx7OA2S0KpjUXPwnp0OI1lOfZD2arIMLw=w246-h400" width="246" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pigott's <i>New Hoyle </i>(1796)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>This oddity persists throughout the book. All of the hundreds of manuscript references to Payne are actually to this early edition of Pigott!</p><p>It might have been quicker for me to identify the sources had I reached opening 18 more quickly: <br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh8scPUjGZcrw-PgLcD7VG7XcRb0Kq3Va2VY4Mv8gyEpO8A9JezovUT22nKL26cuqwfXcOtj0IaQe58DcjVuMkd2fiVzyr_76_RT6RdKNYtCq0lkUXEShBwQpaX7tvXvXSKef5Ghvne_VltKJYcdRXSCHzzIMLOkoSb4sLKacufrbuG-Ub_fTBS-LtxZA=s3000" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="1874" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh8scPUjGZcrw-PgLcD7VG7XcRb0Kq3Va2VY4Mv8gyEpO8A9JezovUT22nKL26cuqwfXcOtj0IaQe58DcjVuMkd2fiVzyr_76_RT6RdKNYtCq0lkUXEShBwQpaX7tvXvXSKef5Ghvne_VltKJYcdRXSCHzzIMLOkoSb4sLKacufrbuG-Ub_fTBS-LtxZA=s320" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">opening18<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>It reads:</p><p></p><blockquote>The foregoing Laws at Whist, with the following general rules for playing the Game, as well as the instructions for playing particular Hands, are taken from the revised and corrected edition of Hoyles Games Improved, by Cha<sup>s</sup> Jones, Esq<sup>r</sup>; also, from a Publication called New Hoyle, Printed by Ridgeway, York Street, Saint James's, from the Manuscript of the late Charles Pigott Esq<sup>r</sup>; both were published in 1796. W<sup>m</sup>H.</blockquote>W<sup>m</sup>H? This must be the monogram of the compiler of the manuscript! And that took me back to the preliminary material. In addition to the 196 openings with Arabic numbers, there are also 22 preliminary leaves with Roman numerals. The opening below shows an alphabetical table of contents and the step index mentioned in the catalogue. If you click on the image to enlarge it, you will see that the contents
refer to pages marked in black ink and "cases" marked in red: <br /><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjovgSNe7d0U5Lz8L7tJmjZpxQGJf0Jq-wUHzlVCVowYfl9MjaKBvpk6Y_bJsVKRKmBKNeIq43AUcFduVuLnwWr3nz1B5OzCJe0L5sUQnPOcQ6ZuhCchMkAsG5cJecxCD1dH9dVIJ2EemfnDXMpHYeXyY26NY25sfMNy8TyqovIGUu3oaqKE6Lt0cFoOQ=s4032" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjovgSNe7d0U5Lz8L7tJmjZpxQGJf0Jq-wUHzlVCVowYfl9MjaKBvpk6Y_bJsVKRKmBKNeIq43AUcFduVuLnwWr3nz1B5OzCJe0L5sUQnPOcQ6ZuhCchMkAsG5cJecxCD1dH9dVIJ2EemfnDXMpHYeXyY26NY25sfMNy8TyqovIGUu3oaqKE6Lt0cFoOQ=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">page III<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Now I understood an entry which confused me on first reading: </p><blockquote><p>H W<sup>m</sup>, his observations 3-<span style="color: red;">2</span>-<span style="color: red;">3</span>. 4-<span style="color: red;">1</span>-<span style="color: red;">2</span>-<span style="color: red;">3</span>-<span style="color: red;">4</span>. 6-<span style="color: red;">1</span>. 8-<span style="color: red;">1</span>. 14-<span style="color: red;">1</span>. 17. 51-<span style="color: red;">1</span>-<span style="color: red;">2</span>-<span style="color: red;">3</span>-<span style="color: red;">4</span>-<span style="color: red;">5</span>. 86-<span style="color: red;">1</span>. 105-<span style="color: red;">26</span>. 192-<span style="color: red;">3</span>. 155-<span style="color: red;">4</span> 156-<span style="color: red;">7</span>. <br /></p></blockquote>The manuscript has many interpolations by the compiler. Not all of them were indexed in the table of contents. The most interesting is from opening 14. First, the compiler transcribes a law from an old edition of Hoyle (one of four such references in the manuscript) and notes that it is obsolete:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhj56lANxWLt-Cw5G9TAo1UXahjaUdN5EyPmdAtp-CHVFCz5et71BYhvTicZG6vjhXwKvf28I50e5wqwmiQ386UWO21MB56-kHkgOE4ugCasxDEouZuAnAWR2fQlOhayhji6CmLM0OYzhQJcDyyZaUZBmtH4GpMmnV52FC1JPS9UfAyO_qI-jjDXCqQ7A=s3938" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="3938" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhj56lANxWLt-Cw5G9TAo1UXahjaUdN5EyPmdAtp-CHVFCz5et71BYhvTicZG6vjhXwKvf28I50e5wqwmiQ386UWO21MB56-kHkgOE4ugCasxDEouZuAnAWR2fQlOhayhji6CmLM0OYzhQJcDyyZaUZBmtH4GpMmnV52FC1JPS9UfAyO_qI-jjDXCqQ7A=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">page 14<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br />The laws reads:</p><blockquote><p>No Person may take new Cards in the middle of the Game, without the consent of all Parties. </p></blockquote><div style="text-align: right;"> P-C <br /></div><div style="text-align: right;">Hoyles old Edt<sup>n</sup> 81-23 <br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">The law addresses the right of a player to request a new pack of cards, feeling that that the old ones were running against him. I believe that the reference is to the "eleventh" edition of Hoyle's Games from 1757 (<a href="https://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/books/games.2.xml">Games.2</a>), pictured below. There is another possibility based on the page and case numbers for the 4 references to the old edition of Hoyle, so I'm not 100% certain. <br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div></div><div></div><div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiGTSSo1q5h_MXYdePZ7eZ3S26Df0KafVYcKl1e8JM2BJuzMODXiB1K5ithi53Qusbt8X2K9HKeJc7ov61R_w-EA4Km4X55faTPe5I-y8n9N9Si8B9-U555LDE0Ze04vPmvM6S75FfJqENJjeciUb3JV0XGeImZp_PWXAEXFa58twWE15-gt0AF4OBQUQ=s3000" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="1750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiGTSSo1q5h_MXYdePZ7eZ3S26Df0KafVYcKl1e8JM2BJuzMODXiB1K5ithi53Qusbt8X2K9HKeJc7ov61R_w-EA4Km4X55faTPe5I-y8n9N9Si8B9-U555LDE0Ze04vPmvM6S75FfJqENJjeciUb3JV0XGeImZp_PWXAEXFa58twWE15-gt0AF4OBQUQ=s320" width="187" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Hoyle's Games</i><br />"eleventh" edition (1757)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div> </div><div>It is the commentary below the law that is of the most interest: <br /><p></p><blockquote>NB. The above Law is Obsolete. <br /><br />I betted Ten Guineas that no Person might take fresh Cards in the middle of the Game without the consent of the Adversaries; it was referred to the first Whist Club in England held at that time (1792) at Martindales S<sup>t</sup>. James’s Street; when they decreed, that either Party might have fresh Cards at any Point of the Game, (the Party calling paying for them) without consulting the opposite Party. W<sup>m</sup>H.</blockquote>Martindales was a club that took over the premises of another club, White's, in 1789. I suppose the new law is a money-maker for the club--likely they mark up the cost of the cards and are delighted when someone wants new ones! From the anecdote we can deduce that W<sup>m</sup>H was an adult in 1792 and a man of sufficient means to make a frivolous ten guinea bet. Perhaps he was a member of Martindales. <br /></div><div><br /></div><div>So who is W<sup>m</sup>H?</div><div> </div><div>My first thought was that he must have owned one of the early editions of Pigott, which are quite scarce. Might one of the few surviving copies have a revealing bookplate or signature? The only copy of the first issue is at the Bodleian Library. There are no surviving second issues and only two third issues--one at the Bodleian and one in my collection. Sadly, none of the three books was helpful. The first issue has the ownership inscription of J. Muzio whom I cannot identify, and there was nothing useful in the other two. <br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Second, I went through all the whist literature looking for a William H of the right time period. I found nothing about members of Martindale's club. A book about White's Club notes that General William Howe (1729-1814), commander in chief of the British army in North America, was a member. There is a lot of Howe manuscript material online, but I don't feel qualified to compare the handwriting. <br /></div><div> </div><div>The Jessel bibliography records a four-volume set called <i>Rational Recreations </i>by William Hooper, but that does not particularly deal with whist. The index in Courtney's <i>English Whist and Whist Players </i>(1894) lists artist William Hogarth and writer William Hazlitt as connected to whist. Hogarth (1697-1764) is too early. The samples I've seen of Hazlitt's handwriting do not match the manuscript, but of course the compiler and the scribe may be two different people.<br /></div><p></p><p>The identity of W<sup>m</sup>H is likely to remain a mystery. It has been great fun digging into the manuscript and trying to understand it. My conclusion is that it has very little material that is not in any late 18c edition of Hoyle, but that the material is much better indexed and cross-referenced. What a treasure!<br /></p>David Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903897122730648287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5559915223029540012.post-14733890549058634492021-12-29T15:10:00.000-08:002021-12-29T15:10:50.944-08:002021: The Year in Collecting (part 2)<p>Well, sometimes things don't work out as planned. I was hoping this essay would include a lovely Hoyle I won at a November 25 auction in Germany. Sadly, shipping was delayed due to the resurgent pandemic and the book hasn't yet reached the US Postal Service. On the other hand, I won four lots totaling 14 books (some real gems!) in a December 16 auction in the UK and those books arrived yesterday. But I'm not ready to write about them yet!<br /></p><p>So we're left with a short essay discussing two other late 2021 acquisitions. Regular readers will know that I love original bindings and I love manuscripts. You'll see one of each today. Two things unite the books: both are interesting for reasons other than their text and both are one-of-a-kind.<br /><br />The first item is a stitched pamphlet, never bound, on the game of piquet.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEigpj7toPoMjfZ5odgoSlv--q9KaoX6ws8DIzLaDCj9bkfPmH6PulGC0dyMFuMMj06aUrTC8CPI99N7EAgXye6Ii5jgvwurzeTTT-gPx1VUQ8K7CgM4er3aUwWktsAUMHxZt67jMppKu1ZoBYktGbRv0m8eOhIym2_cvxKA0_ML0bjA6IupBO2VZPEeqg=s3297" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3297" data-original-width="2051" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEigpj7toPoMjfZ5odgoSlv--q9KaoX6ws8DIzLaDCj9bkfPmH6PulGC0dyMFuMMj06aUrTC8CPI99N7EAgXye6Ii5jgvwurzeTTT-gPx1VUQ8K7CgM4er3aUwWktsAUMHxZt67jMppKu1ZoBYktGbRv0m8eOhIym2_cvxKA0_ML0bjA6IupBO2VZPEeqg=s320" width="199" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Piquet </i>(Bruyeres: Chez la Veuve Vivot, 1784)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>It is a word-for-word reprint of the chapter on piquet that appeared in <i>Almanach des Jeux</i>, published by Fournier in Paris annually from 1779 until 1790 or so, and sporadically thereafter. The text is, therefore commonplace, but many other things fascinate. First, it is an uncommon provincial reprint--from Bruyeres, rather than Paris. Second, it was printed Chez la Veuve Vivot, that is at the shop of the <i>widow</i> Vivot, who succeeded her husband Jean-François. As in England, women who could not themselves set up a business, could carry on that of their husband. Third is the binding--stab sewn and never put into the sort of fancy binding that French collectors love. Finally, as near as I can tell, the book is unique. I can find no recorded copies in any of the online library catalogues. <br /><br />Another one-of-a-kind find is a manuscript on the game of trictrac. The title is <i>Le jeu du trictrac, comme on le joüe aujourd’huy. Enrichy de Figures</i> and the text is taken from on of the many "Amsterdam" imprints of <i>Académies des Jeux</i>, though it was likely printed in Paris. The <i>Académies </i> appeared with great frequency from the 1750s into the late 1780s. <br /><br />The manuscript is 194 numbered pages followed by a table of contents. I believe it is a quarto gathered in eights. It is 22.5 x 16.2 cm, the chain lines are horizontal, and the watermarks are where one would expect for a quarto, but each signature is eight leaves. I don't think I've seen that format before. <br /><br />The handwriting is precise and readable. The scribe reproduced in ink illustrations of the trictrac board that were woodblocks in the <i>Académies</i>:<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiRFvUrbrnLMNmUlLwQt8CPfEwqPkNJlrOzmjyH-dOaQ4rPxYgrIPHLH_cvAdIkfw_UdN3sA4tnMp7f3bKwWH0yf14KXVl1gTcLvkv5lzJ9yCZTgFI89Qf7-TP34iGtBvO9pddNIxHwVSftfbxUcohX2jzC1RBJlMbx_Yydjsz6jqb7aUsFAOW2yIm8yQ=s5382" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="5382" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiRFvUrbrnLMNmUlLwQt8CPfEwqPkNJlrOzmjyH-dOaQ4rPxYgrIPHLH_cvAdIkfw_UdN3sA4tnMp7f3bKwWH0yf14KXVl1gTcLvkv5lzJ9yCZTgFI89Qf7-TP34iGtBvO9pddNIxHwVSftfbxUcohX2jzC1RBJlMbx_Yydjsz6jqb7aUsFAOW2yIm8yQ=w400-h223" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sample illustrations<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p> They are quite lovely! <br /></p><p>I'm not quite ready to date the manuscript. It appears to be circa 1800, but I suspect more can be learned from the paper with the digital subtraction techniques shown in the previous <a href="https://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2021/11/2021-year-in-collecting.html">essay</a>. <br /><br />A final mystery is the inscription on the final page:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhPHoqz37TZQqmuI7oir5jNhXWkksYLtPp757F5CzpI4puT75e2Mtgctnv2npM9MbsB94nvYk39q0sFqHoRLv-5eFD1MfcE4zZHIGoZbO54q9FQtEQfeJDHpJXzMP8-HAXQTM9j-r-RHdCG7AYYJHAPjqNgRvaDo2BJUR_xtJp8D8VvKQB4vK76qj8-eA=s2592" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2430" data-original-width="2592" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhPHoqz37TZQqmuI7oir5jNhXWkksYLtPp757F5CzpI4puT75e2Mtgctnv2npM9MbsB94nvYk39q0sFqHoRLv-5eFD1MfcE4zZHIGoZbO54q9FQtEQfeJDHpJXzMP8-HAXQTM9j-r-RHdCG7AYYJHAPjqNgRvaDo2BJUR_xtJp8D8VvKQB4vK76qj8-eA=s320" width="320" /></a></div><p>The final bit reads "Je suis à Mr. Bernard Duhaut-Cilly." There is a large family with the surname Bernard in Bretagne who added "du Haut-Cilly" to their name when they entered the nobility. The family included the explorer/trader Auguste (1790-1849) who visited California in the 1820s. A friend in Paris suggested the most likely candidate is Robert-François Bernard, sieur du Haut, who died in the late 18th century.<br /><br />More soon...<br /><br /><br /></p>David Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903897122730648287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5559915223029540012.post-53755105109789882942021-11-22T08:59:00.002-08:002021-11-23T10:41:28.708-08:002021: The Year in Collecting<p>Until a flurry at year end, 2021 was a quiet year, even though it was the year that my Hoyle collection surpassed that of the Bodleian Library, at least according to my idiosyncratic way of counting. The depth of my collection makes it hard to find new things. </p><p>The most fun purchase was a parcel I bought at auction. The auction house described it as follows:</p><p></p><blockquote>Playing card, gambling and other interest books to include Beeton's Book of Acting Charades, The Mott St. Poker Club 1888, Ten days at Monte Carlo at the Bank's Expense by V.B., Middleton's Astronomy and the Use of Globes 1862, Cavendish on Whist, Hoyle's Games, Systems and Chances by R.W. Richardson, signed by the author and signed note from the author to Lord Braye, Potter on Gamesmanship and The pawnbrokers act 1872 by Francis Turner.</blockquote><p>I wrote them to ask about the Hoyle, and it turned out there were two copies of <i>Hoyle Made Familiar</i> by Robert Hardie, a book I complained in the <a href="http://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2018/06/kicking-and-screaming-into-19th-century.html">essay </a>"Kicking and Screaming into the 19th Century." I already had one of them, but the other was a rarity, with only one other copy recorded, of course at the Bodleian. For the parcel, I bid what I was willing to pay for the rare Hoyle and won the lot. Shipping from the UK cost nearly as much as the books themselves. <br /></p><p>Unpacking the box reminded me of the old days of going to a second-hand book shop and sitting on the floor, going through the gaming books. Yes, the gaming books were invariably on a bottom shelf! As in the book shop, going through the parcel was a multi round game of "junk" or "treasure." There were 20 books on gaming, only a few of which were identified in the auction catalogue. I ended up adding eleven books to the collection. Of course, the rare Hoyle was the highlight, even with (or perhaps because of) the crude frontispiece: </p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dU__hHm6uUI/YZlr8-8tJ-I/AAAAAAAAQyY/_VRFjxqhtjcx07tk4he3ao6AXkEmBPC_gCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Hardie.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1607" data-original-width="2048" height="251" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dU__hHm6uUI/YZlr8-8tJ-I/AAAAAAAAQyY/_VRFjxqhtjcx07tk4he3ao6AXkEmBPC_gCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Hardie.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Hoyle Made Familiar </i>(1852)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>There were other nice books:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>A first edition of <i>Round Games at Cards </i>by Henry Jones, who wrote under the pseudonym "Cavendish" (London: de la Rue 1875). <br /></li></ul><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>A ninth edition of <i>Cavendish on Whist </i>(London: de la Rue 1872). I knew that the tenth edition included an important chapter on the history of whist that did not appear in the eighth edition. I had never seen a ninth edition before and now know that the tenth was the first with the historical notes. I've written about Cavendish many <a href="https://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/search/label/Cavendish">times</a>, identifying him as the successor to Hoyle in one <a href="https://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2011/08/successors-to-hoyle-part-1.html">essay</a>. We'll see a particularly interesting Cavendish item below. <br /></li></ul><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>An early edition of Boaz on the <i>Laws of Bridge </i>(London: de la Rue 1898). In 2020, Thierry Depaulis (with the help of Philippe Bodard, Edward Copisarow, and Dave Walker) published an article in <i>The Playing Card</i> identifying Boaz as the pseudonym of Ernest de la Rue, a member of firm Thomas de la Rue & Co. which manufactured playing cards and, as you will have noticed, published gaming books. </li></ul><p>The parcel also included books I plan to get rid of. Is anyone interested in the Pawnbroker's Act of 1872? Charades? Globes?<br /></p><p>The next item is a manuscript on the game of whist, likely from the late 18th century:</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IIr3lhUPguY/YZltqG-kalI/AAAAAAAAQyw/T9wq_jzamHAJll_tI37uMhM6tTREuFumgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/p01.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1599" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IIr3lhUPguY/YZltqG-kalI/AAAAAAAAQyw/T9wq_jzamHAJll_tI37uMhM6tTREuFumgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/p01.jpg" width="250" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Regles...de Wisht</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p> The four-page manuscript is printed on interesting paper. This back-lit image shows a watermark of a crowned shield with a horn inside over the name of the paper-maker, C & I Honig, who was active in the Netherlands from the early 18th century into the 19th: </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tEz_gS1sA7w/YZltp-dLiyI/AAAAAAAAQys/aHLgE5oCKqMY7EQsM3NYcjFEK6AitX27gCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/40%2Bwatermark.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tEz_gS1sA7w/YZltp-dLiyI/AAAAAAAAQys/aHLgE5oCKqMY7EQsM3NYcjFEK6AitX27gCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/40%2Bwatermark.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">C & I Honig watermark<br /></td></tr></tbody></table>I placed a higher resolution photograph on my <a href="https://booksongaming.com/honig.jpg">web site</a>. I found a similar watermark online from a <a href="https://www.themorgan.org/drawings/item/103050">drawing</a> at the Morgan Library and was curious if the paper could be dated from the watermark. I queried the booklists Exlibris-L and SHARP-L and received many interesting replies. One respondent pointed out two letters from Thomas Jefferson in the Gravell Watermark Archive with similar Honig watermarks, <a href="https://www.gravell.org/record.php?RECID=2625">here </a>and <a href="https://www.gravell.org/record.php?RECID=2468">here</a>. <p>Another engaging reply was from Ian Christie-Miller, author of the recent <a href="https://www.earlybook.info/">book</a> <i>Revealing Watermarks</i>. He said that if could send him front- and back-lit images without moving the paper or camera, he could extract the watermark more clearly. I sent him the two images below: <br /></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e4h8rdVEtrU/YZltpgfSfAI/AAAAAAAAQyk/Px4XOV_UTFcTr3baJAO3BYnsz0_KDSitwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/10%2Bbacklit.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e4h8rdVEtrU/YZltpgfSfAI/AAAAAAAAQyk/Px4XOV_UTFcTr3baJAO3BYnsz0_KDSitwCLcBGAsYHQ/w150-h200/10%2Bbacklit.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">back-lit</td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K19eC_RTDE8/YZ00w71OWaI/AAAAAAAAQ0Y/Ed9pQCFNjPMAWv9HT3h0a_4lMsIsbjHdwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/20%2Bfrontlit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K19eC_RTDE8/YZ00w71OWaI/AAAAAAAAQ0Y/Ed9pQCFNjPMAWv9HT3h0a_4lMsIsbjHdwCLcBGAsYHQ/w150-h200/20%2Bfrontlit.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">front-lit</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><p><br /></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G2f0xNT5Eb4/YZltpeWDxMI/AAAAAAAAQyg/ZKgV2ksUb4YSy_pjODiCd2qXcB6Ngsu0gCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/20%2Bfrontlit.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G2f0xNT5Eb4/YZltpeWDxMI/AAAAAAAAQyg/ZKgV2ksUb4YSy_pjODiCd2qXcB6Ngsu0gCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/20%2Bfrontlit.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G2f0xNT5Eb4/YZltpeWDxMI/AAAAAAAAQyg/ZKgV2ksUb4YSy_pjODiCd2qXcB6Ngsu0gCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/20%2Bfrontlit.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G2f0xNT5Eb4/YZltpeWDxMI/AAAAAAAAQyg/ZKgV2ksUb4YSy_pjODiCd2qXcB6Ngsu0gCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/20%2Bfrontlit.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G2f0xNT5Eb4/YZltpeWDxMI/AAAAAAAAQyg/ZKgV2ksUb4YSy_pjODiCd2qXcB6Ngsu0gCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/20%2Bfrontlit.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G2f0xNT5Eb4/YZltpeWDxMI/AAAAAAAAQyg/ZKgV2ksUb4YSy_pjODiCd2qXcB6Ngsu0gCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/20%2Bfrontlit.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G2f0xNT5Eb4/YZltpeWDxMI/AAAAAAAAQyg/ZKgV2ksUb4YSy_pjODiCd2qXcB6Ngsu0gCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/20%2Bfrontlit.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G2f0xNT5Eb4/YZltpeWDxMI/AAAAAAAAQyg/ZKgV2ksUb4YSy_pjODiCd2qXcB6Ngsu0gCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/20%2Bfrontlit.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G2f0xNT5Eb4/YZltpeWDxMI/AAAAAAAAQyg/ZKgV2ksUb4YSy_pjODiCd2qXcB6Ngsu0gCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/20%2Bfrontlit.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a></div><p></p><p></p><blockquote>[Aside: if you click on one of the above photos to enlarge it, you can use the arrow keys to toggle between the two pictures and see how they line up.] </blockquote><p></p><p>Ian used digital subtraction to remove the text and sent me an image essentially of the paper alone:</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F6VuoVvULCY/YZltpprUXTI/AAAAAAAAQyo/W_yfQAbsm1AgcNk7HM1yvkY6DIdDSmLwgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1280/30%2Bsubtraction.tif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="796" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F6VuoVvULCY/YZltpprUXTI/AAAAAAAAQyo/W_yfQAbsm1AgcNk7HM1yvkY6DIdDSmLwgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/30%2Bsubtraction.tif" width="199" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">C & I Honig paper<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><br />I've shared the text with some French friends who collect and study whist. They were struck by several unusual spellings: "wisht" for "whist", "a tout" for "atout", "robert" for "robre" and more. Their thought was that the manuscript was not copied from a book, but the author wrote down rules he heard. </p><p>Both the paper and the rules appear to be from the late 18th or early 19th century, but it is difficult to be more precise. </p><p>As promised, back to Cavendish. I purchased a letter from Henry Jones on stationery with his printed address, dated January 16, 1891. The unidentified recipient had written a letter to <i>The Field</i>, a British monthly treating field sports and games, of which Cavendish was the card editor. The original letter apparently complained about the lack of uniformity at whist, that is, the proliferation of conventions (partnership agreements) governing card play. Cavendish replied that the writer's proposed scheme for regulation "has no chance whatever of adoption" and could not recommend that the letter be printed in <i>The Field</i>. Cavendish suggested a more open-ended query--whether the lack of uniformity does call for a remedy. <br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qxjhHQL6fCY/YZmCrZ4weoI/AAAAAAAAQzA/ocZ2DXndhPoxHIREaAIhmz_lf5MO0eKYQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/p01.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1310" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qxjhHQL6fCY/YZmCrZ4weoI/AAAAAAAAQzA/ocZ2DXndhPoxHIREaAIhmz_lf5MO0eKYQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/p01.jpg" width="205" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cavendish letter p1<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2YFFpyiWc90/YZmCrmJ32tI/AAAAAAAAQzI/xyCrA8Rwg7Mr50JaJeJD3zTPJV1z-IrAACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/p02-03.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1633" data-original-width="2048" height="255" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2YFFpyiWc90/YZmCrmJ32tI/AAAAAAAAQzI/xyCrA8Rwg7Mr50JaJeJD3zTPJV1z-IrAACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/p02-03.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cavendish letter p2-3<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EFiRW4P8SaQ/YZmCrkKAQTI/AAAAAAAAQzE/UrdKnv9V7YMK-3_OTD-fhNicGa05pT4vQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/p04.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1289" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EFiRW4P8SaQ/YZmCrkKAQTI/AAAAAAAAQzE/UrdKnv9V7YMK-3_OTD-fhNicGa05pT4vQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/p04.jpg" width="201" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cavendish letter p4<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>The writer did take Cavendish's suggestion and wrote a second letter to <i>The Field </i>which was published on January 31, 1891. There we learn that the author was W. H. Collins, best known for his leadership of the British Lawn Tennis Association. He gives an example of the lack of uniformity:</p><blockquote><p>First hand [holding] King, queen, knave, ten. Some players lead the ten under all circumstances; others the king with four and the knave with five or more. <br /></p></blockquote><p>and continues with another half dozen specifics. All four cards would have equal trick-taking power-- the choice of which to play is a matter of partnership agreement, a subject I discuss in the <a href="http://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2011/08/nature-of-gaming-literature-part-2.html">essay</a> "The Nature of Gaming Literature (part 2)."<br /></p><p>More generally, Collins notes: <br /></p><p></p><blockquote><p>[I]n the present stage of whist development, half one's time when playing with strangers is taken up in discovering to what particular school they belong, and how far their reading is up to date. </p><p></p></blockquote><p>Cavendish replied in <i>The Field</i>: </p><p></p><blockquote>It is to be regretted that so many points of difference exist in whist play, but it appears to us to be a necessity of the case. It must be borne in mind that within the last few years changes have taken place in the game which amount to a revolution. In cannot be expected that the whole body of whist players will accept these changes at once, and in their integrity. It will take at least a generation to settle what is good in the proposed changes.</blockquote><p></p><p>Alas, Cavendish's prediction did not come true. As the 19th century gave way to the 20th, whist died out in favor of early forms of bridge. The 1898 <i>Laws of Bridge</i> by Boaz, mentioned above, foreshadowed the future. </p><p>There are a few more items either in transit or coming up at auction before year end, so perhaps there will be a second part to this essay. I find it striking that two of the items described here are manuscripts, the rules of whist and the Cavendish letter. I find myself more and more attracted to manuscript material. The items are unique, unlike printed books which may be produced in hundreds or thousands. I am not alone. As digitization brings more and more printed texts online, collectors, both institutional and private, are seeking out what cannot be found elsewhere. </p><p>Did I mention that one of the items in transit is another manuscript on the game of trictrac? <br /></p><p><br /></p>David Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903897122730648287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5559915223029540012.post-6141819872196130722021-03-09T11:01:00.001-08:002021-03-22T17:45:46.051-07:00Hoyle in Halifax? <p>In the <a href="https://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2019/08/250-years.html">essay</a> "250 Years," I noted Hoyle's involvement in a maritime insurance venture in Rotterdam in the 1720s. That refuted my earlier assertion that nothing is known of Hoyle's life before he began to tutor and write about the game of whist in the 1740s. </p><p>A recent email from Dave Walker hints that we may be able to find even earlier information. Dave sent me a snippet from <i>Halifax Books and Authors</i> by J. Horsfall Turner (1906), p177. You can find the book in the <a href="https://archive.org/details/halifaxbooksauth00turn">Internet Archive</a>. The passage begins: </p><p></p><blockquote>THE HOYLES. As with the families of several other local authors that we have named, the Hoyles have resided in the parish ever since surnames were adopted, that is, before 1400, or even 1300 in many cases. The Hoyles take their name from their original place of residence, possibly places of residences, for there were Hoyles of Hoyle or the Hole in Hipperholme, Hoyles of the Hole in Sowerby, besides a family similarly named from the Hole in Colne Valley. I believe these had not a common origin...<br /></blockquote><p>In the <a href="http://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-yorkshire-hoyles-and-doctrine-of.html">essay</a> "The Yorkshire Hoyles and the Doctrine of Chances," I've rejected the view that Edmond was one of the landed Hoyles of Yorkshire. The key reference is: </p><p></p><blockquote>Yorkshire has been called the county of [Edmond Hoyle's] birth, but the
present representative of the Yorkshire Hoyles, who acquired (temp.
Edward III.) estates near Halifax, Mr. Fretwell Hoyle, has taken great
pains of his genealogy, and has come to the conclusion that the Edmond
Hoyle of whist celebrity was not in any way connected with his family.
(Julian Marshall, "Books on Gaming" in <i>Notes and Queries</i>, 7th Ser. VII. June 22, 1889, p481) </blockquote><p>Turner suggests that the were multiple Hoyle families in Yorkshire. Perhaps Edmond was one of the others? He goes on to say:</p><blockquote>Besides EDMOND HOYLE, whose
work on "Games" reached numerous editions, claimed conclusively by Mr. E.
J. Walker, in the "Halifax Guardian" Portfolio, as productions of a
Halifax man...</blockquote><p>Now, that is new and interesting! Before we look into the <i>Halifax Guardian</i>, let's consider Yorkshire geography. The image below, from Google Maps, highlights Rotherham, the home of the landed Hoyles in the 19c and Halifax, where it is suggested that Hoyle came from. <br /></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--2UI5--KBr0/YDvc8R6NXEI/AAAAAAAAOuE/z7BywjNreHUV7sfLtcTFJV6rZEaKyviigCLcBGAsYHQ/s921/yorkshire.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="671" data-original-width="921" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--2UI5--KBr0/YDvc8R6NXEI/AAAAAAAAOuE/z7BywjNreHUV7sfLtcTFJV6rZEaKyviigCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/yorkshire.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yorkshire</td></tr></tbody></table><p>So is Edmond from Halifax after all? And from a different Hoyle family than Fretwell? </p><p>I've found more about the <i>Halifax Guardian </i>and it's "Portfolios." The <i>Guardian </i>is no longer published, but there was an article in the <i>Halifax Courier</i> of March 13, 2015 (available <a href="https://www.pressreader.com/uk/halifax-courier/20150313/282411282793602">here</a>) that described the portfolios. The article was called "Recording tales of old Halifax" and continued "Newspaperman Walker collected stories that tell history of our town in years gone by." Edward Johnson Walker wrote a series of 100 columns in the weekly <i>Guardian </i>beginning in June 1856 called "Our Local Portfolio," devoted to "interesting matter connected with the parish of Halifax." The Portfolio was published nearly weekly--by the end of July, 1858, nearly 100 articles had appeared. </p><p>The <i>Halifax Guardian </i>is available on microfilm at the <a href="https://calderdale.spydus.co.uk/cgi-bin/spydus.exe/ENQ/WPAC/GENENQ/2378598?QRY=IRN(4910659)">Halifax Central Library</a>, the British Library and the Library of Congress. Perhaps one or more will open soon and I can find someone willing to spend a day with a microfilm reader. </p><p>What did Mr. Walker have to say about Hoyle? <br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><p> </p><br /><p></p><p></p>David Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903897122730648287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5559915223029540012.post-204505478514719192021-01-27T07:52:00.001-08:002021-10-18T10:59:39.598-07:00Two Beauties of Hoyle, both owned by women. Coincidence?<p>I am nearly done putting bookplates in my gaming books, with just a box or two of small pamphlets to go. You can see the bookplate in my 2019 collecting <a href="https://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2019/12/2019-year-in-collecting.html">essay</a>. The project has been largely tedious, but it <i>has </i>been fun to revisit each item in the collection. I have learned a lot from classes in <a href="https://rarebookschool.org/courses/collections/c90/">provenance</a> and <a href="https://rarebookschool.org/courses/binding/b65/">binding</a> at <a href="https://rarebookschool.org/">Rare Book School</a> and from bookish Facebook groups on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/WeLoveEndpapers/" target="">endpapers</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/954849404970959/" target="">bookplates</a>, and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/255807868673068/" target="">bookseller labels</a>. I've become attuned to aspects of my books I had missed initially. </p><p>So here's something I just noticed, and it has me wondering...</p><p>In my <a href="http://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2012/05/eighteenth-century-whist-literature.html">essay</a> "Eighteenth Century Whist Literature," one of the books I discussed was <i>The Beauties of Hoyle and Paine</i> by General Scott (London: 1792). The <i>Oxford English Dictionary </i>says that "beauties," a term now used rarely, is found in titles of anthologies to mean "the choice passages from a particular writer, genre, etc." So <i>The Beauties of Hoyle and Paine</i> includes choice passages from Hoyle's <i>Whist</i> and Payne's <i>Maxims for Whist</i> (discussed <a href="http://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2011/07/most-important-hoyle-after-hoyle.html">here</a>). General Scott misspelled Payne as Paine. <br /></p><p>I have two copies of the first edition of Scott and no others are recorded in <a href="https://www.worldcat.org/">WorldCat</a> or <a href="http://estc.bl.uk/F/?func=file&file_name=login-bl-estc">ESTC</a>. I have vague memories of seeing a copy in the trade about ten years ago, so perhaps a third has survived. <br /></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tOlrXcPtZCM/YBBn7BmNvjI/AAAAAAAAOis/fshJBpH9Z-A-kDI1R4cSD7DX3hC2fTFVwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/bound%2Btitle.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1197" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tOlrXcPtZCM/YBBn7BmNvjI/AAAAAAAAOis/fshJBpH9Z-A-kDI1R4cSD7DX3hC2fTFVwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/bound%2Btitle.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scott, London 1792<br /></td></tr></tbody></table> <p></p><p>What is remarkable is that both my copies show evidence of ownership by women. The copy above has a seemingly contemporary ownership inscription "Mrs. Buckland" on the title page.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ehX-ZvONpTU/YBBn7LRWrLI/AAAAAAAAOio/XBAH-B6PEGsmN5LPgcXaEqUC40smtXs0wCLcBGAsYHQ/s3060/bound%2Bsignature.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="624" data-original-width="3060" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ehX-ZvONpTU/YBBn7LRWrLI/AAAAAAAAOio/XBAH-B6PEGsmN5LPgcXaEqUC40smtXs0wCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/bound%2Bsignature.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>The other copy is presented by R. Coningham to Mrs. Hewit. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DoHgfu7PoSM/YBBn7Kxt53I/AAAAAAAAOiw/Itcj_G1NAWIAU9FE3j6yCqmmYgWRvVD6gCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/wrapper%2Bsignature.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1295" data-original-width="2048" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DoHgfu7PoSM/YBBn7Kxt53I/AAAAAAAAOiw/Itcj_G1NAWIAU9FE3j6yCqmmYgWRvVD6gCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/wrapper%2Bsignature.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><p><br />Can you help me make out the third word in the next line? I read "from her affined Hoyle" with "affined" meaning "bound in relationship." If I'm reading that correctly, it's rather charming! A reader sent a more plausible reading: "my assured Hoyle". </p><p>What is striking is that both copies of <i>Beauties </i>manifest ownership by women. Coincidence? Or are these <i>Beauties </i>intended for female readers? </p><p>There were hundreds of <i>Beauties: </i>of <a href="http://estc.bl.uk/T93847">Shakespeare</a>, of popular <a href="http://estc.bl.uk/T127063">magazines</a>, of <a href="http://estc.bl.uk/T113917">biography</a> ("for the instruction of youth of both sexes"), of <a href="http://estc.bl.uk/T211733">history</a> ("designed for the instruction and entertainment of youth"), of the <a href="http://estc.bl.uk/T79396">poets</a>, of <a href="http://estc.bl.uk/T134814">English drama</a>. The beauties of <a href="http://estc.bl.uk/T116315">Johnson</a> and <a href="http://estc.bl.uk/T131722">Fielding </a>and <a href="http://estc.bl.uk/T146030">Goldsmith</a> and <a href="http://estc.bl.uk/T76620">Hervey</a> and so many more. I extracted phrases from the long title suggesting an appeal to the young, but there is also <i><a href="http://estc.bl.uk/P6527">The Lady’s Poetical Magazine; or, Beauties of British poetry</a>.</i></p><p></p><p>I've never seen books on whist offered to youth, so I wonder...might this <i>Beauty </i>have been created for women? </p><br />David Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903897122730648287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5559915223029540012.post-84051620196241318272021-01-25T14:26:00.002-08:002021-03-19T11:55:18.204-07:00Who printed Piquet for Francis Cogan? Thank you Compositor!<div><p><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">(udpated 3/13 to link to Patrick Spedding's post, with his discussion of Compositor)</span></i><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;">Last week, I watched <a href="http://www.josephhone.com/">Joseph Hone</a> present a paper 'Secrets, Lies, and Title Pages' (now <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwodczMM7ww">available</a> on YouTube) sponsored by <a href="https://www.odsecs.org/">ODSECS</a>, the Open Digital Seminar in Eighteenth-Century Studies. Joseph discussed how 18c printers "corrupted title pages with false names, dates, and places...to disguise the origins of dangerous books or piracies." I recommend the talk highly. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;">In general, we don't know who printed a particular book in the 18c. The imprint, if honest, tends to identify the publisher and only occasionally the printer. Several times, Joseph made reference to the <a href="https://compositor.bham.ac.uk/">Compositor database</a> of 18c printers' ornaments which he used to unmask printers who would otherwise have stayed hidden. I knew that Compositor was an upgraded version of Fleuron, a site I had used frequently. In my online Hoyle bibliography I had links to Fleuron which no longer worked in Compositor. It had been on my list to update the links and Joseph's talk prompted me to do so. Done!<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;">I also explored Compositor and was blown away by a new feature: "image search", with a tutorial on their <a href="https://fleuronweb.wordpress.com/2020/06/03/visual-search/">blog</a>. It allows you to take an ornament in one book and find matches in others. Sometimes, those matches will be in books that identify the printer, suggesting a printer for the original book. Before giving an example, here is some background: </span></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-size: small;">Printers ornaments are decorative elements, generally woodblocks, used in books through the late 18c. For a charming example, see the squirrely headpiece <a href="https://compositor.bham.ac.uk/ornaments/1171998">here</a>. </span></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-size: small;">The source for Compositor is <a href="https://www.gale.com/primary-sources/eighteenth-century-collections-online">ECCO</a>, Eighteenth Century Collections Online, a subscription database of nearly 200,000 18c books that can be accessed through most university libraries. ECCO began as microfilm and was digitized from the film. For a great history of ECCO, see Steven H. Gregg's paper "Old Books and Digital Publishing: Eighteenth-Century Collections Online" available <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/elements/old-books-and-digital-publishing-eighteenthcentury-collections-online/058DB12DE06A4C00770B46DCFAE1D25E">here</a>. The path from film to digital means that the reproductions are not always of pristine quality. </span></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-size: small;">The Compositor/Fleuron team must have done an immense amount of image processing that I can imagine only vaguely. They extracted the ornaments from full pages, developed ornament metadata, and, most magically, allowed visual search. Well done!<br /></span></li></ul></div><p><span style="font-size: small;">Okay, enough talk. Let's figure out who printed <i>Piquet </i>for Francis Cogan. My description of the book is <a href="http://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/books/piquet.1.1.xml">here</a>. The imprint, "</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="roman">Printed for </span><span id="smallcap">F. Cogan </span><span id="roman">at the </span><span id="italic">Middle-Temple-Gate", is silent as to the printer. Scroll down to the contents where it says </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman">‘[</span><a href="https://compositor.bham.ac.uk/ornaments/1171998" target="blank_">headpiece</a><span id="roman">] | SOME | </span><span id="smallcap">Rules </span><span id="italic">and </span><span id="smallcap">Observations | </span><span id="roman">FOR | </span><span id="italic">Playing well at </span><span id="roman">CHESS. | [...]’. Click on the link to see again the headpiece with squirrels and then click on "Load Ornament in Visual Search". </span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman"></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman">Now for the part requiring some dexterity. As described in the tutorial, you can use the right mouse button to select a rectangular area in the ornament. It will highlight red as you drag, and turn yellow when you are done. </span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman"></span></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ic7vadQtlI8/YA250W-RfQI/AAAAAAAAOhA/j-ZYx3hirCgSzYZiXf6VkxOzn0_UrSM7ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1252/select.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="352" data-original-width="1252" height="113" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ic7vadQtlI8/YA250W-RfQI/AAAAAAAAOhA/j-ZYx3hirCgSzYZiXf6VkxOzn0_UrSM7ACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h113/select.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Selecting an Ornament<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman">When I clicked "search", I found 103 matches: </span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman"></span></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uBmVy1oPFfk/YA25dWHHvUI/AAAAAAAAOg4/VX4Yl38fP9oowtCir6QIKbJvkLaxANU9gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1257/matches.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="838" data-original-width="1257" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uBmVy1oPFfk/YA25dWHHvUI/AAAAAAAAOg4/VX4Yl38fP9oowtCir6QIKbJvkLaxANU9gCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h266/matches.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Matching an Ornament<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: small;">You can click on a match and the original image on the left and the match on the right. If you click the middle image, it will toggle between the two and you can determine whether they were made from the same woodblock. Many things can account for differences even when the block is the same: Woodblocks become worn from use. Any given impression can use more or less ink. The microfilm and digitization can introduce artifacts. Despite the differences, I'm awestruck by how well this works! Truly, this be miraculous!!<br /></span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman">Now for the part I found a bit clunky. You can click on the filename of the rightmost image to go to a page like <a href="https://zeus.robots.ox.ac.uk/vise/query/fleuron/2/_file?file_id=887454">this</a> and then click on the link "</span></span></span>This ornament was extracted from <a href="https://compositor.bham.ac.uk/ornaments/706629">this book</a><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman">". In this example, you see the first of ten volumes of Moliere's works with the suggestive imprint "printed by and for John Watts at the Printing-Office in Wild-Court near Lincoln's-Inn Fields". One match does not a printer identify, so you'd want to look at more ornaments and more matches. That entails a lot of clicking. And a lot of keeping track of what you're seeing. Well, I wondered, couldn't I automate that? </span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman">Did you notice the little button that let you export the search results as a .csv (comma separated variable) file? Well, I saved the 103 matches to a file and dragged out some rusty <a href="https://www.python.org/">Python</a> skills to read the .csv file, visit the 103 matches, visit the book from which the ornament was extracted, extract the imprints, and print them out. Ninety minutes of coding; sixty lines of code. It took longer to write this blog post. If you run it for the 103 matches of the squirrel ornament, the first eight results are:</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman">filename: 105540010000600_1</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman">ornament ID: 1171998</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman">ESTC: T048220</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman">publisher: printed for F. Cogan at the Middle-Temple-Gate </span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman"></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman">filename: 005770040202750_0</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman">ornament ID: 944832</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman">ESTC: T052789</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman">publisher: printed for H. Lintot, J. and R. Tonson and S. Draper </span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman"></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman">filename: 041920010801090_0</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman">ornament ID: 634261</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman">ESTC: T064098</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman">publisher: printed for John Watts at the Printing-Office in Wild-Court near Lincoln&#39;s-Inn Fields </span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman"></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman">filename: 025940030001100_0</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman">ornament ID: 1028312</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman">ESTC: T064113</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman">publisher: printed for John Watts at the Printing-Office in Wild-Court near Lincoln&#39;s-Inn Fields </span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman"></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman">filename: 086630010201970_0</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman">ornament ID: 166790</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman">ESTC: T089176</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman">publisher: printed for J. and R. Tonson and S. Draper in the Strand </span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman"></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman">filename: 025940040000700_0</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman">ornament ID: 838797</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman">ESTC: T064114</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman">publisher: printed for John Watts at the Printing-Office in Wild-Court near Lincoln&#39;s-Inn Fields </span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman"></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman">filename: 094430010500090_1</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman">ornament ID: 706629</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman">ESTC: T064441</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman">publisher: printed by and for John Watts at the Printing-Office in Wild-Court near Lincoln&#39;s-Inn Fields </span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman"></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman">filename: 015270010000960_0</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman">ornament ID: 763509</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman">ESTC: T063293</span></span></span><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="italic"><span id="roman"><span style="font-family: courier;">publisher: printed for Jacob Tonson in the Strand </span> </span></span></span><br /></p><p></p><p>It would have been easy and useful to extract the title and date. And to replace the &#39; with an apostrophe. But that would have taken more than 90 minutes. Had I done so, you would have seen the first item listed is the source book <i>Piquet</i>. Only one of the eight imprints identifies the printer: "printed by and for John Watts...". Of the 103 entries, 31 of them include "printed by" and in all cases, the printer is John Watts. I've visually inspected a good number of the ornament matches and similarly checked other ornaments from <i>Piquet</i>. I'm completely confident that I have identified the printer. </p><p>There are some caveats in working with ornaments to identify printers. The printing of a book may be shared by more than one printer. A printer may loan out his ornaments. You have to be careful about when a printer died--another printer may have inherited the ornaments. My sense is that these caveats are mostly (repeat mostly) theoretical, but you should be aware of them. </p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">In fact I had done a lot of pre-Compositor ornament searching and had already identified Watts as the printer of <i>Piquet</i>. But with this new tool, I have identified printers for some of the Dublin Hoyles and for some non-Hoyles in my collection. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">Thank you Compositor! And thank you Joseph for the nudge!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">For Patrick Spedding's take on Compositor, see his blog essay <a href="http://patrickspedding.blogspot.com/2021/03/compositor-fleuron-20.html">here</a>. <br /></span></div>David Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903897122730648287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5559915223029540012.post-34556292966444267472021-01-14T07:32:00.001-08:002021-01-14T07:32:24.208-08:002020: The Year in Collecting (part 2)<p>I shared most of the 2020 acquisitions in an <a href="https://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2020/11/2020-year-in-collecting.html">earlier</a> essay, but saved one book, two manuscripts, and some exonumia for this second part. The book is an unusual one for me--a 17c Italian work on the game of Ombre:</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X_C9uSqWBC0/X_zJ2cUO8zI/AAAAAAAAOZo/7x90DwNOH-gWFr6BgfRbqJAYhefU0pSfgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1335/Ombre-title.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1335" data-original-width="1299" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X_C9uSqWBC0/X_zJ2cUO8zI/AAAAAAAAOZo/7x90DwNOH-gWFr6BgfRbqJAYhefU0pSfgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Ombre-title.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Del giuoco dell'ombre. Bologna 1688.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The work is attributed to Cardinal Giovanni Battista de Luca (1614-1683) and is a later edition of a book first published in 1674 with a second in 1675. This 1688 edition is the third, but has a bit of biblio-mystery about it. </p><p>My copy collates 12<sup>o</sup>: A-C<sup>12</sup>; 36 leaves, pp. [1-2] 3-67 [68-72] with the two final leaves blank. Lensi, on the other hand, says that the book is a 16<sup>o</sup> with only 48 pages (so, a sheet and a half). So, is there one book or two? <br /></p><p>I checked WorldCat and found four copies:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>The Bodleian Library has a <a href="http://solo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/OXVU1:LSCOP_OX:oxfaleph014778477">copy</a> in the Jessel collection, a 12<sup>o</sup> with no size or pagination given. </li><li>Erlangen-Nürnberg has a <a href="https://www.katalog.fau.de/TouchPoint/start.do?Query=+1035%3D%22BV012785566%22+IN+[2]&View=uer&Language=en&Branch=0">copy</a> noted as 67 pages. <br /></li><li>The Houghton Library at Harvard describes their <a href="http://id.lib.harvard.edu/alma/990152163700203941/catalog">copy</a> more fully: 14 cm, with a collation and pagination formula matching mine including the two final blanks. </li><li>Stanford's <a href="https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/197234">copy</a> is 48 pages and 15 cm. <br /></li></ul><p>The Italian Union Catalogue locates two more copies:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>The Biblioteca comunale Sperelliana in Gubbio (Umbria) has a <a href="http://id.sbn.it/bid/UM1E018609">copy</a> matching my collation and pagination. </li><li>The Biblioteca d'arte e di storia di San Giorgio in Poggiale (Tuscany) has a 48 page <a href="http://id.sbn.it/bid/UBOE074644">copy</a>, a 12<sup>o</sup> with signatures A-B<sup>12</sup>. <br /></li></ul><p>It seems there are two different books, although Lensi and the Tuscan library disagree about format--a 16<sup>o</sup> or a 12<sup>o</sup>. It's a bit hard to sort all this out during the pandemic, but as libraries reopen, I'll send some emails and try to assess differences. </p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3VgOnLcDbDE/X_zbipDlqjI/AAAAAAAAOaI/1nh8eXyTfzsPoykdVqDYmU-kOLQPSx1tQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1530/Ombre-binding.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1530" data-original-width="597" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3VgOnLcDbDE/X_zbipDlqjI/AAAAAAAAOaI/1nh8eXyTfzsPoykdVqDYmU-kOLQPSx1tQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Ombre-binding.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vellum binding<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p>My copy is 13.9 cm tall and is bound in vellum as pictured at left. And if I get bored of biblio-mystery, I can always try to decipher the inscriptions on the fly leaf and title pages. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Next, the manuscripts. I talked about one 18c trictrac <a href="http://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-left-hand-of-bougy-trictrac.html">manuscript</a> in "The Left Hand of Bougy." I have another which I've never written about on this blog, but is pictured as item 7, <a href="http://booksongaming.com/trictrac/bibliography/index.htm">here</a>. I found two more trictrac manuscripts, likely late 18c, at an auction this summer. I haven't studied them in depth, but the text does not appear to be copied from any printed book, although the content of both is typical of instructional trictrac books, enumerating the complex <a href="http://booksongaming.com/trictrac/rules/index.htm">rules</a> of the game. The first is titled "Extract of the most general rules and observations on the game of trictrac."<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EmW3OB9WSAk/X_5TpXnAQXI/AAAAAAAAObs/yLQBmeak8M4udH3EMRbJivFZcKyX4iFCACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Extrait%2B01.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EmW3OB9WSAk/X_5TpXnAQXI/AAAAAAAAObs/yLQBmeak8M4udH3EMRbJivFZcKyX4iFCACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Extrait%2B01.jpg" /></a></div><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EmW3OB9WSAk/X_5TpXnAQXI/AAAAAAAAObs/yLQBmeak8M4udH3EMRbJivFZcKyX4iFCACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Extrait%2B01.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DgKMm3AiRxo/X_5Q6zB9u2I/AAAAAAAAObU/LKoU_89Mo-4qpOu89LAzogbQW51521u9QCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/mari%2B0a.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DgKMm3AiRxo/X_5Q6zB9u2I/AAAAAAAAObU/LKoU_89Mo-4qpOu89LAzogbQW51521u9QCLcBGAsYHQ/w240-h320/mari%2B0a.jpg" width="240" /></a></div></div><br /><br />The second manuscript has a somewhat battered cover with a title that I find charming: "Rules of Trictrac according to my husband". <p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kuWxR4wL-S0/X_5UFjIlLzI/AAAAAAAAOb0/AT8vaYYeIegsCClmW1fu4C8JWI32_y5QQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/mari%2B01.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kuWxR4wL-S0/X_5UFjIlLzI/AAAAAAAAOb0/AT8vaYYeIegsCClmW1fu4C8JWI32_y5QQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/mari%2B01.jpg" /></a></div><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The text has the more pedestrian title "Principal Observations and Rules for the Game of Trictrac."<br /></p><p></p><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p style="text-align: left;">And now onto the exonumia. <a href="https://www.holabirdamericana.com/">Holabird Americana</a> has been selling the vast token collections of Benjamin Fauver. They have sold perhaps ten thousand tokens and there are more to come. A typical lot consisted of many, many tokens. As I'm interested only in the Hoyle items, I bid on one <a href="https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/88942849_hoyle-card-playing-tokens-120137">lot</a> only that was all Hoyle and I picked up another token when a Holabird purchaser split up a lot and sold the Hoyle token on eBay. </p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;">Aside: I can tell all kinds of stories about mixed lots at auction, typically a cheap book I really want with more expensive ones I don't. Annoying!!!</p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"></p><p style="text-align: left;">Anyway, I was excited to complete a set of early whist tokens. In the <a href="http://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2012/05/hoyles-scoring-method-and-whist.html">essay</a>
"Hoyle's Scoring Method and Whist Counters" I showed tokens one, two
and three; now I have a duplicate or two, plus number four. The writing
on the envelopes is Fauver's and the references to Mitchiner are from <i>Jetons, Medalets and Tokens, volume three, British Isles circa 1558 to 1830</i>, London: Hawkins 1998. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uBzhsix7iME/X_zdXh7NppI/AAAAAAAAOac/NuDi1Gjh8BwK11j_XgT0ur8M5NAZK1GwgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1470/obverse.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="762" data-original-width="1470" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uBzhsix7iME/X_zdXh7NppI/AAAAAAAAOac/NuDi1Gjh8BwK11j_XgT0ur8M5NAZK1GwgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/obverse.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mitchiner 5645 (obverse)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dCE_27eKPbc/X_zdXnwJ1fI/AAAAAAAAOaU/_2HV14pWQ2I_Dfzqcj5YJ8sOjSJK2lgcwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1479/reverse.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="798" data-original-width="1479" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dCE_27eKPbc/X_zdXnwJ1fI/AAAAAAAAOaU/_2HV14pWQ2I_Dfzqcj5YJ8sOjSJK2lgcwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/reverse.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mitchiner 5645 (reverse)</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>And the lovely Fauver token from eBay: <br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r0JNTVDdslg/X_zdXk1f-6I/AAAAAAAAOaY/wplpyiIfSOAA3nj_sHMM6XbX5blG0ilIQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1536/1747%2BHoyle%2BToke.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="784" data-original-width="1536" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r0JNTVDdslg/X_zdXk1f-6I/AAAAAAAAOaY/wplpyiIfSOAA3nj_sHMM6XbX5blG0ilIQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/1747%2BHoyle%2BToke.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mitchiner 5646</td></tr></tbody></table><p>That's a wrap for 2020!</p><p></p>David Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903897122730648287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5559915223029540012.post-58856285201273682042020-11-27T07:05:00.007-08:002022-08-31T11:10:37.656-07:002020: The Year in Collecting<p>2020 hasn't been good for much, but it has been good for my collection. It's hard to find editions of Hoyle that I lack, but some early and interesting ones found their way here. </p><p>The first two books are a 1744 Cogan edition of <a href="http://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/books/quadrille.1.1.xml"><i>Quadrille</i></a> and a 1745 Osborne edition of <i><a href="http://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/books/piquet.1.2.xml">Piquet</a>. </i>I had neither, so this is pretty exciting news! There is a short and a long version to their stories. First, the short. When Osborne acquired the Hoyle copyright from Cogan, he also acquired some unsold copies of <i><i>Quadrille</i></i> and <i>Piquet</i>. As discussed in the <a href="http://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2011/07/every-cancel-tells-story-dont-it-part-3.html">essay</a> "Every Cancel Tells a Story, Don't It (part 3)", Osborne reissued each of these books with cancel titles. I'd never had the original Cogan <i>Quadrille</i>, though I did have a copy of Osborne's reissue. It is rare with three copies at the Bodleian, one at UNLV and now one here. I had neither issue of <i>Piquet</i>, so one down, one to go. <br /></p><p></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E3rxZOlOYMI/X7_v1NhbERI/AAAAAAAANag/5-IteFUHzBQezlhto42m890KIZoCf69BQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/1744%2BQuadrille.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1148" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E3rxZOlOYMI/X7_v1NhbERI/AAAAAAAANag/5-IteFUHzBQezlhto42m890KIZoCf69BQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/1744%2BQuadrille.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Quadrille.1.1</i><br />first edition by Francis Cogan (1744)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dMfYf4-bcJg/X72LyyebINI/AAAAAAAANYY/UhfnNWwHAcssuCO5HPSiYWVF92WVgUHpACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/1745%2BPiquet.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1136" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dMfYf4-bcJg/X72LyyebINI/AAAAAAAANYY/UhfnNWwHAcssuCO5HPSiYWVF92WVgUHpACLcBGAsYHQ/w178-h320/1745%2BPiquet.jpg" width="178" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Piquet.1.2</i><br />reissued by Osborne (1745)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table> <p></p><br /><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Now for the long version. These two copies were not individually published. For an example of how Cogan published the individual treatises, see <a href="https://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2017/12/2017-year-in-collecting.html">here</a> and for an Osborne example see <a href="http://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2012/07/hoyles-sixth-edition-and-progressive.html">here</a>. Instead, these were each published as part of collections of all of Hoyle's treatises. The collections included <i>Whist</i>, <i>Quadrille, Piquet, </i>and <i>Backgammon</i>, and occasionally the rare sheet, <i>Laws of Whist</i>, but were advertised, bound, and sold as a collection. The collections can come in many permutations as I discuss in the <a href="http://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2011/09/osborne-collections-of-hoyle-1745-7.html">essay</a> "The Osborne Collections of Hoyle (1745-7)". I don't want to rehash the details here, but the main differentiators are:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><i>Whist.6</i> or <i>Whist.7</i> (the sixth or seventh edition of <i>Whist</i>)?<br /></li><li><i>Piquet.1.2</i> or <i>Piquet.2</i> (the Osborne reissue of Cogan's <i>Piquet </i>or the Osborne's reprint)?<br /></li><li><i>Quadrille.1.2</i> or <i>Quadrille.2</i> (the Osborne reissue of Cogan's <i>Quadrille</i> or the Osborne's reprint)?</li></ul><p>The <i>Piquet </i>pictured above came with <i>Whist.6</i>, <i>Quadrille.1.2</i>, <i>Piquet.1.2</i>, and <i>BG.2</i>. There is a separately issued <i>Piquet.1.2</i> at the Clark Library at UCLA and copies of this collection at the Bodleian, The Library Company of Philadelphia, and the American Contract Bridge League. Uncommon, yes, but a collection I had seen before. </p><p>The second collection, the one containing Cogan's <i>Quadrille.1.1</i>, was entirely new to me. One might expect to find it in a Cogan collection (discussed <a href="http://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2011/10/were-there-cogan-collections-of-hoyle.html">here</a>), but here it was in an Osborne collection, consisting of <i>Whist.7</i>, <i>Laws.2</i>, <i>Piquet.2</i>, <i>Quadrille.1.1</i>, and <i>BG.2</i>. What was a Cogan <i>Quadrille </i>doing in a collection of Osborne imprints? I can only assume that Osborne neglected to cancel the title page of this particular copy. This is a unique configuration. <br /></p><p>The collection includes a copy of the <i>Laws of Whist</i> (see the 2012 <a href="http://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2012/10/an-insomniacs-reward.html">essay</a> "An Insomniac's Reward"). It's not quite as rare as I thought when I wrote about it in 2012. I now have two copies as does Vanderbilt. Copies at the Bodleian and UNLV bring the total to six.<br /></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0TyoZV49npk/X72Ly4gqcZI/AAAAAAAANYg/m6jrYhOZMLYvzPV5H4-smd7kIMHnUiYkwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/1747%2BOsborne.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0TyoZV49npk/X72Ly4gqcZI/AAAAAAAANYg/m6jrYhOZMLYvzPV5H4-smd7kIMHnUiYkwCLcBGAsYHQ/w240-h320/1747%2BOsborne.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tyson Bookplate<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>One extra in the book is a partial, but charming bookplate. It should have been easy to identify. The initials S & M T are suggestive and the heraldic elements are simple enough that I expected to find it in the standard references, even with my limited skills. One can deduce the colors from the shading. The oval field is azure and the lozenge vert. There are three lions rampant (standing) regardant (facing backward). Nonetheless, I found nothing. </p><p>I queried the book lists, book friends on social media, and sent out emails to experts. I finally learned from a member of <a href="http://www.bookplatesociety.org/">The Bookplate Society</a> that the arms belonged to the Tyson family. The only reference was an 1875 book by Frederick Cansick with drawings of monuments from Tottenham churches. The arms appeared on the grave of Edward Tyson (d. 1723), so the bookplate must belong to a descendant. Heraldry is hard!</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DNZXoUQL7co/X72LzwqJpiI/AAAAAAAANYs/pmsXMrcL7XIRvPD4ubI9dVTb3KdEMGzogCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/1765%2BMusier%2Btitle.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1098" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DNZXoUQL7co/X72LzwqJpiI/AAAAAAAANYs/pmsXMrcL7XIRvPD4ubI9dVTb3KdEMGzogCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/1765%2BMusier%2Btitle.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Almanach du Whisk</i> (1765)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="margin-left: 120px; text-align: left;"></p>Three more Hoyles. First is an almanac with a translation of Hoyle's <i>Whist</i>
that I bought at auction. The catalogue said that book was dated 1766,
but when it arrived something seemed a bit off with the final "I" in the
Roman numeral for the date. It does not seem to be letterpress, but rather stamped over a letterpress period that was
used to separate parts of the date. Thus, the book is really from 1765 and
indeed the calendar, though undated, matches days of the week for 1765
rather than 1766. The bookseller probably had copies left over at the
end of the year and was trying to disguise the date. <p> </p><p>If someone purchased the book in 1766 for the almanac they would have been
disappointed. And I might have been disappointed as well--I already had a
1765 copy, though without the almanac. But there was a hidden bonus--the brocade endpapers are spectacular. And it is possible to identify the paper maker as Georg Reymund: <br /></p><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g4wbEq2XxHg/X72LzuSNWgI/AAAAAAAANYo/QGEvfpBJMeIUdMwB7_vzZJqJFyhMRFTyACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/1765%2BMusier%2BEndpaper.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1985" data-original-width="2048" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g4wbEq2XxHg/X72LzuSNWgI/AAAAAAAANYo/QGEvfpBJMeIUdMwB7_vzZJqJFyhMRFTyACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/1765%2BMusier%2BEndpaper.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">brocade endpapers by Georg Reymund<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><p>You can see another <a href="https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b10574548q/?fbclid=IwAR3s6dHurrq90WRiGfHctXgvEBItKWj3vbrQOu_ORtmZILU_0DM9EUPKiUU">specimen</a> of the same paper at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. Despite the duplication, I am really pleased with the purchase. It's lovely! </p><p>A few weeks ago, I was on a panel sponsored by the <a href="https://rarebookschool.org/">Rare Book School</a> called "Collecting & Copyright: Three Case Studies". The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5SzYeKunFc">video </a>is now available on YouTube. I discussed how the end of the Hoyle copyright led to innovative books at the top of the market and cheap abridgements at the low end. Toward the end of the talk I noted: </p><p></p><blockquote>I must confess that I don’t understand the cheaper books as well as I do those that I have called complete. They were the product of the low-end of the trade, often outside of London. You’ve never heard of the printers. They were distributed by mercuries and hawkers rather than the retails shops. In aggregate, there are a huge number of them, but any particular edition survives in but a copy or two. The cheap bindings make them fragile. They were not collected institutionally or by private collectors. My collecting and my research are slowly turning down market.</blockquote><p>Two new cheap Hoyles reinforce those comments. They are rare and they have led me to a lot of research. The first is the <i>Card Games of Hoyle</i> printed by Thomas Hughes (1825). I had seen a copy of an 1828 edition at the Bodleian Library, but the lovely colored frontispiece was dated 1825 and I suspected there was an unrecorded 1825 edition. And so there was: </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8LYoBSeqcRQ/X72L0aeSMCI/AAAAAAAANY0/ft53EQW6OEwZcwsVaj3nTVdd2ddtWH66QCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/1825%2BHughes%2Btitle.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1806" data-original-width="2048" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8LYoBSeqcRQ/X72L0aeSMCI/AAAAAAAANY0/ft53EQW6OEwZcwsVaj3nTVdd2ddtWH66QCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/1825%2BHughes%2Btitle.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Card Games of Hoyle </i>(1825)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>The book was too small for Mary Turner's bookplate, so she folded it in half before pasting it in. It certainly has an art nouveau 1910c look to it, but I have yet to identify her. <br /><br /></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3fwyuxWGgtw/X72L0CTmOVI/AAAAAAAANYw/ehYikjpVSHYZ3NFAGNgHmLRnjciXtK2fQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/1825%2BHughes%2Bbookplate.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1713" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3fwyuxWGgtw/X72L0CTmOVI/AAAAAAAANYw/ehYikjpVSHYZ3NFAGNgHmLRnjciXtK2fQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/1825%2BHughes%2Bbookplate.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bookplate of Mary Turner</td></tr></tbody></table><p>What is odd is that the book is 100% the same setting of type as the 1828 edition. It's hard to imagine that Hughes would have left type standing for three years, so the book is probably <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereotype_(printing)">stereotyped</a>. Other stereotyped Hoyles left a lot of evidence about the process. See the <a href="https://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2018/06/kicking-and-screaming-into-19th-century.html">essay</a> "Kicking and Screaming into the 19th Century" for an example. This book has no evidence of having been stereotyped, but it must have been. <br /></p><p>A similar book, also acquired this year, is <i>Hoyle's Card Games</i> published by Richard Griffin & Co., Glasgow (1827). The book was first printed in Bath in 1824 and there are two Glasgow imprints, one dated 1826 and a reissue dated 1827 with a different title page. The new 1827 Glasgow edition is a different setting of type that the others. It is rare, with only one other copy recorded, and I snagged it on eBay for the sum of $1.00! It was in pretty rotten shape--no cover and pages that were torn and dog-eared. I learned how to do simple paper repairs when I studied bookbinding many years ago, and this was a good candidate. It's still not great, but at least it won't get any worse. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ilXZ_73cRVQ/X72L07YpaPI/AAAAAAAANY8/wQ1uxvH6X8MqyN1Xm8B5s10znojBdqhzwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/1827%2BCard.3%2Bbefore.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1354" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ilXZ_73cRVQ/X72L07YpaPI/AAAAAAAANY8/wQ1uxvH6X8MqyN1Xm8B5s10znojBdqhzwCLcBGAsYHQ/w133-h200/1827%2BCard.3%2Bbefore.jpg" width="133" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">before<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EUcaKAwGkzA/X72L0j6jSwI/AAAAAAAANY4/TpQaBmEwtdExmR3cwRMpiuNxeMCCu-hEACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/1827%2BCard.3%2Bafter.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1353" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EUcaKAwGkzA/X72L0j6jSwI/AAAAAAAANY4/TpQaBmEwtdExmR3cwRMpiuNxeMCCu-hEACLcBGAsYHQ/w132-h200/1827%2BCard.3%2Bafter.jpg" width="132" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">after<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">I said the Bath/Glasgow books were similar to the one printed in London by Thomas Hughes. How similar? The text is identical, word for word, up to a point. The last chapter of the provincial books is "A Guide to the Turf" on horse racing. Instead of that chapter, Hughes printed short chapters on the games of speculation, lottery, loto, Boston, and hazard. </div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">The similarity doesn't end there. There are some anomalies in the Hughes book (1825) that demonstrate a connection with the Bath edition (1824). Hughes has gatherings of 8 leaves and the first two leaves generally signed in each gathering. So page seventeen has a "B" at the bottom, page nineteen "B2" and so in. There are some anomalies in gathering A that make an interesting comparison with the Bath edition:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>The Bath edition has a two leaf gathering A: the title page and verso, followed by the table of contents and blank verso. The text begins on page one (B1r , signed "B") with the game of whist.</li><li>The Hughes edition has the title on A1r and the table of contents on A1v. The text begins on page one (A2r) with the game of whist, but that page is signed "B". </li></ul></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul><li>In the Bath edition, page five is correctly signed "B3". </li><li>In the Hughes edition, page five is A4 and is incorrectly signed "B3". </li></ul></div><div style="text-align: left;">The Hughes compositor introduced the signing anomalies because he had a copy of the Bath edition in hand! What a satisfying explanation for a signing error!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">There were some other 2020 purchases that deserve their own essay. <br /></div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>David Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903897122730648287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5559915223029540012.post-8368606691431519312020-07-14T08:11:00.002-07:002020-09-03T09:47:44.921-07:00Whist and its Masters<div>
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">updated August 3, 2020 with information from the second Foster letter</span></i><br />
<br />
This meandering essay will discuss an 18c article and a series of 19c articles on whist strategy. The earlier article has been quoted without attribution so many times, that I want to acknowledge the original source. The later series is, I think, unknown to today's scholars of whist. <br />
<br />
Let's begin with an entry in Jessel's 1905 bibliography<sup>1</sup> of gaming books:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
560. FOSTER, ROBERT FREDERIC. - Whist and its Masters. In <i>The Monthly Illustrator</i>,
Sept. 1896 to March 1897, inclusive. I. The Old School. II. The New
School. III. The Signalling School. IV. The Scientific School. V. The
Number-Showing School. VI. The Duplicate School.VII. The Private
Convention School. (Butler, p. 43. These papers are about to be
reprinted in book form.)</blockquote>
Let's unpack the entry a bit. Whenever Jessel had <i>not </i>seen a book he included in his bibliography, he was careful to note how he learned of it. Here, the parenthetical item "Butler, p. 43" means that he saw the book listed in William Butler's outstanding work, <i>The Whist Reference Book</i> (1898)<sup>2</sup>. The book is arranged as an encyclopedia and on pages 42-3 is an article called "Articles on Whist". The entry of interest is:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Whist and its Masters," by R. Frederick Foster, <i>Monthly Illustrator</i>,
Sept. 1896 to March 1897, inclusive. I. The Old School. II. The New
School. III. The Signalling School. IV. The Scientific School. V. The
Number-Showing School. VI. The Duplicate School.VII. The Private
Convention School. </blockquote>
So Jessel did no more than copy Butler.<br />
<br />
As much time as I spent with <i>Jessel</i>, I had never paid much attention to this entry. Certainly if the papers <i>had</i> been reprinted in book form, I would have run across them at one time or another. Why did Jessel think they were going to be reprinted?<br />
<br />
I visited the <a href="https://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/weston/finding-resources/catalogues/rare_books_named_collections/rare_books_named_collection_descriptions">Jessel collection</a> at the Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford in 2018, As I looked at a lot of books and a lot of Jessel's handwritten notes about his collection, I discovered that dozens of his books included letters from the author which Jessel had pasted in the front of their books. I looked at as many of these letters as I could find and got a sense of how Jessel collected, and how he put together his bibliography. The most frequent correspondent was Foster and the earliest letter I found was in an edition of <i>Foster's Complete Hoyle </i>(1897), shelf mark Jessel e.443.<br />
<br />
Foster wrote the letter on November 16, 1903 apparently responding to a request from Jessel that he list all the books he had written on card games. Foster mentions 20 titles and their publishers, but also describes "Whist and its Masters":<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Whist and Its Masters" was a series of articles, ten I think, published in a magazine called "Home & Country" I had arranged to have them appear in book form, but the publishers failed, and it fell through. These articles were a complete history of the strategy of the game, showing how it developed and enlarged, and the articles were illustrated by photos of all the men who had taken a leading part in advocating certain conventions. Some persons thought these articles the best things I ever wrote on Whist, I have no copies of them." </blockquote>
A later letter by Foster said that plan to publish the book was revived. The letter, dated January 1, 1905, is pasted in Foster's <i>Practical Poker</i>, shelf mark Jessel f.425. It is on the letterhead of <i>The Sun</i>, a New York daily newspaper to which Foster contributed columns on card games. "We [presumably <i>The Sun</i>] are going to reprint the 'Whist and Its Masters' and I shall be pleased to send you a copy for your library. How I sigh for that library!"<br />
<br />
These letters intrigued me! I originally began to collect books on whist to understand the history of whist strategy. As I got more into <i>Hoyle </i>and its publishing history, that desire waned. There is not a lot of literature on the progression of whist strategy. William Pole's <i>The Evolution of Whist </i>(1897), <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=g81xupMGT84C">here</a>, does a creditable job, as does Butler's <i>Whist Reference Book</i>.<br />
<br />
The revived plan must have failed as well--there is no hint that the book was ever published. So I needed to locate the original articles. I turned to ILL, that is inter-library loan, an experience both frustrating and rewarding in this instance. The frustration was that I did not have good bibliographical information about the articles. Butler and Jessel were wrong, the periodical is, as Foster indicated, <i>Home and Country</i>; its <i>publisher </i>is The Monthly Illustrator Publishing Co. of New York. The dates were wrong as well. The first article appeared in August 1896, the final article, number nine (not ten, as Foster recalled) appeared in April 1897.<br />
<br />
ILL was able to provide digital copies of six of the nine articles. Surprisingly, I found a seventh on eBay for about $20. And, I have leads on the final two, but can't really pursue them until libraries reopen after the Covid-19 sheltering. Here is a complete list:<br />
<ul>
<li>I. The Old School, 13:1, 15-21, August 1896</li>
<li>II. The New School 13:2, 89-94, September 1896</li>
<li>III. The Signalling School, 13:3, 153-7, October 1896</li>
<li>IV. The Scientific School, 13:4, 211-15, November 1896. </li>
<li>V. The Number-Showing School, 13:5, 295-9, December 1896</li>
<li>VI. The Duplicate School, 13:6, 376-9, January 1897</li>
<li>VII. The Private Convention School, 14:1, 11-16, February 1897</li>
<li>VIII. The Common-Sense School, 14:2, 109-14, March 1897</li>
<li>IX The School of the Future, 14:3, 205-9, April 1897</li>
</ul>
I'm left to wonder who thought the articles were the best writing on whist Foster had done. Perhaps Foster himself?<br />
<br />
Below is the cover for the issue I found on eBay. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Lb-JxjcSfw0/XwOC-ruAy5I/AAAAAAAAMAs/mXB01uaQXxoAtL7dD_JzEzLq63ZMAPS6wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/7%2BThe%2BPrivate%2BConvention%2BSchool%2B00.jpg" style="margin-fright: auto; margin-left: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1161" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Lb-JxjcSfw0/XwOC-ruAy5I/AAAAAAAAMAs/mXB01uaQXxoAtL7dD_JzEzLq63ZMAPS6wCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/7%2BThe%2BPrivate%2BConvention%2BSchool%2B00.jpg" width="232" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Home and Country<br />
February, 1897</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e3PHP25SiRw/XwOC-kecvRI/AAAAAAAAMAw/A4Wp2lfKN1ISVsgAG0KS7O1jXuxXrC5kACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/7%2BThe%2BPrivate%2BConvention%2BSchool%2B11.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1098" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e3PHP25SiRw/XwOC-kecvRI/AAAAAAAAMAw/A4Wp2lfKN1ISVsgAG0KS7O1jXuxXrC5kACLcBGAsYHQ/s200/7%2BThe%2BPrivate%2BConvention%2BSchool%2B11.jpg" width="136" /></a></div>
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kLHCsJtqDtA/XwOC-hVS3WI/AAAAAAAAMA0/xI6xZ3BIUDIEb1l9sV13UXYyhpHsoavogCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/7%2BThe%2BPrivate%2BConvention%2BSchool%2B13.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1048" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kLHCsJtqDtA/XwOC-hVS3WI/AAAAAAAAMA0/xI6xZ3BIUDIEb1l9sV13UXYyhpHsoavogCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/7%2BThe%2BPrivate%2BConvention%2BSchool%2B13.jpg" width="130" /></a><br />
<br />
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<br />
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<br />
<br />
<br />
And here, a couple of pages from the Foster article, "The Private Convention School."<br />
<br />
The articles are quite good, if one overlooks some overly-flowery prose. I'd like to focus on the first article as it is the one to focus on Hoyle and before. Before? Haven't I always claimed that Hoyle was the first to write on the strategy of card play? Foster writes:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The first attempts to reduce the practice of whist to a science appear to have been made by a coterie of players who met at the Crown Coffee-House, in Bedford Row, London, early in the last [18th] century, and of whom the first Viscount Folkestone is the best known. Unfortunately, they left no authentic record of the results of their investigations, and we have it on hearsay evidence only that they followed the general principles of "playing from the strongest suit (not the longest), studying the partner's hand, and playing to the score." (16)</blockquote>
The anecdote about Lord Folkestone and the Crown Coffee-House appears throughout the literature of whist. It is rare that any reference is supplied. Where did the story come from?<br />
<br />
The source is an article by Daines Barrington in <i>Archaeologia </i>called "Observations on the Antiquity of Card-playing in England," a paper read before the Society of Antiquaries on February 23, 1786. Barrington traces the origin of playing cards and, at the end of the paper, he discusses the most popular card games: primero, ombre, quadrille, trumps, swabbers, and lastly whist.<br />
<br />
Of whist, Barrington writes:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
...[W]hisk seems never to have been played upon principles till about fifty years ago, when it was much studied by a set of gentlemen who frequented the Crown coffee-house in Bedford Row. (145)</blockquote>
A footnote begins below and continues on the next page:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I have this information from a gentleman who is now eighty-six years of age. The first lord Folkstone was another of this set. They laid down the following rules: To play from the strongest suit, to study your partner's hand as much as your own, never to force your partner unnecessarily, and to attend to the score. (145-6)</blockquote>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X2Is_vltIkg/XwyWTwIQfnI/AAAAAAAAMJQ/F1iztYfOr7Qge_Ld6Y9FKD2FzZJiRBDugCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Barrington%2B145.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="922" data-original-width="1600" height="184" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X2Is_vltIkg/XwyWTwIQfnI/AAAAAAAAMJQ/F1iztYfOr7Qge_Ld6Y9FKD2FzZJiRBDugCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Barrington%2B145.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barrington (145)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dNo0Nq-0Z2s/XwyWT2WOB9I/AAAAAAAAMJM/VeGYbFUv2uAHikvFDGHesKvc_BFPGGt4ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Barrington%2B146.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="245" data-original-width="1600" height="49" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dNo0Nq-0Z2s/XwyWT2WOB9I/AAAAAAAAMJM/VeGYbFUv2uAHikvFDGHesKvc_BFPGGt4ACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Barrington%2B146.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barrington (146)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Two comments. First, I stand by my claim that Hoyle was the first to write about the strategy of whist. The Crown Coffee House group may have been the first to form principles of play, but they did not write or publish on the game. Second, one sees the suggestion that Hoyle may have been part of the group at the coffee house. That is certainly not true. Hoyle was a household name in 1786 when Barrington's piece was written. Had Hoyle been part of the group, Barrington's "gentleman friend" would have told Barrington; Barrington would have added Hoyle's name alongside that of Lord Folkstone.<br />
<br />
I'm delighted to have tracked down (most of) the series of articles by Foster. They are well-written and informative. If you manage to locate a copy, be aware of a caution Butler made about Foster's writing in the Whist Reference Book:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
[Foster] is also a frequent contributor to other publications, his recent series of articles (1896-'97) in the <i>Monthly Illustrator</i>, ...containing much valuable and interesting material, although tinctured with his likes and dislikes, which are very strong. (184)</blockquote>
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<b>Notes</b><br />
<br />
<sup>1</sup><i>A Bibliography of Works in English on Playing Cards and Gaming. </i>London: Longmans, Green, and Co. 1905. Available for <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=BScCAAAAYAAJ">download</a>. <br />
<sup>2</sup>Available for <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=fLmgpR2e9fYC&hl=en">download</a>. If you happen to click through to the Google copy, be sure to check out the smile-inducing pages 16 and 17. </div>
<div>
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<div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
David Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903897122730648287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5559915223029540012.post-70467348681188380892020-04-13T13:49:00.001-07:002020-07-21T11:09:29.723-07:00The First Piracy. Part 5. Bibliographical Concerns<div>
<blockquote>
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">updated June 29, 2020</span></i></blockquote>
</div>
<div>
This is the fifth and final essay on the first piracy of Hoyle's <i>Whist</i>. I have identified lots of variants in the surviving 44 copies. Here I ask the bibliographical questions--how many editions, issues, and states do these copies represent? The bible for answering these questions is Bowers.<sup>1</sup> Indeed the mantra in my bibliography class was WWBD--What Would Bowers Do? His prose is dense, often argumentative, sometimes infuriating. Non-bibliographers who want a flavor of Bowers will be rewarded with frequent excerpts of his writing below. </div>
<br />
To recap, part <a href="https://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-first-piracy-part-1-overview-and.html">one</a> provided an overview of the piracy and its physical structure. The <a href="https://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-first-piracy-part-2-variants.html">second</a> looked at gatherings B-H and K, noting that there were two settings of type for each of them, but one setting of I, L, M, A, and χ. The printer James Mechell printed two thirds of the book and decided to increase the print run. Most gatherings were reset; others were printed in larger quantity.<br />
<br />
<div>
Essay <a href="https://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-first-piracy-part-3-variants-in.html">three</a> focused on gathering A, noting that even though there was a single setting of type, there were variations in the half title, the title, and the Advertisement. Essay <a href="https://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-first-piracy-part-4-analysis.html">four</a> put things together. I was able to sequence the variants in gathering A, identify four phases of printing, identified by which variant of the title page is included, and summarize them in the chart below:</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qWUhB6VCuCo/XvpVQbpt69I/AAAAAAAAL1o/4nea3D7gUtAQlIJtWop7Z0rOVnYWD2wgACK4BGAsYHg/s2100/chart-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1221" data-original-width="2100" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qWUhB6VCuCo/XvpVQbpt69I/AAAAAAAAL1o/4nea3D7gUtAQlIJtWop7Z0rOVnYWD2wgACK4BGAsYHg/s320/chart-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
variations in gathering A</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Variant 1 of the title page is the most common, appearing with variants 1 of the half title and Advertisement. For phase 2, the half title was reset, unlocking the forme and causing some type movement on title page, variant 2. That spacing was in part corrected in variant 3, when some type also slipped at the lower right margin of the Advertisement. Finally, the words "second edition" were added to produce variant 4 of the title page.<br />
<br />
From examination or reports of 44 copies (recall that one copy lacked gathering A and cannot be included in the charts), I have identified which settings of the later gatherings combine with which phase of gathering A.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WnrNVH66mZI/XvpWOuukI6I/AAAAAAAAL2A/sH6YuYikGr01PxvUvBetm31e56zWjgEnACK4BGAsYHg/s2100/chart-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="805" data-original-width="2100" height="154" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WnrNVH66mZI/XvpWOuukI6I/AAAAAAAAL2A/sH6YuYikGr01PxvUvBetm31e56zWjgEnACK4BGAsYHg/w400-h154/chart-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
Setting of later gatherings grouped by title page variant</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Before I delve deeply into Bowers' <i>Principles, </i>I should note that I'm not sure he would approve of the chart above. In a footnote, Bowers writes:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Attempts to link a press-altered title-page with certain press-altered formes of the text in another sheet usually betray bibliographical ignorance. (51)</blockquote>
I am linking a press-altered title page with other sheets that are reset, rather than altered in the press. As the data show, the correlation between the printing phases of gathering A and the resetting of the rest of the book are overwhelming. I trust that I am not betraying ignorance. <br />
<br />
One of the jobs of a bibliographer is to classify copies of books by edition, issue, and state. Bowers defines these terms in a dense 88-page Chapter 2 of <i>Principles</i>. He notes that:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
...books exist in separate editions and issues; parts of books may exist in variant states, although in certain special circumstances a copy of an edition or of an issue may itself be said to exist in a certain state. Bibliographies customarily give separate major headings only to editions, with issues listed under subheadings. Variant states are ordinarily treated under the heading or subheading to which they apply... (37)
</blockquote>
Bowers defines the key terms:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
An E<span style="font-size: x-small;">DITION</span> is the whole number of copies of a book printed at any time or times from substantially the same setting of type. (39) </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
An I<span style="font-size: x-small;">SSUE</span> is the whole number of copies of a form of an edition put on sale at any time or times as a consciously planned printed unit...(40). </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
...S<span style="font-size: x-small;">TATE</span> is synonymous with V<span style="font-size: x-small;">ARIANT</span>, and can be applied to any part of a book exhibiting variation in type-setting...(41) </blockquote>
How do these concepts apply to the first piracy of Hoyle's <i>Whist</i>? How many editions? Are there any separate issues? Which of the variants constitute a separate state? It's certainly not obvious.<br />
<br />
Bowers does allow that no definition of "edition, issue, and state will indicate the invariable line to take with a small number of abnormally complex books..." (38) Perhaps this is one of those? Indeed trying to apply the definitions to the piracy has made me a little crazy. At various times over the past decade or so, I've come to different conclusions. Let me lay out my current thinking in this essay. I welcome comment from other bibliographers. <br />
<br />
I am going to approach the problem in a series of steps. First, I will eliminate the outliers. Looking at the chart above, it is clear that almost all the copies with a variant 1 title page have first settings of the later gatherings. Almost all the copies with variants 2-4 have second settings. The outliers were introduced not when the book was printed, but when it was bound. After printing, the sheets must be dried, cut into half sheets, folded, and brought together for sewing. It is easy to see how the odd second setting might find it way into a book composed primarily of first settings. Eliminating the outliers simplifies the problem:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4KV_gTZBseQ/XvpXCrk3J5I/AAAAAAAAL2c/9FtoEvyWlLY6knvaITmNipeWTQo2UzIKwCK4BGAsYHg/s2100/chart-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1508" data-original-width="2100" height="288" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4KV_gTZBseQ/XvpXCrk3J5I/AAAAAAAAL2c/9FtoEvyWlLY6knvaITmNipeWTQo2UzIKwCK4BGAsYHg/w400-h288/chart-3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
Eliminate outliers </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Bowers does not address outliers introduced during binding specifically. He does examine examples where different editions sheets are bound
indiscriminately (110-1), but not where the edition sheets, as here, are bound
nearly uniformly. Bowers warns again letting differences in binding dictate new states (43-4). I am very comfortable ignoring the outliers noting them in the bibliography as copy-specific differences rather than as separate states.<br />
<br />
<div>
My second step is to look at the differences between variants 2 and 3 of the title page A2r, which occur with differences in the Advertisement on A3r. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--ZYVUA_rBHU/XvpXz4sFh1I/AAAAAAAAL20/zkh0IDipptIP2Hc9_2SirLWqR0qkKqbBQCK4BGAsYHg/s2100/A2r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="581" data-original-width="2100" height="111" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--ZYVUA_rBHU/XvpXz4sFh1I/AAAAAAAAL20/zkh0IDipptIP2Hc9_2SirLWqR0qkKqbBQCK4BGAsYHg/w400-h111/A2r.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
A2r</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q9E3o4X6ESQ/XpTRTgRqskI/AAAAAAAALBE/29p8Z_YqIG4IJBqa-b39UcNaQThgY2nggCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/A3r.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="611" data-original-width="1600" height="153" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q9E3o4X6ESQ/XpTRTgRqskI/AAAAAAAALBE/29p8Z_YqIG4IJBqa-b39UcNaQThgY2nggCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h153/A3r.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
A3r</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Perhaps the leftward movement of the T was deliberate. In the advertisement, the semicolon after "Undertaking" popped out of the forme and the hyphen and "l" from the next two lines migrated upward. As I mentioned in part 3, I have no idea where the comma after the catchword "'vai" came from. Bowers deals precisely with this situation:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Individual types were sometimes jerked from the forme by the ink-balls. Sometimes they went unnoticed...(47)</blockquote>
Such a change, Bowers notes, does not affect edition or issue, but <i>state</i>, so we can collapse variants 2 and 3 as we think about edition and issue:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jCe6myBEVgA/Xxcu3YY133I/AAAAAAAAMYY/psTnulOEJWAxRVnDkr_wCLgBAaog7zZPgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/chart-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="328" data-original-width="464" height="226" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jCe6myBEVgA/Xxcu3YY133I/AAAAAAAAMYY/psTnulOEJWAxRVnDkr_wCLgBAaog7zZPgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/chart-4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Collapse variants 2 and 3</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
What about variant 1 versus variants 2-4? This is when Mechell decided to expand the print run, resetting gatherings that had already been printed and distributed. Bowers address this situation in his discussion of edition, but there is a circularity is his language that bothers me:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
In quite a different category are books where the type was not left standing by design from the start, or from a point early in the printing, but had been normally undistributed when a decision was made to reset and print a new edition. (109)</blockquote>
It is the word "edition" that bothers me. The decision is to reset and print more <i>copies</i>. Whether they constitute a new edition is precisely the question. Bowers continues:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
This decision may have been reached towards the end of the first printing and some formes kept standing by design, but the difference is immaterial. The characteristic of these books is that the standing type is from the last sheets to be printed (including preliminaries when these were last printed) [I, L, M, A, and χ in our case] and is not scattered throughout the book in a manner clearly showing that the lack of distribution was abnormal. (109)</blockquote>
He gives a number of 16c and 17c examples including one<sup>2</sup> where the "title page was used in the identical setting in the second edition" along with some standing type. As I look at surrogates of that example, I see that what Bowers and other sources call the second edition, does have a title page identical with the first. This is exactly the <i>Whist </i>piracy--enough of the later sheets have been reset after variant 1so that it is <i>not </i>substantially the same setting of type. It is a second edition, even though one would not discern that from the title page.<br />
<br />
Now what of Phase IV when the words "second edition" were added to the title page? Books from Phase IV <i>are </i>substantially the same setting of type as Phases II-III, so they cannot be a third edition. Could they be a separate issue?<br />
<br />
Generally, Bowers wants a change in title page to create an issue. I'm going to ignore his distinction between separate issue and reissue, but will give you a flavor of his language:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
We must, therefore, arbitrarily assume that any alteration made in the form of a book which was not important enough to justify a new title-leaf to call attention to it or to take advantage of the opportunity to bring the book up to date is a printer's attempt belated to construct an 'ideal copy' of his original issue and is not a reissue in which sheets are given new life or chronicle change in publishing conditions by alteration of form. (67)</blockquote>
But is the change in title page for phase 4, adding the words "second edition" to the same setting, enough to trigger another issue? Bowers would say no, although he doesn't have an example that matches exactly. He considers stop-press alterations of an imprint or date on the title page as creating a separate state, not issue:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Alteration of an imprint, usually for a change in a printer's, bookseller's, or publisher's name, or in the date, when performed by stopping the press comes in the same category as any stop-press alteration...If we are to regard the distinction between state and issue as necessarily made on bibliographical grounds whenever possible--that is, on the printing of the book rather than on less tangible considerations--alteration of a date or of a name in the imprint by stopping the press during the impression definitely comes under state* since it was demonstrably performed during continuous printing. (50)<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
*In a long footnote, Bowers notes the difference between bibliography and cataloguing, saying in part "...for cataloguing purposes variation of any kind on the title-page, if observed, constitutes a different issue. The use of the term issue in two quite different senses by cataloguers and bibliographers is undoubtedly of the greatest inconvenience for scholars and confusing to the student, but it is scarcely an argument that bibliography should limit itself to elementary cataloguing standards in order to procure uniformity." (50-1)</blockquote>
</blockquote>
I am confident that Bowers would treat the stop-press insertion of "second edition" as a bibliographer, not a cataloguer; as a state, rather than an issue; .<br />
<br />
Certainly the exposition of the story is more important than the bibliographical classification. Nonetheless, I do need to organize this section of the bibliography by the usual constructs of edition, issue, and state. I conclude that copies with the first setting of gatherings B-H and K are one edition (described <a href="http://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/books/whist.p1.1.xml">here</a>). Copies containing the second setting are a second edition, with three states corresponding to phase 2, 3, and 4 of gathering A (described <a href="http://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/books/whist.p1.2.xml">here</a>).<br />
<br />
It seems odd that only some of the copies of the second edition say "second edition" on the title page, but that is the difference between bibliography and cataloguing. <br />
<br />
Do you agree?<br />
<br />
Did you enjoy your taste of Bowers? <br />
<br />
<b>NOTES</b><br />
<br />
<sup>1</sup>Bowers, Fredson. <i>Principles of Bibliographical Description</i>. St. Paul's Bibliographies, 1987<br />
<sup>2</sup>Randolph, Thomas, <i>Aristippus</i> (1630). David Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903897122730648287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5559915223029540012.post-5830689498791212072020-04-08T06:45:00.002-07:002020-06-29T13:53:28.472-07:00The First Piracy. Part 4. Analysis<div><i><font size="2"><blockquote>updated June 29, 2020</blockquote></font></i></div><div></div>
Part <a href="https://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-first-piracy-part-3-variants-in.html">three</a> of this series looked at gathering A of the first piracy of Hoyle's <i>Whist</i>. I described differences in the half-title, the title, and the advertisement. It would be useful for you to have that essay open in another window alongside this to be able to see all the photographs there. To recap:
<br />
<ul>
<li>The half title (A1r) is frequently not present in surviving copies. Ignoring one odd copy, almost certainly a later facsimile, two settings of type survive and initially there is no way to determine their priority. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The title page (A2r) occurs in four variants, but sequencing is clear. Some type shifted between variants 1 and 2 leaving an oddly-spaced word "Treatise". Variant 3 improved the spacing in "Treatise". Variant 4 is like 3, but adds a line "second edition."</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Some type shifted at the bottom right margin of the Advertisement on A3r. The earlier variant is is correct, while variant 2 has some inadvertent oddities. </li>
</ul><div>
I have seen more than half of the surviving 44 copies and received reports on the others. There is regularity in how the four variants of the title page combine with variants of the half title and the advertisement: <br /></div><div></div>
<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kKcMh_kVaxw/XvpOqoKD71I/AAAAAAAAL0s/lLOVAwEm84MtkDY5Ph4fH-x0YbCTGttHACK4BGAsYHg/s2100/chart-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1221" data-original-width="2100" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kKcMh_kVaxw/XvpOqoKD71I/AAAAAAAAL0s/lLOVAwEm84MtkDY5Ph4fH-x0YbCTGttHACK4BGAsYHg/s320/chart-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />Variation in gathering A<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />
I said I have data on 44 copies and the chart shows only 43. One copy at
the Bodleian Library, shelf mark Jessel e.640 lacks gathering A
altogether, so one cannot say which title page it might have had. <br />
<br />With the title page variant 1, we always have the first variant of the half title and the first variant of the Advertisement. This includes 31 of the 44 surviving copies of which 6 no longer have a half title.<br />
<br /><div>It seems that after these were printed,the half title was reset to variant 2. At the same time, there was some rightward movement of type in "Treatise" at the top of the title page, but no change in the Advertisement. I would have more confidence in the regularity if there were more than 4 copies of variant 2. <br /></div>
<br />
Why was the half title reset at this point in printing? One possibility is that the compositor needed the type from the half title to print some other work. The shop would have had fewer pieces of the larger letter forms that were used in the half title than those used for the text. You could imagine that the printing was interrupted, the type for the half title distributed and used elsewhere, and then the half title was reset. In the course of making this deliberate change, accidental changes were introduced on the title page while the type was unlocked. Speculation, to be sure, but it does account for the variation we see. <br />
<br />
The third variant of the title page moves the "T" in treatise to a more pleasing position, perhaps a deliberate change. At the same time, there is accidental type slippage in the lower right margin of the Advertisement. Only three copies survive with the variant 3 title page. <br />
<br />
Finally, variant 4 adds the line "second edition" to the title page. There are five survivors from with two missing half titles. The motivation for this is, I think, clear. The printer/publisher James Mechell wanted to make his piracy appear to be a popular seller. Likely, he wanted to have a second edition to compete with the authorized second edition published by Francis Cogan.<br />
<br />
To repeat, the counts vary greatly between variant 1 on the one hand (31 surviving copies) and the later variants (4, 3, and 5 survivors) on the other. That makes conclusions about the later copies more tentative than those about the earlier ones. <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq"></blockquote>
Note that by looking at many copies, we can determine the priority of the half titles--variant 1 always occurs with the earliest title page and variant 2 with one of the later title pages. This is a matter of how the book was printed--in gathering A the half title was in the same forme as the title page. <br />
<br />
Similarly, we can play the same game with the variants in other other gatherings and determine priority. The rules are a bit different. Here are the counts of setting 1 and 2 for each phase of printing of gathering A:<br />
<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HNXkSVa8tsg/XvpSACLtQrI/AAAAAAAAL1I/8dK-Y9zQAbc6JRVXtsND3Q4CKlTFLmbjQCK4BGAsYHg/s2100/chart-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="805" data-original-width="2100" height="154" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HNXkSVa8tsg/XvpSACLtQrI/AAAAAAAAL1I/8dK-Y9zQAbc6JRVXtsND3Q4CKlTFLmbjQCK4BGAsYHg/w400-h154/chart-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />Setting of later gatherings grouped by title page variant<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />
In general, you can see that title page variant 1 has the setting 1 of all the gatherings, while title page variants 2-4 have setting 2. In <a href="https://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-first-piracy-part-2-variants.html">part 2</a> of this series of essays, where I showed to settings of each gathering side-by-side, I conveniently put setting 1 on the left and 2 on the right. <br />
<br />
We were able to determine the priority of gathering A (and in particular of the half title) because all the pages (the half title, title, and Advertisement) were in the forme at the same time. The priority of the title page and Advertisement were clear and we were able to infer the priority of the half title.<br />
<br />
The story is a bit different with the other gatherings. They were not in the press at the same time as gathering A; indeed each was a distinct unit of printing. It was the binder who stitched all the gatherings together to form a book. It is logical that early versions of gathering A were sewn together with early versions of B, C, D, and so on, and that lets us infer the priority in printing the later gatherings. What I have called setting 1 was printed before setting 2. <br />
<br />
The data is quite consistent, but there are exceptions. For example a variant 1 title page at the Newberry Library (shelf mark V 1639.42) has a second state gathering E, while another (reported to me by a bookseller) has second state gatherings B and K. There is also an odd copy from title page variant 4 at the Bodleian Library (Jessel e.641) which has the first setting of all gatherings except B.<br />
<br />
Recall Jessel e.640 that lacked gathering A, so we couldn't identify which printing phase it belonged to. It has second states of all later gatherings. <br />
<br />
Another observation is that for each later gathering, about 32 of the 44 copies have first settings. This suggests that Mechell decided to increase the print run by roughly a third when it was nearly done. <br />
<br />
This was a quite detailed look at one book. With many surviving copies and many variants, we could infer a great detail about its printing history. If you enjoyed this, you may want to look at a much, much more sophisticated example: see Stephen Tabor, "James Shirley's <i>Triumph of Peace</i>: Analyzing Greg's Nightmare" in <i>Studies in Bibliography</i> 60:107-212 (2018) available <a href="http://xtf.lib.virginia.edu/xtf/view?docId=StudiesInBiblio/uvaBook/tei/sibv060.xml">online</a>.<br />
<br />
There is one issue I'd like to take up in the next <a href="https://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-first-piracy-part-5-bibliographical.html">essay</a>. How does the printing history we have seen work with the cornerstone concepts of bibliography: edition, issue, and state? <br />
<br />David Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903897122730648287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5559915223029540012.post-23626629238715423202020-04-06T09:40:00.002-07:002020-07-21T10:56:53.558-07:00The First Piracy. Part 3: Variants in Gathering A<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>updated June 29, 2020</i></span> </blockquote>
From parts <a href="https://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-first-piracy-part-1-overview-and.html">one</a> and <a href="https://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-first-piracy-part-2-variants.html">two</a>, the story so far:<br />
<ul>
<li>The first piracy of Hoyle's <i>Whist </i>is an octavo gathered in fours, and collates 8<sup>o</sup>: [A]<sup>4</sup> χ<sup>2</sup> B-M<sup>4</sup>.</li>
<li>The printing would have started with the B gathering and continued
through to M. Gatherings A and χ would have been printed last. </li>
<li>There are two settings of type for gatherings B-H and K. Both settings were printed at the shop of James Mechell. From the evidence presented so far there is no where to determine which might have been printed first. </li>
<li>There is one setting of type for gatherings A, χ, I, L, and M. </li>
</ul>
Even though there is only one setting of type for gathering A, there are interesting variants to be discussed in this essay.<br />
<br />
First a short digression that will make sense only to those who have studied physical bibliography and imposition schemes.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<biblionerd> An octavo in fours can be imposed in two way. In "work-and-turn", all pages of one gathering are set in a forme. It is printed (worked) on one side, the paper is flipped (turned), and the other side printed. You end up with two copies of the same gathering. <br />
<br />
In "two sheets worked together" you set half of the pages in one gathering and half the pages of another in one forme. After printing one side, you distribute the type and set the other pages of each of the two gatherings. After printing the second side, you have one copy of each gathering.
<br />
<br />
The Webster piracy was printed work-and-turn<sup>1</sup> so that a setting of type corresponded exactly to a gathering. Our story would be much more complicated if the book were printed the other way. In an early draft of this I showed the two imposition schemes and how I was able to determine that it was printed work-and-turn. I left it out of this final version because (a) it distracts from the story I'm trying to tell; and (b) only a small handful of you would care. </biblionerd></blockquote>
On to gathering A.<br />
<br />
Leaf A1r is the half-title used to identify the book before it is bound. Binders would often remove the half title before binding, in part because it is inessential and in part because binders would sell waste paper back to the paper mills.<sup>2</sup><br />
<br />
Of the 44 copies I know about, 12 lack a half title. The most common half title, appearing in 25 copies is this:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fnVoXzSVydM/Xn-Jc68xSKI/AAAAAAAAKwg/OfFb5H75H3QQrqhMlqocLzvvBas-LlJkACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/A1r-1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fnVoXzSVydM/Xn-Jc68xSKI/AAAAAAAAKwg/OfFb5H75H3QQrqhMlqocLzvvBas-LlJkACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/A1r-1.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A1r variant 1</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Notice the word game is in small caps--that is a large capital G followed by smaller, but uppercase letters: <span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">G</span>AME</span>. The second most common half title appears in 6 copies:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0IyjXX4zx48/Xn-JvKht6UI/AAAAAAAAKwo/IjBywl1qxhEg8OdDEr2eeDxZc1XUVre3wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/01%2B1743%2BWebster%2B2%2BFront.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1410" data-original-width="970" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0IyjXX4zx48/Xn-JvKht6UI/AAAAAAAAKwo/IjBywl1qxhEg8OdDEr2eeDxZc1XUVre3wCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/01%2B1743%2BWebster%2B2%2BFront.JPG" width="275" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A1r variant 2</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
There are lots of obvious differences from the first variant, but the clearest is that "game" is in all capitals without the larger initial "G". <br />
<br />
For those of you keeping score at home, I've accounted for 43 of 44 copies. Here's a final variant appearing in one copy only:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_VYpI9uFGIg/Xn-LF_gbnYI/AAAAAAAAKw0/a-PSr_lgqO426qzhgJ6lxJ2Lk3JzmPxJgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/A1r-2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_VYpI9uFGIg/Xn-LF_gbnYI/AAAAAAAAKw0/a-PSr_lgqO426qzhgJ6lxJ2Lk3JzmPxJgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/A1r-2.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A1r variant 3<br />
Vanderbilt University Special Collections<br />
GV1277.H87 1743a c.1</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The final variant looks odd. The type does not appear to be from the 18th century. The book is from the United States Playing Card
Company/George Clulow collection at Vanderbilt. Clulow had many of his books rebound by fine 19c binders such
as Ramage and Root & Son. This copy was bound by Root and like many
Victorian bindings of the era, this copy is tightly bound. I cannot
determine if the half title is conjugate to A4. My guess is that Clulow
asked the binder to insert a facsimile half title to replace one that was missing. The practice of "perfecting" a book by adding missing pages
was a fixture of 19c book collecting. As I said...this is a guess, but I will make no further reference to this oddball half title and treat as though it were missing. <br />
<br />
Surprisingly, there are four variants of the title page, leaf A2r. While there is no immediate way to determine which of the two half titles was first set in type, we can sequence the four variants of the title page. Consider these two title pages, which as I will demonstrate, are the first and fourth variants.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JJJi8P-EcS8/XvorL5XfRFI/AAAAAAAALy0/2ZTJlhLq4vkWLJmQLn4_YZ5tfgZfIas8ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/A2r%2B1%2Band%2B4.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1368" data-original-width="1600" height="273" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JJJi8P-EcS8/XvorL5XfRFI/AAAAAAAALy0/2ZTJlhLq4vkWLJmQLn4_YZ5tfgZfIas8ACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/A2r%2B1%2Band%2B4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A2r variants 1 and 4</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
These <i>are </i>the same setting of type. For example, look closely at the second paragraph beginning "Calculations, for those..." Note the large gap between "Bet" and "the" in both variants. On the line below, look at the gap in the final "the."<br />
<br />
There are some differences. The "R E A" in Treatise on line 2 have drifted right in variant 4. Note the "A" appears directly over the "G" in "Game" in 1 but to the right in 4. More important are the added lines, a rule and "The SECOND EDITION" at the bottom of the right-hand example. The insertion has changed the vertical alignment throughout. Variant 4, the so-called "second edition", was printed after variant 1. <br />
<br />
As a double-check that the type was the same, I photocopied variant 4 on a transparent sheet and laid in on top variant 1. With the changes in vertical spacing, I had to take many photos to get the type to align: <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JL-4r7BV_hE/XvotqRD2YlI/AAAAAAAALzA/9FIIbH0L2DgppuGlR8Xc6qos8VOd50PNgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/overlay%2B07.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="826" data-original-width="1600" height="165" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JL-4r7BV_hE/XvotqRD2YlI/AAAAAAAALzA/9FIIbH0L2DgppuGlR8Xc6qos8VOd50PNgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/overlay%2B07.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lRpaCDFR2NA/XvotqbksYAI/AAAAAAAALzE/qYgwqBPAo8U7pBkvaZS8sfKOFDqMwQi7wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/overlay%2B08.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="721" data-original-width="1600" height="144" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lRpaCDFR2NA/XvotqbksYAI/AAAAAAAALzE/qYgwqBPAo8U7pBkvaZS8sfKOFDqMwQi7wCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/overlay%2B08.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Rk9OWs9dBbw/XvotqRF7V6I/AAAAAAAALzI/AtgLGHWxfF0VMhvudi1I3Q-CTZdYaLYzQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/overlay%2B09.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="585" data-original-width="1600" height="116" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Rk9OWs9dBbw/XvotqRF7V6I/AAAAAAAALzI/AtgLGHWxfF0VMhvudi1I3Q-CTZdYaLYzQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/overlay%2B09.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3qu50u7iVic/Xvotq83XH9I/AAAAAAAALzM/bDZ9DcgSTwwloRsGO4pJxNAFwQ5p-osQQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/overlay%2B10.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="430" data-original-width="1600" height="86" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3qu50u7iVic/Xvotq83XH9I/AAAAAAAALzM/bDZ9DcgSTwwloRsGO4pJxNAFwQ5p-osQQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/overlay%2B10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-stKNiDxMwks/XvotqyGRauI/AAAAAAAALzQ/vbEYptyZbvET9eIA6-QL5YCPPrjyma_VQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/overlay%2B11.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="1600" height="80" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-stKNiDxMwks/XvotqyGRauI/AAAAAAAALzQ/vbEYptyZbvET9eIA6-QL5YCPPrjyma_VQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/overlay%2B11.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Let us compare variants 1 and 2:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3H6o167GD_g/XvovsfKmZeI/AAAAAAAALzs/PjCRt03LjX0KYJH9ZAkL25jUSi391KjOgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/A2r%2B1%2Band%2B2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1342" data-original-width="1600" height="268" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3H6o167GD_g/XvovsfKmZeI/AAAAAAAALzs/PjCRt03LjX0KYJH9ZAkL25jUSi391KjOgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/A2r%2B1%2Band%2B2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A2r variants 1 and 2</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The main difference I see is that "TREA" in "TREATISE" on line 2 have shifted to the right. There is a bit of type movement along the right margin in the final lines. The rest looks unchanged.</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_EWh1TJ2Dd8/XvoxShLKZ6I/AAAAAAAALz8/JVzW61yZI24rjx2y8rIUHv3zepLu2d3nQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/a2r%2B2%2Band%2B3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1303" data-original-width="1600" height="260" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_EWh1TJ2Dd8/XvoxShLKZ6I/AAAAAAAALz8/JVzW61yZI24rjx2y8rIUHv3zepLu2d3nQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/a2r%2B2%2Band%2B3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A2r variants 2 and 3<br />
variant 3 from Copisarow collection, picture by Alexandra Ciucu</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
As we move from 3 to 4, the "T" in "TREATISE" has moved back left. The spacing looks better, though still imperfect. Perhaps the change was deliberate.</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-urDnXzDRDF4/Xvoy6CmXJXI/AAAAAAAAL0I/1dJEJ8X0NJUTSlvFpDtAVL-QamT27M6WQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/A2r%2B3%2Band%2B4.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1321" data-original-width="1600" height="264" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-urDnXzDRDF4/Xvoy6CmXJXI/AAAAAAAAL0I/1dJEJ8X0NJUTSlvFpDtAVL-QamT27M6WQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/A2r%2B3%2Band%2B4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A2r variants 3 and 4<br />
variant 3 from Copisarow collection, picture by Alexandra Ciucu</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div>
The "T" stays left, but the edition statement is added and everything is realigned vertically. </div>
<br />
I conclude that there is one setting of type with changes in the press, some accidental and others deliberate. The movement in type and the addition of "Second Edition" lets us sequence the four variants as I have numbered them. <br />
<br />
We can also discern sequencing in the Advertisement on A3r:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MNn3hdGt9Yw/XoN7Pn_5QKI/AAAAAAAAK1o/qITR-Uv1Ti00TNQAOqtOKasamvO2rkqTwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/A3r.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1362" data-original-width="1600" height="340" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MNn3hdGt9Yw/XoN7Pn_5QKI/AAAAAAAAK1o/qITR-Uv1Ti00TNQAOqtOKasamvO2rkqTwCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/A3r.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A3r variants 1 and 2</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
These two pages will give you a chance to read the beginning of the amusing Advertisement. They are the same setting of type, but something has happened along the right margin at the bottom of the page. In the word "Manner" at the end of the third line from the bottom, you can see the "r" has drifted up in the right-hand copy. One line down, the semicolon after "Undertaking" has disappeared and is replaced by a hyphen, which came from the "pre-" in the line below. Down another line you see that "pre-" picked up the final "l" from the catchword "vail" which has turned to "vai,". Where the comma came from, I cannot say.<br />
<br />
The correct page, the one on the left, was printed first and the type shifted in the forme at some point, introducing the anomalies seen on the right. <br />
<br />
In the <a href="https://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-first-piracy-part-4-analysis.html">next</a> essay, we analyze what we have seen.<br />
<br />
<b>Notes</b><br />
<br />
<sup>1</sup>To learn more about the two imposition schemes and the challenges in distinguishing them, see Povey, "On the Diagnosis of Half-sheet Impositions," <i>The Library</i>, 5th ser. 17 (1962) 197-212, reprinted in Jones, ed., <i>Readings in Descriptive Bibliography</i>. Kent State University Press. 1974.<br />
<br />
<sup>2</sup>Carter and Barker, <i>ABC for Book Collectors</i>. Eighth Edition. 2004. David Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903897122730648287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5559915223029540012.post-36131281315548325632020-04-03T07:39:00.002-07:002021-05-28T14:59:25.108-07:00The First Piracy. Part 2. VariantsA quick recap from the previous <a href="https://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-first-piracy-part-1-overview-and.html">essay</a>, "The First Piracy. Part 1. Overview and Structure".<br />
<ul>
<li>The book was printed by the piratical James Mechell. </li>
<li>It is an octavo gathered in fours, collating 8<sup>o</sup>: [A]<sup>4</sup> χ<sup>2</sup> B-M<sup>4</sup>.</li>
<li>44 copies survive, by far the largest number of any of the early Hoyles.</li>
<li>The printing would have started with the B gathering and continued through to M. Gatherings A and χ would have been printed last. </li>
</ul>
I also mentioned that there were variants among the copies. Let us look at the first page of text from two different copies. The text begins on page one, leaf B1r. B1 is the first leaf in the B gathering and "r" refers to recto, the right-hand page of an open book. Page two would be B1v with "v" for verso.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GCbWkCPg2bc/Xn4y6JhyJMI/AAAAAAAAKs0/fxY09fQtxq4H8l7pdrtjKjrCWWK9oHVBACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/B1r.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1347" data-original-width="1600" height="269" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GCbWkCPg2bc/Xn4y6JhyJMI/AAAAAAAAKs0/fxY09fQtxq4H8l7pdrtjKjrCWWK9oHVBACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/B1r.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">B1r</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The text is identical, word-for-word, but there are many typographical differences:<br />
<ul>
<li>The example at left lacks a page number; the right is numbered "[1]".</li>
<li>The drop-title "A Short Treatise on the Game of Whist" is completely different. Look at the line breaks, the use of capitals and the use of italics.</li>
<li>On the last line, the word "One" is capitalized in the first example but not in the second. </li>
</ul>
I would be easy (and tedious) to find dozens of differences in spacing or particular pieces of type:<br />
<ul>
<li>On the left, the "A" in "Author" on the first line of text appears above and slightly to the left of the "d" in "did" on the line below. On the right, it appears above the space betwee "tise" and "did".</li>
<li>Look at the "e" in "Attention" 4 lines from the bottom. On the left, it seems to me that there is a break in the top part of the letter suggesting some damage to the type. On the right, the "e" looks fine. For a different broken "e", look at "Payment" on the last line. </li>
</ul>
Clearly these pages are different settings of type.<br />
<br />
If you picked up a random copy of Hoyle's <i>Whist</i>, printed for W. Webster (1743), you could find either of the two variants. That is odd, even in the hand press era. Many questions come to mind. Why did this happen? Which was printed first? Were both printed in the same shop? I'll return to the "why" question at the end of this essay. The question of priority will have to wait for a later essay--it requires a lot more evidence and discussion.<br />
<br />
We can conclude with reasonable certainty that both settings were printed in the same shop. Note the identical woodblock ornament at the top of both settings. Ornaments are lovely decorative elements from books of this period, and can be useful in identify anonymous printers. The fact that both pages share an ornament is a strong indication that both were printed in the same shop. It is theoretically possible that the ornament was loaned from one printer to another and each printed a page, but that strains credulity. Both were printed in the shop of James Mechell. <br />
<br />
We could have as easy compared copies of page 2:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7RYWVGwLSjs/Xn42rqxXGEI/AAAAAAAAKtA/QGne0cN_u_M63hNHStoN9EDGN3GZPA1kwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/B1v.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1382" data-original-width="1600" height="276" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7RYWVGwLSjs/Xn42rqxXGEI/AAAAAAAAKtA/QGne0cN_u_M63hNHStoN9EDGN3GZPA1kwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/B1v.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">B1v</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Differences include:<br />
<ul>
<li>A different break between lines 2 and 3: "upon Pay-" versus "upon".</li>
<li>Different spacing between paragraphs.</li>
<li>A decorative woodblock ornament on the left, versus a line of type ornaments on the right. </li>
<li>Below the decoration, the type is different in every way--the use of capitals and italics, line breaks, the two-line initial "I" on the right, different catchwords... </li>
</ul>
Let us see two settings of a page from gathering C:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YUoCzuqAD8g/Xn43VmwJm3I/AAAAAAAAKtI/UWqIq09paRo0e7hppxJtxHGRCJFll_CygCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/C2r.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1387" data-original-width="1600" height="277" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YUoCzuqAD8g/Xn43VmwJm3I/AAAAAAAAKtI/UWqIq09paRo0e7hppxJtxHGRCJFll_CygCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/C2r.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">C2r</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Some of the many differences are:<br />
<ul>
<li>The spacing before and after the page number.</li>
<li>The woodblock ornament at the top</li>
<li>The line break in the chapter title and the spelling of "observ'd" versus "observed".</li>
<li>The position of the signature mark C2 with respect to the text.</li>
</ul>
And D:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h451yZMjIzc/Xn43wr2onNI/AAAAAAAAKtQ/5ATebGaD5UIdlDdsEIDr2n0_NMqB-G3zgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/D4v.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1419" data-original-width="1600" height="283" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h451yZMjIzc/Xn43wr2onNI/AAAAAAAAKtQ/5ATebGaD5UIdlDdsEIDr2n0_NMqB-G3zgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/D4v.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">D4v</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Some differences:<br />
<ul>
<li>The spacing before and after the page number.</li>
<li>The woodblock ornament at the top.</li>
<li>Line breaks in the chapter title.</li>
<li>The capital S in "Suppose is a different piece of type in the two examples. </li>
</ul>
I'll skip gathering E (which also has two settings), but move on to samples from F, G, and H:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lboWN37d5HA/Xn44WSd6ZgI/AAAAAAAAKtc/HWSJpdoqzOkNFxidorVTVjIsBVyXCeZKQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/F1r.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1343" data-original-width="1600" height="268" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lboWN37d5HA/Xn44WSd6ZgI/AAAAAAAAKtc/HWSJpdoqzOkNFxidorVTVjIsBVyXCeZKQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/F1r.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">F1r</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
You can make your own (long) list of difference by now. I let my eye run down the right margin and note differences in the line breaks beginning on the fifth line. The woodblock tail pieces differs as well. The next two examples are an exercise for the reader:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QZg9soben0M/Xn441wwrl4I/AAAAAAAAKtk/bNhg_oGf7YgcjjkUl20DD0IV-H0NO10GgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/G2r.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1361" data-original-width="1600" height="272" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QZg9soben0M/Xn441wwrl4I/AAAAAAAAKtk/bNhg_oGf7YgcjjkUl20DD0IV-H0NO10GgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/G2r.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">G2r</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_SfNEI2u83U/Xn441-7yVSI/AAAAAAAAKtg/z6yFQt3cRa00uVR67dchV0sUKaKFoWDhgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/H4v.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1391" data-original-width="1600" height="278" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_SfNEI2u83U/Xn441-7yVSI/AAAAAAAAKtg/z6yFQt3cRa00uVR67dchV0sUKaKFoWDhgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/H4v.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">H4v</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
There is only one setting of type for gathering I; gathering K has two, and gatherings L and M have one only. As mentioned above, when there are two settings, we are not yet prepared to discuss which of them might have been printed first.<br />
<br />
Gathering A with the half-title, title page, and Advertisement has only one setting of type, but there are fascinating and revelatory variations of a different sort. Please be patient until the next essay.<br />
<br />
Why are there two settings of type of some gatherings and only one of others? Here is how I envision the workflow in Mechell's shop. The compositors--as discussed below, I suspect there were at least two--started setting the type with the text in gathering B. As each gathering was finished, the pressmen printed a fixed number of each sheet. The compositor(s) would then distribute the type and beginning setting another gathering. <br />
<br />
When the book was about two thirds finished, Mechell decided to increase the print run, expecting more demand for the book than he originally supposed. The pressmen printed a larger number of I, L, M, A, and χ. Then, the compositors went back to reset gatherings B-H and gathering K. Enough copies of the resettings were printed off to make complete books for the larger print run of the later gatherings.<br />
<br />
Why do I think there were two or more compositors? If there were only one, there wouldn't be the oddity that the earlier gathering I had only one setting while the later gathering K had two. I suspect that one compositor was setting gathering I and another gathering K. Gathering K was printed and the type distributed while I was still in the press. At the point Mechell decided to increase the print run; therefore I did not need to be reset, while K did. Speculation, yes, but it explains the pattern of reset gatherings. <br />
<br />
It is amazing and interesting how much we can learn Mechell's thought process and workflow by looking at lots of copies of <i>Whist.</i> <br />
<br />
Next: <a href="https://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-first-piracy-part-3-variants-in.html">Gathering A</a><br />
<br />David Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903897122730648287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5559915223029540012.post-34871150621004108472020-04-01T08:19:00.003-07:002021-08-02T16:02:24.306-07:00The First Piracy. Part 1. Overview and Structure<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>(Portions of this essay appeared in a previous <a href="https://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-webster-piracy-part-1.html">post</a>.)</i></span></blockquote>
I've said a lot about the first piracy of Hoyle's <i>A Short Treatise on the Game of Whist</i> in this blog, in a published article, and in a talk I have given two or three times. There remains much to say about the physical book. There are variants among the surviving copies that reveal much about its printing history and challenge the bibliographical concepts of edition, issue, and state. It will take me several essays to discuss the variants and their implications. A theme throughout is the bibliographer's mantra: examine as many copies of a book as possible. <br />
<br />
First some background. <br />
<br />
Hoyle published <i>A Short Treatise on the Game of Whist</i> in November 1742. He sold it privately to his whist students for the high price of one guinea. After selling out the first edition, Hoyle sold the copyright to bookseller Francis Cogan for 100 guineas on February 3, 1743. Cogan must have expected to sell the book for the same guinea that Hoyle charged and took a slightly marked-up copy of the book to printer James Mechell. Before Mechell printed the second edition for Cogan, he printed copies, lots of copies, to sell for his own profit.<sup>1</sup> <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SLU9qmWYrt0/XeQIdbbyDpI/AAAAAAAAJ04/lSeVRC-AaU4CJkbF-cuN9lPHhv0Q_YptACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/05%2B1743%2BWebster%2BTitle%2BState%2B1.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1497" data-original-width="918" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SLU9qmWYrt0/XeQIdbbyDpI/AAAAAAAAJ04/lSeVRC-AaU4CJkbF-cuN9lPHhv0Q_YptACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/05%2B1743%2BWebster%2BTitle%2BState%2B1.JPG" width="196" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The "Webster" piracy</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The piracy, pictured at left, omits Hoyle's name from the title page, attributing the book to "a Gentleman." The imprint "Bath printed, and London reprinted for W. Webster near St. Paul's" is fictitious. The book was never printed in Bath and Webster is a name invented to disguise Mechell's identity. The piracy was advertised in the <i>General Evening Post</i> of February 19 at a price of two shillings, less than a tenth of the one guinea that Cogan intended to charge. <br />
<br />
<br />
It was not until the first week of March that Cogan published a second edition, matching the pirate's price of two shillings. In April, Cogan obtained an injunction against Mechell, James Watson, a second printer who pirated <i>Whist</i>, and seven booksellers who sold copies of the piracies. <br />
<br />
I was not kidding when I said that Mechell printed lots of copies. No records survive indicating the size of the print run, but I know of 44 surviving copies, by far the most of any early Hoyle. With only four known copies of the first edition, the piracy is the earliest Hoyle obtainable. Other Cogan editions of <i>Whist </i>survive in small numbers: eight copies of the second edition, seven of the third, ten of the fourth and seven of the fifth. <br />
<br />
Let us start by looking at the physical book. The most important element of a book description is the collation statement which describes its structure. The piracy collates 8°: [A]<sup>4</sup> χ<sup>2</sup> B–M<sup>4</sup>. The formula means that the book was printed as an octavo (eight leaves
or sixteen pages to the printed sheet) and assembled in gatherings of
four leaves or eight pages. Gathering A is unsigned (as indicated by the brackets); B through M (omitting J, as is typical for books of the period) are signed. The symbol "χ" is used for an unsigned gathering in the middle of the
book and the superscript "2" indicates that there are two conjugate leaves, that is a single piece of paper folded to make two leaves or four pages.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k-74AcKHTNY/XeQQEG75ROI/AAAAAAAAJ1M/2nSjKsFraf0K3ahMjJMRxyZ60bAs2bvgACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/01%2B1743%2BWebster%2B2%2BFront.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1410" data-original-width="970" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k-74AcKHTNY/XeQQEG75ROI/AAAAAAAAJ1M/2nSjKsFraf0K3ahMjJMRxyZ60bAs2bvgACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/01%2B1743%2BWebster%2B2%2BFront.JPG" width="220" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A stab-sewn copy, never bound</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
When I wrote the "Pirates" article, all the copies I had seen were tightly bound and I couldn't tell whether the two leaves between gatherings A and B were conjugate. I gave the more conservative collation formula 8°: [A]<sup>4</sup> (A4+2) B–M<sup>4</sup> indicating that the two inserted leaves were singletons, that is separate pieces of paper. In 2012, I got the copy pictured above. It is in completely original condition, unbound with the original stab sewing. Even though the pages are a bit curled, it is a delightful survival that reveals the book's structure. <br />
<br />
The photograph of the bottom of the spine below, makes it clear that the two leaves between the A and B gatherings are a single folded sheet rather than two single leaves. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FblY8cNSpBU/XeQPdmYdObI/AAAAAAAAJ1E/GnBUyAZBXHw3Yga_9i_ckxVUoBtmiTbDwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/06%2B1743%2BWebster%2BChi.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="990" height="196" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FblY8cNSpBU/XeQPdmYdObI/AAAAAAAAJ1E/GnBUyAZBXHw3Yga_9i_ckxVUoBtmiTbDwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/06%2B1743%2BWebster%2BChi.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">χ<sup>2</sup> not A4+2</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
One would expect the printer to begin setting the type with gathering B where the text begins, and proceed through the end of the book. Gathering A, and here χ would be printed last. The first leaf A1r is the half-title pictured above, and A2r is the title page, also picutred. χ1 and χ2 contain the table of contents, obviously printed last. <br />
<br />
Leaves A3 and A4 contain a curious "Advertisement" in the form of a "Letter from a Gentleman at Bath" which purports to describe the publishing history. The author describes losing "a considerable sum of money one night at [whist]." He concluded that he was beat by superior skill and found that there was "a treatise on the game of whist lately dispersed among a few hands at a guinea price." He obtained a copy "with no small difficulty" and learned he "had heretofore been but a bungler at this game." He "applied to a stationer who offered to make [him] a present of half a hundred of them, provided [he] would allow him to print a few more for his own use."<br />
<br />
Well, that's not quite what happened!<br />
<br />
The next <a href="https://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-first-piracy-part-2-variants.html">essay</a> will begin to look at variants. <br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Notes</b><br />
<br />
<sup>1</sup>A fuller account is in my article "Pirates, Autographs, and a Bankruptcy: <i>A Short Treatise on the Game of Whist</i> by Edmond Hoyle, Gentleman" in <i> Script & Print</i>, 34 no. 3 (2010): 133-61, available for <a href="http://www.bsanz.org/download/script-and-print/script_and_print_vol._34_no._3_(2010)/SP_2010-Vol34-No3_pp133-61.pdf">download</a>. David Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903897122730648287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5559915223029540012.post-18867004947316724852019-12-20T07:22:00.006-08:002021-04-02T16:27:05.363-07:002019: The Year in Collecting<div>
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">updated June 4, 2020</span></i></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
2019 was a good year for me as a collector. Since my Hoyle collecting is far along, when I find something I don't have, it must be rare. I'll look first at the best of the new non-Hoyles, then the Hoyles, but first a story.</div>
<br />
In the summer of 2017, I took David Pearson's <a href="https://rarebookschool.org/courses/collections/c90/">class</a> in Provenance research at the Rare Book School in Charlottesville. We learned about forms of evidence to understand book ownership: inscriptions, bookplates, bindings, heraldry, catalogues, and more. At a break, I told David that I had never marked my books in any way. As I described my collection, he said, "You have some really good books, but most of your books are interesting only because they're part of your collection. If you don't identify your books, that interest will be forever lost." His comment resonated--for example, I have a lot of whist books that are not of great value individually, but I do have 300 of them that together tell the story of the game. He convinced me that I should identify my books.<br />
<br />
I contacted some friends who are letterpress printers and came up with the bookplate pictured below. The woodblock <a href="https://compositor.bham.ac.uk/ornaments/115919">ornament</a> is taken from the first edition of Hoyle's <i><a href="http://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/books/backgammon.1.xml">Backgammon</a></i>. Add a border and my monogram (which David described as a mangled Roman numeral), and voila! My friends had a polymer plate made with many instances of the book plate in three different sizes.They printed and cut out lots of plates. <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PqBH0gZsfOE/XfvNLPXVTWI/AAAAAAAAKA4/LOArZbXPZ3AF6C52HcMRLDXXp1ncN2afwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Bookplate.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="953" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PqBH0gZsfOE/XfvNLPXVTWI/AAAAAAAAKA4/LOArZbXPZ3AF6C52HcMRLDXXp1ncN2afwCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/Bookplate.jpg" width="118" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Levy bookplate</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s83O1x-fL0Q/XfvNLry34rI/AAAAAAAAKA8/PpM0u40D6y4fvf-8BHsz7U3qQaaqGUvNQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Plate-3.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="450" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s83O1x-fL0Q/XfvNLry34rI/AAAAAAAAKA8/PpM0u40D6y4fvf-8BHsz7U3qQaaqGUvNQCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/Plate-3.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Polymer plate on the press</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
It has been a huge project attaching the plates. In addition to pasting them in the books, I've used the opportunity to make sure that my electronic and paper records are in sync with the physical books. Disclosure: they weren't! I've also added location detail so I can print a shelf list. Finally, I've also had to decide which books are part of the collection and which are not (such as modern books on contract bridge or backgammon).<br />
<br />
I have plates in roughly 800 of the 1200 book collection so far. Work continues! I am using a rice paste that is soluble in water, so the process is reversible. If my books are important as a part of collection, they are now mostly identified.<br />
<br />
On to the new acquisitions.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-feyNyluUBms/XfvNIi292AI/AAAAAAAAKAc/13RoF-u9KmcSv-N8pW3QKmcatgdccZLdQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/1725%2BQuadrille.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="972" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-feyNyluUBms/XfvNIi292AI/AAAAAAAAKAc/13RoF-u9KmcSv-N8pW3QKmcatgdccZLdQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/1725%2BQuadrille.jpg" width="194" /></a>I have a weakness for books in manuscript. We tend to think that
once moveable type was introduced, all books were printed. In fact
manuscripts overlapped with printed books for a long, long time. For an
extraordinary example with a great story, see my <a href="https://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-left-hand-of-bougy-trictrac.html">essay</a>
"The Left Hand of Bougy..." The manuscript on Quadrille from 1725 is,
like the Bougy manuscript, copied from an edition of the <i>Académie des
Jeux</i>, the French gaming anthology that appeared in one form or another
for generations. <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--5wVvEPQNfg/XfvNIneqt4I/AAAAAAAAKAg/qXUpOfJ-KvQ4FnC-fMLAc0micKGRBDO-ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/1732%2BFrancklin%2BQuadrille.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="968" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--5wVvEPQNfg/XfvNIneqt4I/AAAAAAAAKAg/qXUpOfJ-KvQ4FnC-fMLAc0micKGRBDO-ACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/1732%2BFrancklin%2BQuadrille.jpg" width="192" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1732 Quadrille</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Another weakness. And another book on Quadrille. I've written many times how I love books in original unsophisticated bindings. See, for example <a href="https://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2018/12/2018-year-in-collecting.html">here</a>, <a href="https://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2018/12/2018-year-in-collecting.html">here</a>, <a href="https://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2017/12/2017-year-in-collecting.html">here</a> (second from the top), and <a href="https://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2016/06/fifth-anniversary-half-year-in.html">here</a>. The book on Quadrille at left predates Hoyle; I mention it in the <a href="http://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2012/08/quadrille-and-piquet-literature.html">essay</a> "Piquet and Quadrille Literature." I acquired the copy at left at auction this year. It is a pamphlet that has never been bound and retains the original stab sewing. Lovely!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
And now the Hoyles.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KkcrUA3-w_E/XfvNJN0SZsI/AAAAAAAAKAk/a-s7E4JJuI0yzCTTxK-stDNOrGTmjug2ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/1753%2BPortugese.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1022" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KkcrUA3-w_E/XfvNJN0SZsI/AAAAAAAAKAk/a-s7E4JJuI0yzCTTxK-stDNOrGTmjug2ACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/1753%2BPortugese.jpg" width="204" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whist, Lisbon (1753)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
This year brought a copy of the first Portuguese translation of Hoyle's <a href="http://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/books/whist.pt.1.xml"><i>Whist</i></a>, Lisbon, 1753. When I wrote the <a href="https://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2012/03/first-translation-of-hoyle.html">essay</a> "The First Translation of Hoyle," everyone thought that this was the earliest translation. Since then, a <a href="http://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/books/whist.fr.1751.a.xml">1751 translation</a> turned up, as I wrote in the <a href="http://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2014/07/a-french-discovery.html">essay</a> "A French Discovery." So <i>Do Jogo do Whist</i> is the second translation of Hoyle. Mine is one of two known surviving copies.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
What is remarkable about the book is that it is the first I know to illustrate the use of tokens for keeping score at whist. In the <a href="https://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2012/05/hoyles-scoring-method-and-whist.html">essay</a> "Hoyle's Scoring Method and Whist Counters," I discuss whist scoring tokens. I suggest in that essay that the first mention of scoring with tokens was in the 1791 chapbook <i>Short Rules for Short Memories at Whist</i> by "Bob Short" (Robert Withy). I still believe that to be the case in English, but I've since found scoring discussed in three 18c Portuguese editions (<a href="http://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/books/whist.pt.1.xml" target="_blank">1753</a>, <a href="http://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/books/whist.pt.2.xml" target="_blank">1768</a>, <a href="http://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/books/whist.pt.3.xml" target="_blank">1784</a>), and a Russian edition published in St. Petersburg (1769). The Russian edition purports to be a translation from a French edition, but the tokens are not illustrated in any French version I have seen. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AVCNWyg4eAE/XfvNIvJqOJI/AAAAAAAAKAY/1LMmMHYA8oARg7mb9EkKFBGg-Uqr4iWxACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/1753%2BPortugese%2Bcounters.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1043" data-original-width="1600" height="208" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AVCNWyg4eAE/XfvNIvJqOJI/AAAAAAAAKAY/1LMmMHYA8oARg7mb9EkKFBGg-Uqr4iWxACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/1753%2BPortugese%2Bcounters.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whist scoring tokens (1752)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The two new Hoyles in English are both reissues of books I have already, but with cancel titles. The first is <a href="http://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2011/10/reissues-of-mr-hoyles-treatises-1748.html">discussed</a> in "Reissues of Mr. Hoyle's Treatises (1748-1755). With this <a href="http://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/books/games.1.5.xml">1755</a> reissue, I have four of the five different issues. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zLZGroMB8_w/XfvNJWjx3DI/AAAAAAAAKAo/Pq0sFmLIM1UIU61RDH4iN6TkN0gAspsxgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/1755%2BHoyle.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="949" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zLZGroMB8_w/XfvNJWjx3DI/AAAAAAAAKAo/Pq0sFmLIM1UIU61RDH4iN6TkN0gAspsxgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/1755%2BHoyle.jpg" width="189" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Mr. Hoyle's Treatises</i> (1755)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The final example is a Dublin reissue of the <i>Polite Gamester</i> from <a href="http://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/books/polite.5.3.xml">1783</a>. It was originally published by Thomas Ewing in <a href="http://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/books/polite.5.1.xml">1772</a>. Ewing died in 1775 or 1776 and James Hoey took over his stock. Hoey reissued the book with a cancel title in <a href="http://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/books/polite.5.2.xml">1776</a>. See the <a href="https://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2011/07/every-cancel-tells-story-dont-it-part-1.html">essay</a> "Every Cancel Tells a Story, Don't It (part 1)" for pictures and more detail.<br />
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I can't say why Hoey put a new title page on the book in 1783. The imprint is the same as is his address, 19 Parliament Street. Probably, he wanted to make the book look more current with a new date. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XRmVVkCYAeE/XfvNJn0VPPI/AAAAAAAAKAs/0z6-cISLaagBL3I8QMwWu_Qgi6YtwKX1wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/1783%2BPolite%2BGamester.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="848" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XRmVVkCYAeE/XfvNJn0VPPI/AAAAAAAAKAs/0z6-cISLaagBL3I8QMwWu_Qgi6YtwKX1wCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/1783%2BPolite%2BGamester.jpg" width="169" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Polite Gamester </i>(1783)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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It's a bit beaten up, but the only other recorded copy is in the John White collection at Cleveland Public Library (discussed <a href="https://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2013/08/a-research-trip-to-cleveland.html">here</a>), so I have no complaints. <br />
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Best wishes for 2020!<br />
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<br />David Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903897122730648287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5559915223029540012.post-75265665298795707692019-08-29T07:41:00.001-07:002021-04-20T18:20:06.611-07:00250 years<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The terms semiquincentennary or bicenquinquagenary are not terribly felicitous, but please note that today marks the 250 anniversary of the death of Edmond Hoyle. The notice in the <i>London Chronicle </i>read:<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VS3bpGtolxw/XWHAmpfxGdI/AAAAAAAAJNI/HLyRxl14RykRX1ifBWHyaJEABg8RJMKywCLcBGAs/s1600/obit.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="191" data-original-width="801" height="95" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VS3bpGtolxw/XWHAmpfxGdI/AAAAAAAAJNI/HLyRxl14RykRX1ifBWHyaJEABg8RJMKywCLcBGAs/s400/obit.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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A moment of silence, please!<br />
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And now onto some interesting biographical news.Seven years ago, I <a href="http://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2012/08/a-conversation-with-edmond-hoyle.html">wrote:</a><br />
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<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">Hoyle
was born in 1672 and published his first book in 1742 at the age of 69
or 70. There is absolutely no evidence about any aspect of his life
before that time...</span></span></blockquote>
<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">Earlier this year, I was shocked and delighted to learn that Hoyle was active in maritime insurance in Rotterdam in the 1720s! This was apparently known to economic historians, particularly those who study bubbles, but had never been noted by gaming historians. </span></span><br />
<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"><br /></span></span>
<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">The story is found primarily in Dutch books on the history of economics, but there are some sources in English, the most available of which is Goetzmann, <i>Money Changes Everything</i>, Princeton University Press, 2016. The highlights of the story are briefly as follows:</span></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">In June 1720, Hoyle and Dutch national Gerard Roeters approached the Amsterdam city council with the thought of setting up a maritime insurance company much like Lloyds of London. </span></span></li>
<li><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">Amsterdam refused, and in July they carried the offer to Rotterdam who allowed them to set up the company. </span></span></li>
<li><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">They established Stad Rotterdam as a joint stock company and subscriptions were traded on the Rotterdam exchange. Speculative fever ensued and the shares quickly increased in value. </span></span></li>
<li><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">Within two weeks Hoyle sold his share to Englishman Thomas Lombe at a large profit. </span></span></li>
<li><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">Later, Lombe convinced Roeters to invest further money with Stad Rotterdam. </span></span></li>
<li><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">In late 1721, Roeters brought an action in the London Chancery Courts against Lombe, complaining that Lombe failed to operate the business as promised. The litigation continued for years and generated a lot of paper now at the National Archives in Kew. From the bits I've looked at, perhaps only ten per cent of the total, there is no mention of Hoyle in the pleadings. </span></span></li>
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Hoyle's involvement in Stad Rotterdam was short-lived and I don't know how much more there is to learn about his involvement. But this rabbit hole looks to be worth some more of my time. <br />
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It is reasonable to ask whether we are sure it is OUR Edmond Hoyle who was involved in these events. Both forename and surname were fairly common at the time. The answer is unequivocally yes, it is OUR Hoyle. There are a number of documents that have survived notary archives in Rotterdam and the archives of Stad Rotterdam with a Hoyle signature. Here is a sample, taken from the Goetzmann book mentioned earlier: <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yNOXBwpjDGs/XWfiChoBLbI/AAAAAAAAJPw/nZIOWrRYADAOytmgsQKt_okr_gBwyskUgCLcBGAs/s1600/Goetzman.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="973" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yNOXBwpjDGs/XWfiChoBLbI/AAAAAAAAJPw/nZIOWrRYADAOytmgsQKt_okr_gBwyskUgCLcBGAs/s320/Goetzman.jpg" width="194" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Share transfer from Hoyle to Lombe<br />
July 16, 1720<br />
Goetzman, p70</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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This signature and others I have seen from the Rotterdam archives clearly match the signatures in his books (see a sample <a href="https://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2017/12/2017-year-in-collecting.html">here</a>) published more than two decades later.<br />
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I don't find it surprising that Hoyle was involved in the insurance industry. In 1754 he wrote <i>An Essay towards making the Doctrine of Chances easy to those who understand Vulgar Arithmetick only, </i>discussed <a href="http://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2011/11/the-doctrine-of-chances-1754.html">elsewhere</a> on this blog. The book includes tables of annuities on lives, the basis for life insurance. He was aware of the mathematics of risk.<br />
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There is one other hint about Hoyle is some of the notarized documents--he is identified as a London merchant. This suggests that we may be able to find more information about Hoyle in London by looking at city directories, banking records, and so on. <br />
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So Hoyle had a life before writing about games. And an interesting one at that!David Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903897122730648287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5559915223029540012.post-12521229682531606742018-12-31T12:11:00.000-08:002020-07-14T11:24:45.160-07:002018: The Year in Collecting (second addendum) <br />
Another book sneaked its way here just before year-end. It's one of the charming "Bob Short" chapbooks on whist. "Short" is the pseudonym for Robert Withy as discussed <a href="https://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2015/01/who-is-bob-short-part-1.html" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="https://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2015/01/who-is-bob-short-part-2.html" target="_blank">here</a>, and <a href="https://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2015/02/who-is-bob-short-part-3.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KJUuyd13a7o/XCpzTQWT3jI/AAAAAAAAHe0/AKOzswxsTMAWFTfnLF9r8eHJZDpNO0tEgCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_20181231_114401.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="808" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KJUuyd13a7o/XCpzTQWT3jI/AAAAAAAAHe0/AKOzswxsTMAWFTfnLF9r8eHJZDpNO0tEgCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_20181231_114401.jpg" width="161" /> </a></div>
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There are <a href="https://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2011/12/bob-shorts-short-rules-for-short.html" target="_blank">many</a> editions, often with provincial imprints. In the aggregate, these booklets are quite common, but any particular one is scarce. This 1819 edition, printed by John Stacy in Norwich for Reynolds in London and Stacy is a good <a href="http://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/books/reynolds.whist.1819.xml" target="_blank">example</a>. The British Library <a href="http://explore.bl.uk/primo_library/libweb/action/display.do?tabs=moreTab&ct=display&fn=search&doc=BLL01001750672" target="_blank">copy</a> was lost in World War II, as is indicated by the "D-" in the shelfmark <span class="EXLDetailsDisplayVal">D-7913.a.70</span>. There is a copy in private hands in the UK. This one makes three. Err...two. <br />
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There are two things I particularly like about it. First are the marbled wrappers. Original bindings are the best!<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qqQoru_UMIo/XCpzTacZaOI/AAAAAAAAHe8/RaIfQMEhdA0c4R01VzZPPsZf4TznH5_gACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_20181231_114411.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1575" data-original-width="1600" height="314" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qqQoru_UMIo/XCpzTacZaOI/AAAAAAAAHe8/RaIfQMEhdA0c4R01VzZPPsZf4TznH5_gACLcBGAs/s320/IMG_20181231_114411.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Second is the advertisement for <i>The British Melodist</i>, a book that may not have survived exactly as advertised--there is a single copy of an 1822 edition at the University of Aberdeen, but how would that be advertised in an 1819 book? <br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zBPF65SXzF8/XCpzTQ8-hsI/AAAAAAAAHe4/Npk4eiJVRZEI-FaGWuwH0phnx3jrNWZwwCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_20181231_114546.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1531" data-original-width="1600" height="306" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zBPF65SXzF8/XCpzTQ8-hsI/AAAAAAAAHe4/Npk4eiJVRZEI-FaGWuwH0phnx3jrNWZwwCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_20181231_114546.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Anyway, 2018 is a wrap. What will 2019 bring?<br />
<br />David Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903897122730648287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5559915223029540012.post-38231366646861091402018-12-17T07:25:00.000-08:002020-07-14T11:25:07.883-07:002018: The Year in Collecting (addendum)<br />
The ink wasn't even dry on my <a href="https://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2018/12/2018-year-in-collecting.html">essay</a> "2018: The Year in Collecting" when an extraordinary item turned up on eBay of all places. The book is the first American book on card games, or more accurately, one of three "firsts," all published at the same time. It is a 1796 reprint <i>Hoyle's Games Improved</i> by James Beaufort. It was originally printed in London in <a href="http://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/books/beaufort.1.xml">1775</a> and again in London in <a href="http://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/books/beaufort.2.xml">1788</a>.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Pr7GlA0UQkM/XBQww5GIf9I/AAAAAAAAHYA/Uey0SADhpuMpx6VvutqQi5_L_7PIqjqhgCLcBGAs/s1600/beaufort%2Btitle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Pr7GlA0UQkM/XBQww5GIf9I/AAAAAAAAHYA/Uey0SADhpuMpx6VvutqQi5_L_7PIqjqhgCLcBGAs/s320/beaufort%2Btitle.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1796 Beaufort Hoyle, Philadelphia </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Three issues of the book appeared in America in 1796, one with a <a href="http://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/books/beaufort.us.1.1.xml">Boston</a> imprint, another <a href="http://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/books/beaufort.us.1.2.xml">New York</a>, and this one, <a href="http://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/books/beaufort.us.1.3.xml">Philadelphia and Baltimore</a>. When I wrote about these books in the <a href="https://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2012/06/more-hoyle-collectibles.html">essay</a> "More Hoyle Collectibles," I expected the latter two books to have cancel titles. Having seen more copies, I now see that titles are not cancels, but are all the same setting of type except for the imprint. They were all printed in Boston, but distributed by booksellers in multiples cities. <br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jpj9vr7D8AY/XBQ2qQw9MrI/AAAAAAAAHZc/0sTuYSlbHjMtP_IZ1BjKQrM01mYkYCZ3wCLcBGAs/s1600/boston.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jpj9vr7D8AY/XBQ2qQw9MrI/AAAAAAAAHZc/0sTuYSlbHjMtP_IZ1BjKQrM01mYkYCZ3wCLcBGAs/s320/boston.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1796 Beaufort Hoyle, Boston</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Perhaps you can compare the type with the Boston issue, pictured at right.<br />
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The binding, pictured below, is contemporary and in remarkably good condition other than a slight loss in the red label.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3D_hRUHSpu8/XBQywlHJypI/AAAAAAAAHY0/2_TLXDtLOyEq8zBLD0yzNlujx0uwmQ0tgCLcBGAs/s1600/beaufort%2Bspine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1433" data-original-width="1600" height="286" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3D_hRUHSpu8/XBQywlHJypI/AAAAAAAAHY0/2_TLXDtLOyEq8zBLD0yzNlujx0uwmQ0tgCLcBGAs/s320/beaufort%2Bspine.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1796 Beaufort Hoyle, Philadelphia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Now I have two of three issues. Does anyone know where I can pick up the one sold in New York?<br />
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<br />David Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903897122730648287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5559915223029540012.post-79852283695329859152018-12-10T08:21:00.001-08:002020-07-14T11:25:54.694-07:002018: The Year in CollectingA dozen books found their way to my library this year. Some are inexpensive 19c Hoyles that filled gaps in the collection. Others are gaming items unrelated to Hoyle or the games he treated. I want to highlight four of the books in detail here. <br />
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I purchased the first book, a duplicate, because of the binding, paper pasted over boards. The <a href="http://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/books/walker.1.xml">book</a>, <i>The New Hoyle</i> printed for the George Walker (1817) is common, but the cover, though a bit tattered, shows how the book would
have been offered for sale. I am a huge fan of books in their original binding.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KxkTK1YfKa0/XAWjy2OwlLI/AAAAAAAAHU8/v8lR7tk9xhs_kt7Tg_TCd3H8ip5XuWebQCLcBGAs/s1600/1817%2BWalker%2Bwrapper.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="432" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KxkTK1YfKa0/XAWjy2OwlLI/AAAAAAAAHU8/v8lR7tk9xhs_kt7Tg_TCd3H8ip5XuWebQCLcBGAs/s200/1817%2BWalker%2Bwrapper.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">wrapper for <i>The New Hoyle</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-V47SzeQ8d8k/XAWjy9NSWbI/AAAAAAAAHU0/Lm6SGQoJ2vEKbXdz95VgZH1p737GYcecwCLcBGAs/s1600/1817%2BWalker%2Bengraving.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="432" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-V47SzeQ8d8k/XAWjy9NSWbI/AAAAAAAAHU0/Lm6SGQoJ2vEKbXdz95VgZH1p737GYcecwCLcBGAs/s200/1817%2BWalker%2Bengraving.jpg" width="199" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">engraved frontispiece and title</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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I also like the engraved frontispiece and extra engraved title page. The frontispiece is far from fine art, but I believe it plays an important role in marketing the book. With Hoyle's writing not in copyright in 1817, a publisher needed to do something to distinguish his Hoyle from the others on the market. The engraving is more difficult and expensive to copy than the text. This edition is also distinguished by its small format and price of 3s., less than half that of the market-leading Charles Jones <a href="http://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/books/jones.9.xml">Hoyle</a> published in 1814 at 7s.6d. <br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JEFH_AWKkUY/XAWjzd4PsKI/AAAAAAAAHVA/Z617_C2Y3DI_T95SxLG8ynuckavgTy4mACLcBGAs/s1600/1820%2BCompanion%2Btitle.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="738" data-original-width="432" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JEFH_AWKkUY/XAWjzd4PsKI/AAAAAAAAHVA/Z617_C2Y3DI_T95SxLG8ynuckavgTy4mACLcBGAs/s200/1820%2BCompanion%2Btitle.jpg" width="116" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Companion </i>(1820)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="http://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/books/jones.10-2.xml">Second</a> is <i>Hoyle's Games Improved and Selected as a Companion to the Card Table</i>, revised and corrected by Charles Jones, 1820. The title suggests that the contents are extracted from a larger work; indeed it consists of the first 192 pages, the card games only, from <i>Hoyle's Games Improved</i>, a later <a href="http://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/books/jones.10.xml">edition</a> of the market leader mentioned above. The full book (502 pages) includes board games, billiards, and outdoor activities such as golf and horse racing. <br />
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What is most interesting is that the extract is from the same setting of
type as the complete work, allowing the typesetting costs to be shared between the two publications. The publishers
extended the practice by separately issuing a <a href="http://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/books/jones.10-1.xml">work</a> on the first two card games, whist and quadrille, again the same type, but the first 106 pages only. <br />
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From the Longman Archive, we know that the publishers printed 4000 copies of <i>Hoyle's Games Improved</i> and 1000 copies each of <i>Companion</i> and <i>Whist and Quadrille</i>. The books were quite profitable: total costs were £325 and the retail price of the books totaled £1475. <i>Hoyle's Games Improved</i> was reprinted in 1826, so we can be sure it sold out. The others were not reprinted, but were not advertised in newspapers after the initial flurry in 1820, and likely sold out as well. <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nrFwUy6IPJ8/XAWjzbmrZ1I/AAAAAAAAHVE/0qtsjx-naps4n84AtlAK5B_vDBe4t4F0gCLcBGAs/s1600/1820%2BCompanion%2Bwrapper.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="717" data-original-width="432" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nrFwUy6IPJ8/XAWjzbmrZ1I/AAAAAAAAHVE/0qtsjx-naps4n84AtlAK5B_vDBe4t4F0gCLcBGAs/s200/1820%2BCompanion%2Bwrapper.jpg" width="120" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">front wrapper bound in</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Interestingly, <i>Companion</i> was sold in two different bindings, in boards for 3s. 6d. or in a paper case with gilt edges for 4s. 6d. My copy has been rebound in three-quarter leather, but the original cover with a price of 3s. 6d. is bound in; it was one of the copies sold in boards. A copy at the Bodleian shows that the paper cover was originally pasted onto boards, so the binder of my copy had to do extra work to preserve the paper wrapper. <br />
<br />
The last two books I want to talk about were included in a 19c French gaming box. First, the box:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zx-d6vXDaaw/XAWj0-t6FGI/AAAAAAAAHVQ/eke3Q5JqnkIubkMVVxZTtD2rRFfxm4lLACLcBGAs/s1600/box-1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="576" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zx-d6vXDaaw/XAWj0-t6FGI/AAAAAAAAHVQ/eke3Q5JqnkIubkMVVxZTtD2rRFfxm4lLACLcBGAs/s320/box-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">French Gaming Box...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-q3IAd-Iw48c/XAWj0xaRnnI/AAAAAAAAHVU/Nlvp9ewz5DcHf3qcCeH5ERMCQmqFK5EWACLcBGAs/s1600/box-2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="576" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-q3IAd-Iw48c/XAWj0xaRnnI/AAAAAAAAHVU/Nlvp9ewz5DcHf3qcCeH5ERMCQmqFK5EWACLcBGAs/s320/box-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">..with scoring markers and books</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Inside are four chenille-trimmed baskets with scoring tokens for card games such as Whist or Boston. Two books, both English, fit neatly in the near-right compartment. They must have been added later. Both of the books are unique copies.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-maAjzy2LdXI/XAWj1g-smII/AAAAAAAAHVc/CeXRGAJDZPk1TRFJcqyPho18iEllsTk1ACLcBGAs/s1600/box-4.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="607" height="227" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-maAjzy2LdXI/XAWj1g-smII/AAAAAAAAHVc/CeXRGAJDZPk1TRFJcqyPho18iEllsTk1ACLcBGAs/s320/box-4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">two books in wrappers from the gaming box</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
On the left is <i>Companion to the Whist Table</i>, dated 1835. It is not a Hoyle, but an extract of articles that appeared in <i>Bell's Life in London</i>, a weekly sporting <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell%27s_Life_in_London">periodical</a>. Bibliographer Frederic Jessel had seen <i>Bell's Life</i>, and noted that the April 1842 issue recommended two books, <i>The Companion to the Whist Table</i> and <i>The Modern Whist-Table</i>.
He had never seen either work and no copies are recorded. Jessel
wrongly speculated that <i>Companion </i>may be the same as the Charles Jones <i>Companion to the Card Table</i>, discussed above. <br />
<br />
Next is a Hoyle, a small (10.2 x 6.5 cm) <a href="http://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/books/dean.2.xml">book</a> in yellow wrappers. The book has an engraved frontispiece dated 1824, but I suspect that the engraving was recycled from an <a href="http://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/books/dean.1.xml">earlier</a> edition from the same publishers. There is an advertisement on the rear cover for a book on swimming that dates to 1827.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gWjV3Ds7-po/XAWjzuSh4ZI/AAAAAAAAHVI/cN1Km7NlfWMOefArgpqjlMl2HY289Vw-ACLcBGAs/s1600/182x%2BDean%2Band%2BMunday%2Btitle.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="504" height="274" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gWjV3Ds7-po/XAWjzuSh4ZI/AAAAAAAAHVI/cN1Km7NlfWMOefArgpqjlMl2HY289Vw-ACLcBGAs/s320/182x%2BDean%2Band%2BMunday%2Btitle.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Miniature edition of Hoyle, 1827c. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
This edition of Hoyle competes at a third price point, 6d., much less than either the Jones or Walker editions discussed above. The publishers appeal to different classes of readers. Again, note the engraving to distinguish this work from other comparable cheap editions then for sale.<br />
<br />
It is a treat to have these two books, both "singletons," in original wrappers in remarkable condition. Did I mention how much I like original bindings? How did these two rarities come to be in a French gaming box?<br />
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<br />David Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903897122730648287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5559915223029540012.post-80388771664843980082018-06-08T08:38:00.000-07:002018-06-08T08:38:31.953-07:00Kicking and Screaming into the 19th CenturyI have stated a number of times on this blog that my research would be limited to the 18th century. For example "The proliferation of 19c variants convinces me to stop my research at 1800" from"<a href="http://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2011/12/bob-shorts-short-rules-for-short.html">Bob Short's Short Rules for Short Memories</a>" or "My Hoyle research focuses on the 18th century and so I will stop with the Jones edition of 1800" in "<a href="http://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2011/11/hoyles-games-improved-charles-jones.html">Hoyle's Games Improved, Charles Jones (1800)</a>."<br />
<br />
It's been about five years since I first realized how naive that was. As I wrote in "<a href="http://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2013/06/second-anniversary-continuities-and.html">Second Anniversary: Continuities and Disruptions</a>," the Hoyle story continues into the 1860s. I'll not retrace the argument here, but instead, talk about one of the difficulties I am having in moving into the 19th century.<br />
<br />
One of the popular 19th century Hoyles was <i>Hoyle Made Familiar</i>, by "Eidrah Trebor"
(Robert Hardie), a book first published in 1830. It is both an abridgement of Hoyle, condensing his writing substantially, but also an enlargement--it adds new games not treated in any previous edition of Hoyle (Catch the Ten, Commit, Earl of Coventry, Five and Ten, Lift Smoke, and Snip Snap Snorem).<br />
<br />
The book stayed in print through the 1860s. There is an
undated "ninth" edition published jointly by Stirling, Kenney, & Co.
in Edinburgh and Wm. S. Orr & Co., London. It must have been
published no later than 1847 when Stirling & Co. ceased operations.
Ward & Lock in London published an undated "eleventh" edition, which
was advertised in 1855. The "tenth" edition, published by Orr alone, should be from about 1850.<br />
<br />
There are three surviving copies of the "tenth" edition: <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Wz-lfZx-vPw/WxlqIGo_iAI/AAAAAAAAGBc/bOwmy9YemcIpB9GRT97BvHliVSeY0S3GwCLcBGAs/s1600/Cincinnati.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="504" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Wz-lfZx-vPw/WxlqIGo_iAI/AAAAAAAAGBc/bOwmy9YemcIpB9GRT97BvHliVSeY0S3GwCLcBGAs/s200/Cincinnati.jpg" width="125" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Courtesy of the Public Library of <br />
Cincinnati & Hamilton County</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YXqVduTeLYs/WxlqI5gUm3I/AAAAAAAAGBo/keHZ5y2HLhk-tt_mH7ePKmhkQjLQ5AbFACLcBGAs/s1600/Vanderbilt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="504" data-original-width="306" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YXqVduTeLYs/WxlqI5gUm3I/AAAAAAAAGBo/keHZ5y2HLhk-tt_mH7ePKmhkQjLQ5AbFACLcBGAs/s200/Vanderbilt.jpg" width="121" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vanderbilt University<br />
USPCC/Clulow Collection</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: lem; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zn105hrb4SY/WxlqILKu9MI/AAAAAAAAGBk/26qn8wl4oe41tsdw135Hjb3xoEeda2SLwCLcBGAs/s1600/Levy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="504" data-original-width="287" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zn105hrb4SY/WxlqILKu9MI/AAAAAAAAGBk/26qn8wl4oe41tsdw135Hjb3xoEeda2SLwCLcBGAs/s200/Levy.jpg" width="113" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Levy Collection</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
How very odd! Look at the three imprints:<br />
<ul>
<li>Cincinnati: WILLIAM S. ORR AND CO.</li>
<li> Vanderbilt: W<span style="font-size: x-small;">M</span>. S. ORR & CO.
</li>
<li>Levy: WILLIAM S. ORR & CO. </li>
</ul>
Two "WILLIAMS" and one "W<span style="font-size: x-small;">M</span>." One "AND" and two ampersands. Three different imprints. In the only three surviving copies. This is certainly annoying to a bibliographer. What is going on?<br />
<br />
Well, one important fact is that the book was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereotype_(printing)">stereotyped</a>. Briefly that means that after the type was set, the printer made a plaster or paper mâché mold of the type. The original printer (or perhaps another) could pour molten metal into the mold to make a new plates from which to reprint the book. The printer could make changes or corrections by cutting or punching out faulty text and soldering new type in its place. The process was much less expensive than resetting type or leaving type standing. (Gaskell 201-4)<br />
<br />
The bibliographical concept of <i>edition </i>interacts strangely with stereotyped books. An edition is "all the copies of a book printed at any time (or times) from substantially the same setting of type." So, " if a book is reprinted from an old set of plates, the result is...part of the original edition." (Gaskell 313)<br />
<br />
It looks to me as though the fourteen (or so) different versions of <i>Hoyle Made Familiar</i> were all printed from the original set of type. Therefore they are all the same <i>edition</i>.<br />
<br />
What do the edition statements on the title page mean? The term edition has been used in the trade not only to mean edition in the bibliographical sense, but what bibliographers would call <i>impression </i>("all the copies of an edition printed at any one time") or <i>issue </i>("all the copies of that part of an edition which is identifiable as a consciously planned printed unit" distinct in either form or in time). Gaskell cites an article by J. R. Payne to give a modern example (of electro-, rather than stereotyping):<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Methuen ordered two sets of electrotype plates of A. A. Milne's <i>Winnie-the-Pooh</i>, and had twenty-seven impressions printed from them in the period 1926-41. Although all twenty-seven impressions, deriving from a single setting of type, were part of a single edition, the publishers advertised each one as another edition, so that, when a new set of electros was made in 1942 from a new setting of type, what was then issued as the 'twenty-eighth edition' of <i>Winnie -the-Pooh</i> was in fact the first impression of the second edition.Gaskell (314-7) </blockquote>
So the "tenth" edition is not an edition at all, but an impression--multiple impressions, in fact, because of the slight change on the title page. They must have been printed at different points in time. <br />
<br />
Payne was able to determine impression and edition because the Methuen Stock Ledgers are at the <a href="http://www.indiana.edu/~liblilly/">Lilly Library</a>. So far as I know, no publisher's records survive for Stirling and Kenney or William S. Orr and Co., so I'm not going to be able to sort out these books the way Payne could <i>Winnie-the-Pooh</i>. Oh bother!<br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1cNCnNyk6Zo/WxnG5DOsb0I/AAAAAAAAGCU/6ZER0fv-vEw5qlJyxeumwNtfXIb6QmnlQCLcBGAs/s1600/Levy%2Btitle%2Bverso.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="954" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1cNCnNyk6Zo/WxnG5DOsb0I/AAAAAAAAGCU/6ZER0fv-vEw5qlJyxeumwNtfXIb6QmnlQCLcBGAs/s200/Levy%2Btitle%2Bverso.jpg" width="118" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Levy collection <br />
Title Page Verso</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
There is one more mystery in my copy. Pictured at left is the verso of the title page. Note the colophon "THOS. HARRILD, PRINTER..." And if you click to enlarge, you may notice the stub of a removed page in the gutter. This looks to me to be a cancel title. The other two copies have nothing printed below the line "Entered in Stationers Hall". A cancel title generally indicates a different <i>issue</i> as defined above. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Usually when a book is reissued with a cancel title, it's because the publisher has changed. See the discussion of the <i>Polite Gamester</i> in "<a href="https://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2011/07/every-cancel-tells-story-dont-it-part-1.html">Every Cancel Tells a Story. Don't It? (part 1)</a>." The reason is that the imprint gives a publisher's address telling people where the book is sold. I've never seen a cancel for the purpose of identifying the printer and can't imagine why anyone would go to the trouble. But that's what seems to be going on here.<br />
<br />
I'm left with a very unsatisfied feeling. Fredson Bowers, citing W. W. Greg (two giants of bibliography), notes that a primary responsibility of a bibliographer is to sort out the various editions of a book and their relationship to one another. Within the edition, the bibliographer must be aware of the various issues, states, and variants of all sorts. (page 9).<br />
<br />
I don't feel I can meet that responsibility with <i>Hoyle Made Familiar</i>. It's one big edition that stayed in print for three decades via stereotyping. I can see many different title pages with different stated editions (suggesting different impressions), different imprints, and often, as here, different printers (stereotypers), but how all these relate to one another is opaque to me.<br />
<br />
I've listed all the variants in my <a href="http://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/30.130.xml">online bibliography</a> (and have more work to do), but don't feel as if I know the story of <i>Hoyle Made Familiar</i>. <br />
<br />
<br /><b>References</b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Fredson Bowers, <i>Principles of Bibliographical Description</i> (Princeton University Press, 1949) </li>
<li>Philip Gaskell, <i>A New Introduction to Bibliography</i> (Oxford Clarendon, 1979)</li>
<li>R. J. Payne, "Four Children's Books by A. A. Milne" in <i>Studies in Bibliography, </i>23, 1970, 127-39.</li>
</ul>
David Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903897122730648287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5559915223029540012.post-34142429722266198712017-12-29T07:20:00.000-08:002020-07-14T11:26:12.430-07:002017: The Year in Collecting<br />
2017 was another quiet year in collecting. The highlights are two London Hoyles, two translations, and a couple of books that competed with Hoyle.<br />
<br />
First, an anecdote, and a book that is more of a curiosity than a highlight. There's an old chestnut in the rare book world: A customer calls up an English book dealer, saying "I have a book by Churchill's chauffeur. Is it worth anything?" The dealer, perhaps with eyes rolling asks, "By any chance is it autographed by the chauffeur?" The customer, excitedly, "Why yes! Yes it is!" "So sorry," replies the dealer. "Autographed copies are a glut on the market. It's the <i>unsigned </i>ones that are rare."<br />
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With that in mind, I acquired a "twelfth" edition of <i>Hoyle's Games</i>, described <a href="http://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/books/games.3.xmlhttp://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/books/games.3.xml">here</a>. I've written about the <a href="http://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2012/07/twelfth-edition.html">authorized</a> "twelfth" and its <a href="http://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2012/07/other-twelfth-editions.html">piracies</a>, noting many differences. The most salient is that the authorized editions are signed by Hoyle and by the lead publisher Thomas Osborne; the piracies are not. Well, here is a twist--a book that is authorized, signed by Osborne, but <i>not </i>signed by Hoyle. The condition is terrible, but the price was commensurate, so I'm amused to have this copy and will always associate it with Churchill's (presumably fictitious) chauffeur. <br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-s5NP_s78WD0/WkVMyN1_5FI/AAAAAAAAACs/q2Hkit5Zm289YOVX6CUcB8daZzlK8bW3ACLcBGAs/s1600/12%2528A%2529%2BTitle%2BVerso.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="677" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-s5NP_s78WD0/WkVMyN1_5FI/AAAAAAAAACs/q2Hkit5Zm289YOVX6CUcB8daZzlK8bW3ACLcBGAs/s200/12%2528A%2529%2BTitle%2BVerso.jpg" width="126" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">typical copy <br />
signed by Hoyle and Osborne</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; height: 243px; text-align: right; width: 245px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-C2y1pKqPtk0/WkVMAd4aYBI/AAAAAAAAACg/lBAgDzLA5kMRASgqOSZ31Yz7JwdYikqwwCLcBGAs/s1600/12th.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="516" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-C2y1pKqPtk0/WkVMAd4aYBI/AAAAAAAAACg/lBAgDzLA5kMRASgqOSZ31Yz7JwdYikqwwCLcBGAs/s200/12th.jpg" width="177" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">oddball copy <br />
signed by Osborne only</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Back to the more serious purchases. The best single item is a substantial condition upgrade, a copy of <a href="http://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/books/whist.3.xml"><i>Whist.3</i></a> (1743) in the original Dutch paper wrappers. Francis Cogan advertised his books as "done up in fine gold embossed paper" and this is what he meant. I am reliably informed
that such papers were actually made in Germany and the common term
"Dutch" is a corruption of "Deutsch." I like nothing better than a book in its original binding.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TdfuEUkf8MA/WjRbSvBX4vI/AAAAAAAAABw/QTCNJYv8BbMz8IAMfxbHTU2sTyIqavhfACLcBGAs/s1600/whist.3.cover.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="883" data-original-width="576" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TdfuEUkf8MA/WjRbSvBX4vI/AAAAAAAAABw/QTCNJYv8BbMz8IAMfxbHTU2sTyIqavhfACLcBGAs/s200/whist.3.cover.jpg" width="130" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Whist.3</i> wrapper</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Whist.3 </i>Hoyle autograph and title page. </td></tr>
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This was the second book to be autographed by Hoyle. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Epitome of Hoyle</i></td></tr>
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The other Hoyle is an <a href="http://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/books/jockey.1.xml">abridgement</a> from the early 1780s, one I write about in the <a href="http://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2014/06/">essay</a> "An Epitome of Hoyle, a Discovery, and two Coincidences." I'd never seen a copy for sale before and it was a treat to add this to the collection. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1821 Italian translation</td></tr>
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As my collection of London Hoyles grows more advanced, the biggest opportunity for me is continental <a href="http://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/search/label/translation">translations</a>. In 2012, I had <a href="http://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2012/03/more-translations-german-italian.html">written</a> that I was not aware of any Italian translation of Hoyle's <i>Whist. </i>I have since identified an 1821 Milan edition that came bound with an almanac. I found a <a href="http://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/books/whist.it.1.1.xml">copy</a> for sale and was surprised to see that it was in an original binding and did not include the almanac. The two books have different title pages, but otherwise the same setting of type. Hence they are two bibliographical <i>issues;</i> mine seems to be the only extant copy without the almanac.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1773 Liege imprint</td></tr>
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As I noted in another 2012 <a href="http://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2012/04/hoyle-in-french.html">essay</a>, Hoyle was translated into French more often than any other language. Sometimes, <i>Whist </i>was published as a stand-alone text. Other times it was included in the various editions of the <b style="font-weight: normal;"><i>Académie des Jeux. </i>The <a href="http://booksongaming.com/hoyle/bibliography/books/whist.fr.1773.a.xml">translation</a> at left was published in Belgium in 1773<i>. </i>All three copies I have seen, mine included, are bound with a 1774 copy of Greco's<i> </i></b><b style="font-weight: normal;"><i><span id="italic">Le Jeu des Échecs </span></i><span id="italic">translated from Italian. The book was reissued with a cancel title in 1781 with the imprint "Paris : Les libraires associés."</span><i><span id="italic"><br /></span></i></b></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;">Most of the card games from the <i>Académie des Jeux </i>were translated into English as the <i>Academy of Play. </i>The translation did not include Hoyle, avoiding potential copyright problems in London. In fact, the <i>Academy of Play</i> competed with Hoyle and was published both in London and Dublin in 1768. The </b><b style="font-weight: normal;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><i>Académies </i>presented only rules for games and not strategy, as noted in the footnote at right below. <i><br /></i></b></b></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Academy of Play<br />
Dublin (1768)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Academy of Play footnote</td></tr>
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The note identifies the need for a manual on the game of Quadrille, dismissing Hoyle as "nothing more than instructions for the better playing of those, who have already learned the Game; for it is impossible for any one to form any idea of the game by what is there laid down." Yes, strategy is what Hoyle was about, and the footnote has an ironic sound to me. <br />
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That brings us to <i>The Annals of Gaming</i> (1775). I was outbid on a copy in a 2004, but bid more aggressively this time--the book is quite rare in the trade. As I have <a href="http://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/search/label/Annals%20of%20Gaming">written</a>, <i>Annals </i>competed with Hoyle, but was focused more on cheating than on strategy. The essays originally appeared in the <a href="http://edmondhoyle.blogspot.com/2011/08/covent-garden-magazine.html"><i>Covent Garden Magazine</i></a>, a monthly periodical containing tame, but erotic engravings and essays, and a monthly article on gaming. <br />
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There were a handful of lesser acquisitions and an interesting book on the way, but that will have to wait for another time. <br />
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Happy New Year, everyone. Let's see what 2018 brings!David Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10903897122730648287noreply@blogger.com1