EXTRAORDINARILY SCARCE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THE RULES OF AMERICAN BASEBALL, IN CARVER’S ILLUSTRATED BOOK OF SPORTS, BOSTON 1834, “ONLY ABOUT A DOZEN COPIES KNOWN TO EXIST”

CARVER, Robin. The Book of Sports. Boston: Lilly, Wait, Colman, and Holden, 1834. Square 12mo, original blue-green cloth rebacked with the original spine laid down, original illustrated cover label. Housed in custom clamshell box.

First edition of this fascinating rule book of popular children’s games, illustrated with numerous in-text wood-engravings and containing the first description of how to play baseball, with the first picture to show a baseball game in progress.

“For a portion of my materials… I have been indebted to the English edition of [William Clarke’s] Boy’s Own Book, the price of which places it beyond the reach of most young people in this country.” In 15 concise chapters, Robin Carver sets out to provide America’s youth with the rules of such popular games as “Blind Man’s Buff,” “Hide and Seek,” “Marbles,” “Cricket,” “Prisoner’s Base,” “Quoits,” “Leap-Frog,” “Snow-Balling” and any number of the childhood pursuits of gymnastics, swimming, skating, magic tricks, and parlor games. Of exceptional interest is his description of “Base, or Goal Ball”—the first publication of the rules of American baseball (no longer child’s play), accompanied by a wonderful wood-engraving of a game in progress on Boston Common. In the text, the baseball diamond is delineated with the letters a-e (a at home, b at third, c at second, d at first and e on the mound). “One of the party,” Carver indicates, “who is out [on defense], places himself at e. He tosses the ball gently toward a, on the right of which one of the in-party places himself, and strikes the ball, if possible, with his bat… On striking the ball he drops the bat and runs [and here Carver has it backwards from today’s rules] toward b… If, however, any of the out-players who may happen to have the ball, strike him with it in his progress… he is out.” This marks “the first time that the name of base ball was associated with a diamond-shaped infield configuation… a great American rarity, with only about a dozen copies known to exist” (Block & Wiles, 197). Early owner signature and gift inscription, with light pencil rubbings of contemporary coins.

A near-fine copy, with only occasional patches of foxing. Extremely scarce source book for the great American sport.