Thirty Years of Billiards - Willie Hoppe - Bauman Rare Books

Thirty Years of Billiards

Willie HOPPE

Item#: 70529 We're sorry, this item has been sold

Thirty Years of Billiards

“I HAVE FOUND BILLIARDS TO BE MORE THAN A GAME; I HAVE FOUND IT TO BE A PHILOSOPHY OF SELF-CONTROL”

HOPPE, Willie. Thirty Years of Billiards. New York and London: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1925. Octavo, original blue cloth gilt.

First edition, second printing, of Hoppe’s autobiography, illustrated with 11 black-and-white photographic plates and 36 instructional diagrams.

“Hoppe’s father had been an itinerant barber and successful professional billiards player… Willie and his brother Frank spent far more time practicing billiards under the demanding and sometimes harsh regimen of their father than they did in school. Willie dropped out of school after the fourth grade and spent eight-hour days around the billiard table. By 1899 he was hailed a ‘boy wonder’ as he stood on a wooden crate making brilliant shots, his peculiar sidearm strokes sending the ivory balls rolling smoothly over the green baize. For the rest of his life Hoppe’s world was bounded by the four corners of a billiard table… Hoppe gained early sporting immortality in Paris on January 15, 1906, when the 18-year-old defeated the world champion, the venerable ‘Old Lion,’ Maurice Vignaux… ‘Wonderful Willie’ was nearly unbeatable for two generations” (ANB). In these pages, Hoppe not only recounts his career, including that legendary victory over Vignaux, but also instructs readers in the finer points of the game, from the basic stroke to balk line strategy. Without scarce original dust jacket.

Slight rubbing to spine ends. Gilt bright. A fresh and fine copy.

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Aquatint Copperplate process by which the plate is “bitten” by exposure to acid. By changing the areas of the plate that are exposed and the length of time the plate is submerged in the acid bath, the engraver can obtain fine and varying shades of gray that closely resemble watercolor washes. Although the name contains the word “tint”, this is a black-and-white printing process; aquatint plates can often be hand colored, however.
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