I’ve always been a fan of vintage books and libraries (as well as a fan of movies featuring them, like The Ninth Gate) and this provided some inspiration to take a closer look at some of the older bridge books out there and how they came to be. Here are 3 great vintage bridge books and the stories behind them.
A Short Treatise on the Game of Whist by Edmond Hoyle
Published in 1743
Hoyle was an 18th century pioneer within board and card games, and A Short Treatise on the Game of Whist is considered one of the first official accounts of the game, published from Hoyle’s own instructional notes.
The publisher was Francis Cogan, to whom Hoyle sold the rights for the Treatise to for 100 guineas.
Francis Cogan was a notorious publisher of the time, and not known for being particularly successful. Francis also involved in the translation of The Virtuous Villager, originally written by Charles de Fleux Mouhy and translated by Eliza Haywood. His name even appears in The History of England (Volume 3) as “Mr. Francis Cogan, Bookfeller.”
A feller, of course, is someone who fells – a term that can mean “to knock, strike, shoot or cut down; cause to fall” or “to finish a seam by sewing the edge down flat” according to Dictionary.com.
Almost immediately, the text was plagiarised, republished and attributed to “a gentleman” instead of Hoyle.
This prompted Cogan to ask that future copies be autographed by Hoyle as authentic ones.
Bridge: Its Principles and Rules of Play by JB Elwell
Published in 1903
Joe Elwell was known by a few names, including the Bridge King (at least in Manhattan, New York) and the Wizard of Whist – and he published several authoritative books on bridge during his lifetime. Principles and Rules of Play was published in 1903,
Behind the book, the death of JB Elwell is considered one of the most mysterious murders to ever occur. His body was discovered on the 11th of June, 1920, found in his chair with a single gunshot wound in a room that had been locked from the inside. There were no fingerprints, no useful clues – and no gun in the room.
The original NY Times article from 1920 notes “J.B. ELWELL, WHIST EXPERT AND RACE HORSE OWNER SLAIN”
His murder still remains unsolved today.
Contract Bridge Blue Book by Ely Culbertson
Published in 1930
When I asked Zia Mahmood which books he’d recommend to players, the Blue Book was one of the first (and now, I always have either a hard copy or an e-book not too far away).
If you dig a little further into vintage items, you might find copies of “Bridge” and “Bridge at a Glance” booklets by Culbertson that were handed out with Chesterfield cigarettes at the time back when smoking in public was still acceptable everywhere.
Why the blue book? The term refers to the fact that antique ledgers used by the UK Parliament used to be bound in blue – thus, authoritative texts and manuals often carry the term. The UK National Accounts (or reports on the country’s economy) are published as the yearly Blue Book.