Wednesday 5 October 2016

Chess Texts printed before 1850. Part 3

This is the final instalment of the main chess publications in English recorded in Chess Texts in the English Language, printed before 1850, by Whyld and Ravilious, covering the years 1836 to 1849.

This period saw the advent of the first chess periodicals, and the publication of George Walker's historically important Chess Studies in 1844, which included over 1,000 games played during the previous fifty years. Howard Staunton also emerged as England's foremost chess author and his publications quickly became the standard chess reference works replacing the manuals and treatises of Sarratt, Lewis, Walker and others.  
 
I have made many notes in my copy of Chess Texts and some of the observations that I have noted follow:

1672:1  The Famous Game of Chesse-Play   by Saul / Barbier.   Both Murray, in A History of Chess, Oxford, 1913, page 841, and Schmid in Literatur des Schachspiels, Wien, 1847, page 122, list an edition dated 1673. Murray also lists a 1676 edition but does not mention the 1680 edition recorded in Chess Texts.

1793:2 Benjamin Franklin. Another early occurrence of The Morals of Chess is in The Sentimental and Masonic Magazine for January 1793.

1830:1 The Bibliographical and Retrospective Miscellany. The list of works on the game of chess was compiled by George Walker as explained in my article of 15th March 2016.

1832:2 Encyclopaedia Britannica with John Donaldson's Treatise on the Game of Chess. In The Philidorian, 1838, George Walker states on page 232 that "a few copies were printed for private circulation"  

1836:10 The article on Stroebeck, taken from Lewis's Second Series of Lessons, London, 1832, was previously included in The Penny Magazine for 1st June 1833, page 216.



1841:6 The Year Book of Daily Recreation and Information by William Hone. Several items on chess are listed in this Chess Texts entry, however all of these, and more on chess, are included in  the first edition of Hone's Year Book published in 1832. The chess content of this volume warrants a separate article.



The main chess publications in English from 1836 to 1849:

1836:12 Walker, George, Chess made easy
1836:13 Walker,William Greenwood, A selection of games at chess
1837:2   Alexandre, Encyclopedie des echecs
1837:9   The Philidorian
1837:13 Walker, G., Chess: the match played by... Paris and Westminster
1838:3   Lewis, The chess-board companion
1839:1   The chess-players handbook (Handbooks for the million)
1840:4   Huttmann, Curious chess problems
1840:5   Huttmann, Games of chess
1840:13 Huttmann, The Palamede
1840:14 Pinnock, A catechism of chess
1840:22 Walker, G., Catalogue of writers on chess
1841:2   Dearborn, The chess-player
1841:3   The chess  player's chronicle
1842:2   Pierson, Chess exemplified
1844:1   Brown, Chess problems
1844:6   Lewis, A treatise on the game of chess
1844:10 Walker, Chess Studies
1845:6   Kuiper, One hundred and twenty problems
1845:13 Tomlinson, Amusements in chess
1845:15 Williams, Souvenir of the Bristol Chess Club
1846:1   Alexandre, The beauties of chess
1846:2   The American chess magazine
1846:6   The chess palladium and mathematical sphinx
1846:8   Stanley, Thirty-one games at chess
1846:9   Walker, The art of chess-play
1847:3   Jaenisch, Jaenisch's chess preceptor
1847:4   Kenny, Charles, The manual of chess
1847:7   Staunton, The chess-player's handbook
1848:1   Agnel, Chess for winter evenings
1848:2   Beeby, An account of the late chess match ... Staunton and Lowe 
1848:12 Vogt (Lewis), Letters on chess
1849:5   Kling, The chess euclid
1849:6   Staunton, The chess-player's companion
1849:7   Staunton, The chess-player's text book  
           


1836:13

1837:9 (from facsimile edition, 1987)

1844:6

1845:13
1846:9
1847:7



1848:12




1848:12



1849:6

                                       © Michael Clapham 2016

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