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NOBLE JEU DE BILLARD. COUPS EXTRAORDINAIRES ET SURPRENANTS.
([Paris: s.n., 1827). 339 x 247 mm. (13 1/4 x 9 3/4"). 3 p.l., 40 pp. FIRST EDITION.
Contemporary (presumably original) wine red moiré silk, upper cover framed by gilt rule with elaborately curling passionflower vines at corners, lower cover with gilt centerpiece, flat spine, white moiré-textured endpapers. Lithographed throughout. With portrait of the author and 40 FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS of billiard shots, the billiard ball in motion colored by hand red, blue, or yellow. Spine slightly sunned, very minor wear to the fragile binding, the final five leaves with a couple of light but noticeable (wax?) stains. Even with this one problem, a really excellent copy, the silk binding surprisingly well preserved, and the lithographs still sharp.
In an attractive contemporary silk binding, this quite rare, entirely lithographed "Noble Game of Billiards" represents a major sporting publication composed by a former convict whose accomplishments at the felted table were widely acknowledged. Made up of 40 plates, enhanced here with contemporary hand-coloring, the book lays out the exact technique of various shots, the trajectories of the balls charmingly demonstrated with coiled lines indicating the spin imparted. Our author, French infantry officer and billiards master François Mingaud (1771-1847), is best known for pioneering the leather tip for a billiards cue, allowing for greater precision and spin. A rather colorful character, he had become an expert in billiards while imprisoned at Bicêtre for support of the anti-Napoleonic conspiracy of Georges Cadoudal. Following his release in 1807, he toured Europe, demonstrating his trick shots and overall mastery of the game and then composed the present work to share his knowledge and further cement the reputation he had established. While not the first book published on billiards--rules of the game had appeared in general gaming books starting in the 17th century, and a couple of billiards-specific books had been published in the early 19th century--this a landmark publication, being the first to discuss comprehensively the game as we know it today. "Noble Jeu de Billiard" is rare: OCLC finds only two copies of the first edition in institutional collections, one in the United States, and we are able to trace just three copies at auction. (ST20817)
Price: $8,500.00