THIRTY YEARS PASSED AMONG THE PLAYERS IN ENGLAND AND AMERICA
First edition of this comedic memoir that contains the first depiction of a game of poker.
Very good plus.
Price: $2,800.00
THIRTY YEARS PASSED AMONG THE PLAYERS IN ENGLAND AND AMERICA
"Close by us was a party playing 'poker'. This was then exclusively a high-gambling Western game, founded on brag."
English comedian Joe Cowell recounts a great many autobiographical stories in THIRTY YEARS PASSED AMONG THE PLAYERS IN ENGLAND AND AMERICA, from Shakespearian shenanigans to horse-based cases of mistaken identities. The work was not particularly celebrated in its time, but one of Cowell's anecdotes has made it significant: the first depiction of a game of poker.
There are a scant two other mentions of poker that predate Cowell's description – the 1836 DRAGOON CAMPAIGNS TO THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS spares only a sentence to poker, while the 1843 EXPOSURE OF THE ARTS AND MISERIES OF GAMBLING (predictably) lambasts it as morally reprehensible. But the poker narration in THIRTY YEARS PASSED AMONG THE PLAYERS IN ENGLAND AND AMERICA would hardly be out of place in a movie: aboard a steamship on the Mississippi River, a colorful group of players vie for thousands of dollars, unaware that a card shark has made sure the results of the game will send the winnings straight to his pocket.
The early version of poker Cowell highlights was played with a 20-card deck and only a single round of betting, making bluffing "a much more difficult maneuver" (Williamson). A poker landmark.`
Read more: G. R. Williamson, "The Game of Draw Poker – A Brief History."
The Object
New York: Harper & Brothers, 1844. Full title: Thirty Years Passed Among the Players in England and America: Interspersed with Anecdotes and Reminiscences of a Variety of Persons, Directly or Indirectly Connected with the Drama During the Theatrical Life of Joe Cowell, Comedian. 8.75'' x 5.5''. Two parts in one volume. Modern black goatskin with blind-tooled suits of cards and gilt lettering. Edges speckled. 104 pages, both parts paginated continuously. Binding with a touch of wear. Leaves uniformly lightly toned, with scattered soil to margins. Shows well.
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