Tennis

1886 · 249568 — New York: Peck & Snyder 1886. 22; 42 pp. Illustrated with diagrams and wood engravings. 1 vols. 16mo. Original beige printed wrappers. Small inkspot on upper cover small chips from spine otherwise an excellent copy of a rare fragile and important work. 22; 42 pp. Illustrated with diagrams and wood engravings. 1 vols. 16mo. The Origins of Modern Tennis and the USLTA. A fascinating glimpse into the early days of a a sport just getting organized in the United States The United States National Lawn Tennis Association was founded in 1881 at the Fifth Avenue Hotel in New York City by a group of young players who wished to standardize the rules of the game and promote the sport later in 1920 "National" was dropped and the organization became simply the USLTA. The Rules they adopted eventually became a standard reference for aficionados of the fledgling sport.<br/> All early editions of the Rules of the game are quite rare including this 1886 printing and they can be divided into two groups of titles: those using "Official Rules" and those using "Playing Rules".<br/>According to Phelps & Sabine editions of the THE OFFICIAL LAWN TENNIS RULES AS ADOPTED etc. appeared in 1881 Philadelphia Lippincott and 1882 Boston Wright & Dixon; but no copies of either of these editions is to be found in OCLC which lists however editions of 1885 and 1889 under that title.<br/>Also following Phelps & Sabine THE PLAYING RULES AS ADOPTED etc. was first published in New York in 1884 by Peck & Snyder. OCLC finds only one copy of that edition Brown University; Phelps & Sabine also refer to editions of 1886 this and 1889 -- however no copy of the 1886 edition is described. OCLC locates 3 copies: at St. Johns Yale and NY Public. The Racquet and Tennis CLub Library also holds a copy.<br/><br/>The first section contains "The Laws of Lawn Tennis" and "The Constitution and By-Laws" of the fledgling Association with a section on "Cases and Decisions" by James Wright; the second section contains the "Rules of Umpires" a discussion of various rackets and balls Peck & Snyder manufacturers and illustrated ads for footwear lawn markers nets tennis paraphernalia etc. Finally there is a list of over 40 Clubs belonging to the Association including the "Cheynenne Lawn Tennis Club" in Wyoming with 50 members.<br/><br/>Copies of any of these USLTA incunabula are quite rare and when found quite fragile. Phelps & Sabine p. 203; Racquet and Tennis Club Dictionary Catalogue 1970 2:414; OCLC 3 copies: Yale St. Johns and NY Public Peck & Snyder unknown books