Franklin, [Benjamin]

Chess Made Easy, New and comprehensive rules for playing the game of chess; with examples [... ]To which is prefixed a pleasing account of its origin: ... and the Morals of Chess, written by ... Dr. Franklin

London: Printed for J. Harris, 1806. 12mo, b&w frontis plate, pp 72. Rebound in patterned cloth, new endpapers. Frontis illustration of a chess board and chess pieces, engraved by H.D. Symonds, 1797. Frontis chipped to corners with some loss at upper page. Most pages darkened, especially to the corners, which are creased with some loss to edges to earlier pages not affecting the text. Scattered foxing and small occasional marks. Good condition.

A history of chess, with examples of strategic moves by noted chess players. Famously includes an essay on "The Morals of Chess" by Benjamin Franklin, the American polymath and Founding Father. Franklin writes: "The game of chess is not merely an idle amusement. Several very valuable qualities of the mind, useful in the course of human life, are to be acquired or strengthened by it, so as to become habits, ready on all occasions. For life is a kind of chess, in which we have often points to gain, and competitors or adversaries to contend with, and in which there is a vast variety of good and ill events, that are, in some degree, the effects of prudence or the want of it." Franklin also urges kindness and civility towards one's opponent. The American edition of "Chess Made Easy", published in 1802, was the earliest known book on chess printed in America. An early English edition printed in 1806 with a frontispiece of a chess board. Uncommon. Item #103977

Price (AUD): $650.00   Other currencies