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In: How To ...·Sports/Hobbies·Encyclopedias/Dictionaries/Reference
Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #42172.
Every Boy’s Book presents itself as an exhaustive reference for young readers interested in sport, games and practical pastimes. The opening pages explain that the work could not have been compiled by a single author; instead a roster of noted specialists, from Professor Pepper and the Rev. J. G. Wood to Henry Chadwick, the American authority on billiards, baseball and lacrosse, contributed articles across a sprawling catalogue of activities. The preface, dated Christmas 1868, outlines a collaborative effort that brings together the expertise of writers, illustrators and engravers, promising a breadth of instruction that ranges from simple outdoor games like hop‑scotch to detailed treatments of cricket, archery, gymnastics and even scientific amusements such as acoustics and electricity.
The tone is that of a Victorian instructional manual, earnest and descriptive, with a measured, didactic voice that reflects the educational ideals of the mid‑nineteenth century. Its exhaustive listings, technical diagrams and step‑by‑step instructions will appeal to readers who relish thoroughness, boys (and adults) who enjoy hands‑on learning, historical sports, and the curiosity‑driven experiments that once filled schoolrooms and parlors alike.
The opening · free to read
In carrying out this work much valuable assistance has been given by Professor Pepper, the Rev. J. G. Wood, W. B. Tegetmeier, Clement Scott, Sidney Daryl, J. T. Burgess, Dr. Viner, Thomas Archer, W. Robinson of the Field, Cholmondeley Pennell, and other well-known writers on sports.
The articles at the end of this work on American Billiards, Base Ball, and the Canadian sport of La Crosse, have been contributed by Henry Chadwick, the leading authority on these games in America.
CHRISTMAS, 1868.
PREFACE TO THE ORIGINAL EDITION.
It would be impossible for a single author to produce a book of this description with a fair prospect of success, because it necessarily treats of many subjects; and a perfect acquaintance with some of the more important would occupy a lifetime. The reading and researches of one man would not be sufficiently extensive to embrace the rich variety of the materials required. Being fully convinced of this fact, the Publishers have endeavoured to obtain the aid of the most distinguished writers in the various departments of knowledge which the following pages are intended to illustrate. Thus each contributor, in furnishing his quota of information for the work, has been engaged in a congenial task, one best suited to his peculiar turn of mind, as well as to his individual acquirements, and one upon which he could, therefore, with the greatest ease and accuracy dilate. This brief explanation will show in what spirit the Publishers embarked in the undertaking; and the accompanying list of the writers may be received as a proof that they have succeeded in securing the services of the most competent authorities. With that portion of the book with which he was practically acquainted each of the following gentlemen has dealt: W. Martin, Esq., C. Baker, Esq., R. B. Wormald, Esq., J. F. Wood, Esq., A. McLaren, Esq., Stonehenge, author of “Rural Sports,” and the Rev. J. G. Wood, author of several works on Natural History, who also furnished some of the designs. The remaining illustrations are by William Harvey and Harrison Weir; and the credit for the able manner in which they have been engraved is due to the brothers Dalziel.
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