The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-05-20
ans ACCORDING 70 HOYLE."
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,Ins, who Hoylc IL and Why rs accord.
Ing Wv Hovle' tfohahly mt me In q hundred
knowa 10 most American players. and
saracially those ~ tho Rpntler aeN, Hoyle
h n mysterious hong. existing In some
unknown locality. and In snme pCcult WY
having authority 10 decide all paints that
have bcen ar can possibly 10 rai~rd reEard-
ing any card game under tho sun Most
of them are surprised when told that there
n no Hoylc and that he ceased To exist
loi these many generations.
Edmond Hoylc was n power among card
players In his time, el4e his name would not
have the weight II has centuries after hia
death. That he was n frisky young gentle
man seems evident, since he began his
writing Of scientific card game rules at the
tender age 81 70, n time when most modern
authors are ready to pIt the ren aside;
and he continued writing until cut down
In the flower Of his youth, and his ninetieth
year.
Hoyle was born in 1877? and his first work.
the famous short Treatise on the Game
OF Whist. was issued in l742. u was cir
culated in manuscript form at "A guinea
the COPY and the authors revenues we're
further augmented by deciding disputed
points at a guinea a decision and by giving
whist lessons at a guinea Il lesson.
Inc QtTlHDu lDT lie uldiluNtl lIt AitoNiHo
almost Immediately became so great that
Il was found necessary TO issue it in printed
form. The first printed edition was Issued
In i742. There Is but one known existing
copy of this edition and that is preserved
In the Bodleian Library at Oxford.
The book shows that he was a careless
editor, but possessed a vigorous style Of
writing and much originality. He was,
indeed, the first to write scientifically on
whist or on any card game,
Guineas, however, were probably as
scarce among the laity in those days az
now. and as a consequence OF the high price
OF his book and the difficulty Of securing cop
les Of it there quickly appeared a number Of
piracies. These were mostly copies Of
his later editions, but there is still in exist
eroe n pirated copy Of the first edition,
this oopy being preserved in the library
Of a playing card company in Cincinnati.
In this volume the gentleman" respo nsible
for the steal narvely defe nds himself as
follows:
myself. as you very we'll know. nm one Of
those unfortunate Beings. that being pos
sessed Of a pretty handsome Fortune. and
having a great deal OF idle Time upon their
Hands. constantly spend n little Portion OF 1t
In Gaming. The Game Of Whist Ia that which
take most Delight in. and till Of late fancied
myself all along n pretty good Master Of il.
But, to my VeSation. IL is not long since | lost
considerable Sum of Money one Night at IL,
and yet | could not perceive that the Cards
run extraordinary cross against ne. so that |
could not but conclude | was beat by supe-
YIor Skill. This put me upon enuuirinR into
the Cause, for ! was very far from imputiug
my Misfortune to unfair Play; and at last ]
found that there was n Treatise on the Game
Of Whist lately dispersed among n few Hands at
aGuinea Price. How TO come at one OF these
Books ! knew not: but at length I wrote 10 an
acouaintance of mine in London TO purchase
H. for me.bv all Means. which he accordingly
did. with. no small Difficulty,
As soon as | had perused it. I found I had
heretofore been hut a Bungler at this Game.
and being thoroughly sensible Of the Ad-
vanta &c, which those that are possessed OF
this Book have over the innocent Player,
thought 7 could not oblige my Friends better
than by printing q few Of them 10 make pres
ents of. Accordingly I applied TO n Stationer.
who offered to make me n Present of half n
Hundred Of them, provided l would allow
him to print n few more Tor his own Use
This I readily compiled with, especially in
consideration of the Imposition and Hard
ehip the Puhlick lay under; first by not being
able TO get the said Book under n Guinea.
and then by it's being reserved only in a few
Hands, that might make a bad Use OF it.
For tho a Man OF superior Skill In these
Amusements, that takes an Advantage OF
an ignorant Player. cannot, according TO the
common Acceptation OF the Word. be deemed
a Sharper. yet. when he pursues that Ad-
vantage, after he has found out the Weak
ness Of his Antagonist. II must he confessed
that II he is not a Sharper, he is at least very
near akin TO one.
Thus much ] have thought At to acduaint
you with, in regard to my Conduct in this
Affair, which | hope will receive the Tom
mend ations of every honest well meaning
Man and fair Gamester. and yours in par
ticular, which Ia the greatest Ambition OF
Your sincere Friend, and
humble Servant.
Hoyle and his publishers probably failed
10 sec the commercial justice of this plea
at least it is known that they Immediately
instituted legal proceedings to prevent the
unauthorized editions. Their widespread
existence had forced them to reduce the
price of the Treatise" in the second edition
TO two shillings a copy, and in the TO urtt
e edition. published in 17iS, the following nos
tice was inserted and repeated in subse'
auent editions until the time Of the author
death:
The Proprietor OF the following Treats
- 4 MI