John Blackbridge

Rare first edition of this foundational work on poker.

• John Blackbridge (American).
• New York: Advance Publishing Co, 1875.
• viii, [9]-284, 6, ads] pp, errata slip at p. 11.
• Octavo.
• Publisher's green cloth stamped in black and gilt.
• Newspaper clippings tipped in to endpapers and at pp. iii and 127 (with offsetting), previous owners' names to bottom-edge of text block.

It is, along with Winterblossom's The Game of Draw Poker (1875), the earliest published work dedicated solely to poker. Blackbridge – described on the title as an attorney, though the name is possibly a pseudonym — attempts to legitimize poker, and gambling and gaming in general, harmonizing it with Christian values and drawing comparisons to generally respected professions that trade in risk, such as that of banker and insurance provider. Beyond the moralizing tone, Blackbridge's work provides a technical and probabilistic discussion of the game, and includes a section on "Probabilities at Draw-Poker" by Dr. Pole. The rules printed in Chapter XIX are adapted from Schenck's Rules and The American Hoyle. Blackbridge's book was reviewed in the 8 April 1875 edition of The New York Times, the reviewer barely able to disguise his disgust with the game of poker, though acknowledging the work's usefulness and completeness. A second edition was published in 1880 and a third in 1884. Rare — OCLC locates just one copy, at Kent State University.

p. 11 Jessel 121.

Horr 167.

Hargrave p. 427.