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"Play Ball." Stories of the Diamond Field by Mike Kelly of the Boston Base Ball Club
by Kelly, Mike
- Used
- good
- Paperback
- first
- Condition
- Good
- Seller
-
New York, New York, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Boston: Press of Emery & Hughes, 1888 First edition, first printing of Kelly's baseball memoir. Rebound in black cloth with titles in gilt to spine, olive endpapers, publisher's front wrapper bound in, wrapper lettered and illustrated in burgundy, with an engraved portrait of the author. A good copy, lacking the rear wrapper, front wrapper enclosed in laminate with light chipping and a bit of creasing to corners and fore edge, minor reinforcement to lower edge and fore edge of title page, repair to lower corners of dedication page and first page of preface, with a previous owner's pencil signature below Kelly's printed signature to p. 86. Overall, a rare survivor and an exceptionally rare book. Noted as the first ever memoir of a baseball player, Play Ball is a series of anecdotes and memoirs by the Boston Beaneaters player Mike "King" Kelly. An early innovator of the game, Kelly developed and popularized techniques like the hook slide, hit and run, and the idea that players could intentionally foul a ball in order to build up the pitch count. He was widely adored by fans of the sport, and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in its second class. First editions of this book are exceedingly scarce, with WorldCat locating only one copy.. First Edition. Original Wraps. Good.
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Details
- Bookseller
- B & B Rare Books, Ltd., ABAA
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- MKK003
- Title
- "Play Ball." Stories of the Diamond Field by Mike Kelly of the Boston Base Ball Club
- Author
- Kelly, Mike
- Format/Binding
- Paperback
- Book Condition
- Used - Good
- Edition
- First Edition
- Publisher
- Boston: Press of Emery & Hughes
- Date Published
- 1888
Terms of Sale
B & B Rare Books, Ltd., ABAA
~ All items are guaranteed as described. We recommend requesting pictures prior to purchasing. ~ Any items may be returned within seven days of receipt and in the same condition as originally sent. ~ We ship with FedEx, UPS and USPS. Please let us know if you prefer another shipping. ~ New York State are required to add 8.875% sales tax.
About the Seller
B & B Rare Books, Ltd., ABAA
Biblio member since 2006
New York, New York
About B & B Rare Books, Ltd., ABAA
Selling First Editions and Rare Books from all centuries. Specializing in 19th and 20th century literature, modern first editions, signed and inscribed books, early children's literature, and poetry.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Rebound
- A book in which the pages have been bound into a covering replacing the original covering issued by the publisher.
- Title Page
- A page at the front of a book which may contain the title of the book, any subtitles, the authors, contributors, editors, the...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Fore Edge
- The portion of a book that is opposite the spine. That part of a book which faces the wall when shelved in a traditional...
- Worldcat
- Worldcat is a collaborative effort produced by OCLC (Online Computer Library Center) and supported and used by 72,000 libraries...
- Chipping
- A defect in which small pieces are missing from the edges; fraying or small pieces of paper missing the edge of a paperback, or...
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