RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR THE SWORD EXERCISE OF THE CAVALRY TO WHICH IS ADDED, THE RULES FOR DRILL, AND THE EVOLUTIONS OF THE LIGHT CAVALRY
Baltimore: Robert H. Craig, 1812. First Thus. Hardcover. Collectible Fair. Item #2111025
First printing thus of a work that was originally published in England in the late 1700s. I do know if that earlier work was revised for American application. Calf. 215pp. Illustrated: Twenty-six (26) plates (better to call them drawings as the paper is the same as the text) are present (there are two #23s, but different drawings and no #22, leading us to believe there was simply an error in numbering), five (5) of which are folding. Other copies many years ago either called for 25, 26, or 27 drawings, although only 25 or 26 were present. The non-folding drawings are in vg condition. The five (5) folding drawings have various repairs and some paper loss. One of them is trimmed at the bottom with some image loss. Another is missing the leading edge and possibly the first word of the caption, but the image is almost complete. Early non-authorial gift presentation in ink on ffep, "Presented to Mr. Malsay (?) by his friend Edward B____." One page Introduction by the publisher, "Teacher of Military Tactics, Baltimore, June, 1812," in which Craig concludes, "Having examined the different works on the [title], I take the liberty of recommending this work to the Cavalry of the United States, as possessing advantages over any other work now in use." Condition: Fair. Front hinge broken; back hinge just starting. Joints sound. Leaves with various small nicks and occasional margin punctures. One page torn across but repaired with archival material, as are some of the folding illustrations. Intro page with repaired tear. Back two leaves (one is the blank rear free end paper) with margin chip. Seven leaves (14pp) are bound out of place and were so noted in ink by an early reader. Rare. To our knowledge the last time a copy of this edition was offered for sale was in 1995, at auction, and only a handful of copies have been offered for sale in the last 112 years.
Price: $750.00