The Royall Game of Chesse-play, sometimes the recreation of the late King, with many of the nobility, illustrated with almost an hundered gambetts: being the study of Biochimo the famous Italian
The Royall Game of Chesse-play, sometimes the recreation of the late King, with many of the nobility, illustrated with almost an hundered gambetts: being the study of Biochimo the famous Italian
The Royall Game of Chesse-play, sometimes the recreation of the late King, with many of the nobility, illustrated with almost an hundered gambetts: being the study of Biochimo the famous Italian
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  • Load image into Gallery viewer, The Royall Game of Chesse-play, sometimes the recreation of the late King, with many of the nobility, illustrated with almost an hundered gambetts: being the study of Biochimo the famous Italian
  • Load image into Gallery viewer, The Royall Game of Chesse-play, sometimes the recreation of the late King, with many of the nobility, illustrated with almost an hundered gambetts: being the study of Biochimo the famous Italian

The Royall Game of Chesse-play, sometimes the recreation of the late King, with many of the nobility, illustrated with almost an hundered gambetts: being the study of Biochimo the famous Italian

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Author: Giacchino Greco (1600-1634)

Year: 1656

Publisher: Henry Herringman

Place: London

Description:

[8]+120 pages with errata, frontispiece portrait of King Charles I and one illustration. Duodecimo (5 ½" x 3 ½") issued in leather with ribbed spine and gilt lettering on red label. There are two variants. This is the second variant lacking "To his honoured friend on his game of chesse-play, with printed signature of R Lovelace". (DeLucia 32p) (Van der Linde-Niemeijeriana 395) (Whyld and Ravillous p 22) first edition into English.

Giachino Greco, also known as Il Calabrese, was one of the strongest chess players in his day. He traveled throughout Europe teaching chess and writing manuscripts which contained openings and games. His influence did much to promote interest in chess in those countries which he visited. In 1621 he earned 5,000 crowns by defeating France's three leading players.

Translation of Greco's Trattato de nobilissimo giuoco degli sacacchi. Most authorities attribute the translation to Francis Beal, whose signature as the book's editor appears at the end of the "Epistle dedicatory". Of the threepoems which appear in the preliminaries, the first is by Richard Lovelace and the second by E Revet; the third is anonymous, and consists of a set of commendatory verses addressed to "Dr Budden", who for this reason has be cited by some authorities as the work's translator. As printed, the final line of Lovelace's poem reads: "Bluster'd and clutter'd wisely for, you play. In some, though not all, copies the word "wisely" has benn crossed through, as directed in the errata. Later publications of Lovdelace's poetry omit the word. (This copy has the word marked out). The frontispiece is a portrait of Charles I, engraved by P Stent. J A Leon, in his bibliographical appendix to The games of Greco (1900), notes that there are two states of this edition, distinguishable by the fact that in most copies the poem on the recto of the fifth preliminary leaf is headed by a vignette and has no signature; whereas in other copies it is headed "To his honoured Friend on his Game of Chesse-Play" and is signed "R" Lovelace". On "Biochimo" H A Kennedy notes Greco's Christian name was Giaochino, which either from some obscurity in the MS or blunder on the part of the translator, was transmutted on the title-page into Biochimo; but the reason of the total omission of the author's surname, Greco, from his own book, is not so evident.

Condition:

Frontispiece portrait edge repaired, heal edges trimmed affecting date, some occasional marginalia else a very good copy recased in original leather with raised bands.