This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 1/30/2021
[Poker] Schenck, Hon. General Robert C[umming]. Draw Poker [cover title]. [New York?], 1875. Pamphlet, printed brown and pale pink wrappers. 8pp. Approx. 32mo (4 5/8 x 2 ¾”). Covers chipped and skinned, else very good. Remarkably rare pamphlet which contains the first recorded rules of poker in book form. Schenck, a U.S. diplomat, introduced the game to members of Queen Victoria’s court in 1872. The rules he wrote down were published privately that year by a Duchess for distribution to guests. As here, the next known printing was in 1875, in New York, followed by a Brooklyn printing in 1880. The rules were also incorporated into John Keller’s “Game of Draw Poker” (1887). Interestingly on this printing, an extra feature of the game, the “straddle,” is described on the back cover, signed by an author by the name “Arkansas.”