København, Fabers og Nitschke, 1786.
8vo. In contemporary half calf with four raised bands. Binding with wear and scratches. Internally with light occassional browning. With woodcut title-page. XVI, 248 pp.
First edition of one of the earliest Danish books devoted to games and gaming also being an important source for the history of leisure and social life in 18th-century Denmark. The work gives rules and instructions for a long list of card and board games including L’Hombre, Quadrille, Piquet, Reversy, Tresett, Taroc, Whist, billiards, chess, Verkehr, Trictrac and Toccategli. Of particular interest is the section on Taroc (Tarok) pp. 115–126 which contains what has been described as the first Danish set of rules for the game of Tarok. Melbye describes the 78-card pack and its 21 trumps including the Pagaten and provides a detailed account of the rules and scoring.
Order-nr.: 63238