The ''Badminton Library'', called in full ''The Badminton Library of Sports and Pastimes'', was a sporting and publishing project conceived by Longmans Green & Co. and edited by

Henry Somerset, 8th Duke of Beaufort Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beaufort KG, PC, DL (1 February 1824 – 30 April 1899), styled Earl of Glamorgan until 1835 and Marquess of Worcester from 1835 to 1853, was a British peer, soldier, and Conservative Party politic ...

(1824–1899). Between 1885 and 1902 it developed into a series of sporting books which aimed to cover comprehensively all major sports and pastimes. The books were published in London by Longmans, Green & Co.Badminton Library
at wychwoodbooks.com (accessed 3 April 2008) and in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

by Little, Brown & Co. The series was dedicated to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, "one of the best and keenest sportsmen of our time".Badminton Collection – Special Collection (SPC.10)
online at staffs.ac.uk (accessed 3 April 2008)
at the Rare Book & Manuscript Library of the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Uni ...

(Item 31: Golf in 1890, Item 32: Skating in 1892, Item 33: Cricket in 1888, Item 34: Cycling in 1887) online at library.uiuc.edu (accessed 3 April 2008)

Editor

The founder of the Library, the Duke of Beaufort, acted as its overseeing editor, assisted by Alfred E. T. Watson, and chose authors who were authorities in their fields. Explaining his purpose, the Duke said:

Description

The ''Badminton Library'' was originally published in twenty-eight volumes between 1885 and 1896. To these was later added ''Rowing & Punting'' (1898), superseding ''Boating'' (1888). New volumes for ''Athletics'' (1898) and ''Football'' (1899) supplemented the original ''Athletics and Football'' (1887). In 1902, the final entirely new volume, ''Motors and Motor-Driving'', covered a new sport, and lastly there was a new edition of ''Cricket'' in 1920. On the combining of athletics and football in a single volume, Mike Huggins says in ''The Victorians and Sport'' (2004) that it suggests "...that football's leading place was not yet assured amongst the more literate reading public." The original volume on ''Cricket'' (1888) has sixteen chapters on topics such as 'Batting', 'Bowling', 'Fielding', and 'Umpires'. It defines the

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influe ...

as "The Parliament of Cricket" and describes the sport as "Our National Game". Allan Gibson Steel wrote the chapter on bowling. ''Cycling'' (1887), by

Viscount Bury A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

, notes that riding the

tricycle A tricycle, sometimes abbreviated to trike, is a human-powered (or gasoline or electric motor powered or assisted, or gravity powered) three-wheeled vehicle. Some tricycles, such as cycle rickshaws (for passenger transport) and freight trikes ...

and bicycle, whether by women or by men, "is by far the most recent of all sports in the Badminton Library of Sports and Pastimes. There is none which has developed more rapidly in the last few years." It considers that "England may be looked upon as the Home of Cycling" and quotes

Thomas Huxley Thomas Henry Huxley (4 May 1825 – 29 June 1895) was an English biologist and anthropologist specialising in comparative anatomy. He has become known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. The stori ...

's words to the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

: "Since the time of

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's '' Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Pe ...

, no improvement had added anything to the speed or strength attainable by the unassisted powers of man", commenting that a bicyclist had recently raced 146 miles in only ten hours. ''Skating'' (1892) deals first with 'Origins and Development', '

Figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...

', and 'Recreation and Racing', noting that

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former Provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

was "the Skater's Paradise" and giving a list of racing records since the 1820s, then continues with chapters on

Curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns slidi ...

Toboggan A toboggan is a simple sled traditionally used by children. It is also a traditional form of transport used by the Innu and Cree of northern Canada. In modern times, it is used on snow to carry one or more people (often children) down a hill ...

ing, Ice-Sailing and

Bandy Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two teams wearing ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal. The international governing body for bandy is ...

. Laura and Guy Waterman's ''Yankee Rock & Ice'' (2002) calls the Badminton Library "a quaint turn-of-the-century British series", while a review of the publication ''Collectors Guide to the Badminton Library of Sports and Pastimes'' says of the books: Two useful series for purposes of comparison are the slightly later ''

American Sportsman's Library The ''American Sportsman's Library'' is a series of 16 uniformly-bound volumes on sporting subjects, from an American perspective, published by the Macmillan Company (see Macmillan Publishers) in the period 1902-1905. Caspar Whitney, the owner/ ...

'' and the ''Lonsdale Library of Sports, Games and Pastimes'' ( Seeley, Service & Co.).

Editions

The ''Badminton Library'' was published in three different formats: #The standard trade edition:

octavo Octavo, a Latin word meaning "in eighth" or "for the eighth time", (abbreviated 8vo, 8º, or In-8) is a technical term describing the format of a book, which refers to the size of leaves produced from folding a full sheet of paper on which multip ...

, bound in brown illustrated cloth. #The deluxe edition: octavo, bound in half blue Morocco, gilt titles to the spines and bright orange boards with a gilt coat of arms to the upper board, top page edges gilt. #The large paper deluxe edition: large octavo or

quarto Quarto (abbreviated Qto, 4to or 4º) is the format of a book or pamphlet produced from full sheets printed with eight pages of text, four to a side, then folded twice to produce four leaves. The leaves are then trimmed along the folds to produc ...

, a limited edition of only two hundred and fifty copies, also bound in half blue Morocco and much the same in appearance as the deluxe edition.

Name

The name 'Badminton Library' was derived from that of Duke of Beaufort's principal

country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peop ...

Badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players p ...

in Gloucestershire. There is no volume in the series on the sport of Badminton, named after the same house.

Bibliography

*Volume 1: ''Hunting'' (1885, by the Duke of Beaufort & Mowbray Morris, with contributions by the 18th Earl of Suffolk, 11th of Berkshire, the Rev. E. W. L. Davies, Digby Collins, Alfred Watson, Sir Marteine Lloyd, George Longman and J.T. Gibbons) *Volume 2: ''Fishing: Salmon & Trout'' (1885, 1st of 2 volumes) *Volume 3: ''Fishing: Pike & Coarse Fish'' (1885, by H. Cholmondeley-Pennel, with contributions from other authors) *Volume 4: ''Racing & Steeple-Chasing'' (1886, ''Racing'' by the 18th Earl of Suffolk & W. G. Craven, with a contribution by F. Lawley, ''Steeple-Chasing'' by Arthur Coventry & Alfred E. T. Watson) *Volume 5: ''Shooting: Field & Covert'' (1886, 1st of 2 volumes) *Volume 6: ''Shooting: Moor & Marsh'' (1886, by

Thomas de Grey, 6th Baron Walsingham Thomas de Grey, 6th Baron Walsingham (29 July 1843 – 3 December 1919), of Merton Hall, Norfolk, was an English politician and amateur entomologist. Biography Walsingham was the son of Thomas de Grey, 5th Baron Walsingham, and Augusta-Louisa ...

and Sir

Ralph Payne-Gallwey Sir Ralph William Frankland Payne-Gallwey, 3rd Baronet (1848–1916) was an English engineer, historian, ballistics expert, and artist. Life The son of Sir William Payne-Gallwey, 2nd Baronet, and his wife Emily Anne, a daughter of Sir Robert Fr ...

) *Volume 7: ''Cycling'' (1887, by William Coutts Keppel, Viscount Bury, later

Earl of Albemarle Earl of Albemarle is a title created several times from Norman times onwards. The word ''Albemarle'' is derived from the Latinised form of the French county of ''Aumale'' in Normandy (Latin: ''Alba Marla'' meaning "White Marl", marl being a typ ...

) and

George Lacy Hillier George Lacy Hillier (6 June 1856 in Sydenham- 11 February 1941 in London) was an English racing cyclist, a pioneer of British cycling, and an excellent all-around athlete. He was one of the founders of the ''Chichester and District Motorcycle ...

*Volume 8: ''Athletics & Football'' (1887, by

Montague Shearman Sir Montague Shearman (7 April 1857 – 6 January 1930) was an English judge and athlete. He is best remembered as co-founder of the Amateur Athletics Association in 1880. Biography Early life and career Shearman was the second son of M ...

) *Volume 9: ''Boating'' (1888, by Walter Bradford Woodgate) *Volume 10: ''Cricket'' (1888, by Allan Gibson Steel) *Volume 11: ''Driving'' (1889, by the Duke of Beaufort) *Volume 12: ''Fencing, Boxing & Wrestling'' (1889, ''Fencing'' by Walter H. Pollock, F. C. Grove & Camille Prevost, with a complete bibliography of the art by Egerton Castle, ''Boxing'' by E. B. Michell, ''Wrestling'' by Walter Armstrong) *Volume 13: ''Golf'' (1890, by Horace G. Hutchinson, with a chapter on 'The Humours of Golf' by the future prime minister

Arthur James Balfour Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, (, ; 25 July 184819 March 1930), also known as Lord Balfour, was a British Conservative statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1905. As foreign secretary in the ...

and with contributions by Lord Wellwood,

Andrew Lang Andrew Lang (31 March 1844 – 20 July 1912) was a Scottish poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectures at the University o ...

, Sir Walter Simpson, H. S. C. Everard and others, illustrated by

Harry Furniss Harry Furniss (26 March 185414 January 1925) was a British illustrator. He established his career on the ''Illustrated London News'' before moving to ''Punch''. He also illustrated Lewis Carroll's novel ''Sylvie and Bruno''. Biography Although F ...

and Thomas Hodge) *Volume 14: ''Tennis, Lawn Tennis, Rackets & Fives'' (1890, by

John Moyer Heathcote John Moyer Heathcote (12 July 1834 – 3 August 1912) was an English barrister and real tennis player. He was one of the committee members at the Marylebone Cricket Club responsible for drafting the original rules of tennis, lawn tennis and is c ...

, with contributions by A. Lyttelton, W. C. Marshall, and others) *Volume 15: ''Riding & Polo'' (1891, ''Riding'' edited by Captain Robert Weir, ''Polo'' by J. Moray Brown) *Volume 16: ''Mountaineering'' (1892, edited by

Clinton Thomas Dent Clinton Thomas Dent FRCS (7 December 1850 – 26 August 1912) was an English surgeon, author and mountaineer. Early life The fourth surviving son of Thomas Dent, he was educated at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge. Alpinism Along ...

) *Volume 17: ''Coursing & Falconry'' (1892) *Volume 18: ''Skating & Figure Skating'' (1892, by

and

Charles Goodman Tebbutt Charles Goodman Tebbutt (1860–1944) was an English speed skater and bandy player from Bluntisham, England, in the Fens of Cambridgeshire where Fen skating was a popular winter activity in the nineteenth century. He also wrote articles and b ...

, illustrated with photographs and with

wood-engraving Wood engraving is a printmaking technique, in which an artist works an image or ''matrix'' of images into a block of wood. Functionally a variety of woodcut, it uses relief printing, where the artist applies ink to the face of the block and ...

s by Charles Whymper (1853–1941) ) *Volume 19: ''Swimming'' (1893, by

Archibald Sinclair Archibald Henry Macdonald Sinclair, 1st Viscount Thurso, (22 October 1890 – 15 June 1970), known as Sir Archibald Sinclair between 1912 and 1952, and often as Archie Sinclair, was a British politician and leader of the Liberal Party. Backgr ...

and William Henry) *Volume 20: ''Big Game Shooting I'' (1894, 1st of 2 volumes) *Volume 21: ''Big Game Shooting II'' (1894, edited by Clive Phillipps-Wolley) *Volume 22: ''Yachting I'' (1894, by Sir Edward Sullivan) *Volume 23: ''Yachting II'' (1894) *Volume 24: ''Archery'' (1894) *Volume 25: ''Sea Fishing'' (1895) *Volume 26: ''Dancing'' (1895, by Mrs Lilly Grove

FRGS The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

and others) *Volume 27: ''Billiards'' (1896, edited by Major William Broadfoot) *Volume 28: ''The Poetry of Sport'' (1896, ed. Hedley Peek) *Volume 29: ''Motors & Motor-Driving'' (1902) *Volume 30: ''Rowing & Punting'' (1898, ''Rowing'' by Reginald Percy Pfeiffer Rowe and Charles Murray Pitman with contributions by C. P. Serocold, F. C. Begg & S. Le B. Smith, ''Punting'' by Peter Wyatt Squire) *Volume 31: ''Athletics'' (1898) *Volume 32: ''Football'' (1899) *Volume 33: ''Cricket'' (1920)

In fiction

J. K. Stanford's fictional game shot George Hysteron-Proteron was said to have been educated at Eton, the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infant ...

, and the ''Badminton Library''. Stanford, J. K., ''The Twelfth and After'' (London, 1964), p. 12

References

External links

{{wikisource, The Badminton Library of Sports and Pastimes
Collectors Guide to the ''Badminton Library of Sports and Pastimes''

''Badminton Library'' on Google Books

''Badminton Library'' on the Internet Archive
* Spalding Athletic Library books on Badminton, late 1800s 19th-century books 20th-century books Books about sports