The Game of Billiards

12mo, original cloth, illustrated 237 pp. Backstrip a bit faded, some edge wear, owner’s signature on title, modest aging, otherwise, very good or better. Billiards is a game with a very long history that actually started as an outdoor activity. Around the fifteenth century the game seems to have moved indoors, and the game reached America with English and Dutch settlers. However, Michael Phelan is credited with making the game popular in this country. He is often referred to as the father of American billiards, and his work on billiards was the first American book on the subject. His work was very influential in establishing rules and standards of behavior for the sport, and he became the first weekly columnist for billiards. He was even the first to win a major stake match ($15,000) in the United Sates. The present work contains a lot of important information on the game, including diagrams on how to make shots. Billiards Congress of America.