Beschreibung:

Spiele zur Uebung und Erholung des Körpers und Geistes, für die Jugend, ihre Erzieher und alle Freunde Unschuldiger Jugendfreuden.
Schnepfenthal: Buchhandlung der Erziehungsanstalt, 1796. Small 8vo (6 1/2 x 4 1/4 inches; 165x105 mm.) Engraved frontispiece, 4 engraved plates. Publisher’s pastepaper boards. Housed in a brown morocco backed case. Condition : Foxing; boards worn, hinges cracked. first edition of the earliest known published rules of baseball. Gutsmuths (1759-1839) is considered among the founders of modern physical education. The title of this German work by him translates as “Games for the Exercise and Recreation of Body and Spirit for Youth” and includes a descriptions of various games and sports, including cricket, badmington, golf, corquet, chess, etc. The most notable, however, appears on pages 78-84 under the heading “Ball mit Freystäten (oder das englische Base-ball)” -- that is, “Ball with free station (or English Base-ball).” The rules that Gutsmiths outlines are familiar: two teams compete, with a pitcher throwing a ball to a batsman who has three attempts to put the ball in play and circle the bases. Although many claim that the rules for modern baseball were first codified in 1845 by the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club, this description precedes it by almost 50 years. The work is quite rare. See David Block’s Baseball Before We Knew It (University of Nebraska Press, 2005) for a lengthy discussion of Gutsmuths work and a comparison to a similar German game.