Festivals, Games, and Amusements, Ancient and Modern
London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, 1831. First Edition. 12mo, [2], viii, 382 pages, publisher's original cloth covered boards. Illustrated with frontispiece and two fold-out plates. Horatio Smith’s Festivals, Games, and Amusements, Ancient and Modern is an engaging early nineteenth-century survey of popular entertainments, public customs, sports, games, holidays, ceremonies, and festive traditions from antiquity through the modern era. Published in London by Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley in 1831, this first edition reflects the period’s growing antiquarian interest in the origins of social customs and recreational life, treating amusement not merely as diversion but as a revealing part of cultural history. Smith ranges widely across classical, medieval, and contemporary examples, making the work appealing to collectors of social history, folklore, games, festivals, antiquarian miscellanies, and the history of popular entertainment. Fraying along hinges, moderate rubbing and wear, discoloration, some scattered foxing, previous owner's inscription and ink stamp, else in good condition. Item #289
Price: $100.00