<p>&ldquo;In preparing this little work, it has been a principal part of my object to serve the cause of physical education by directing the attention of young persons to sports of a healthful and invigorating tendency. &ldquo; &mdash;Robin Carver, Preface, 1834</p><p><em>The Book of Sports</em> (1834), by ROBIN CARVER, also known as the Carver Book, is an American classic. It contains 15 short chapters describing the rules of popular games such as &ldquo;Hide and Seek,&rdquo; &ldquo;Cricket,&rdquo; &ldquo;Prisoner&rsquo;s Base,&rdquo; &ldquo;Leap-Frog,&rdquo; &ldquo;Trial of the Thumb,&rdquo; and &ldquo;Snow-Balling.&rdquo; Moreover, it offers the first description of how to play baseball&mdash;&rdquo;Base or Goal Ball&rdquo;&mdash;in Chapter Three.</p><p>In his Preface, Carver credits <em>The Boy&rsquo;s Own Book,</em> an English book which he used as a source for some of his materials (also available from Cosimo Classics).</p><p><em>The Book of Sports</em> is a fascinating memento of times gone by, but also of the foundation of America&rsquo;s pastime, baseball, illustrated with numerous wood-engravings.</p>