PEDESTRIANISM; OR, AN ACCOUNT OF THE PERFORMANCES OF CELEBRATED PEDESTRIAINS DURING THE LAST AND PRESENT CENTURY
by (WALKING - COMPETITIVE). [THOM, WALTER]
- Used
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
McMinnville, Oregon, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
ATTRACTIVE STRAIGHT-GRAINED RED MOROCCO BY HATCHARDS (stamp-signed in gilt on front turn-in), covers with French fillet border, raised bands, compartments ruled in gilt, gilt lettering, upper edge gilt (fore-edge untrimmed, lower edge trimmed on the rough). With frontispiece portrait of Captain Barclay "in his Walking dress." Front pastedown with armorial bookplate. ◆Frontispiece a little browned, with offsetting to title, occasional small spot or stain elsewhere, but A FINE COPY--particularly clean and bright, with extremely comfortable margins, and in an unworn, lustrous binding.
This work celebrates the 19th century phenomenon known as "pedestrianism" (also referred to as competitive walking or pedestrian racing), in which contestants would walk extraordinary distances over hours or even days. Pedestrian matches often took place in front of large groups of spectators for huge sums of money, causing intense rivalries, dramatic feats, and much gambling. The text primarily focuses on the remarkable achievements of Robert Barclay Allardice (1779-1854), commonly known as Captain Barclay, who was among the earliest and most renowned competitive walkers of his time. A man of extraordinary strength and endurance, Barclay took part in a number of impressive matches, the most famous of which was his walking a mile an hour for 1,000 straight hours. This achievement took him nearly six weeks to complete, and his journal for this period, which notes the hour, start and stop times, minutes per mile, and, curiously, the weather, is reproduced in full in the present work. In addition to detailing his most famous performances and favorite pursuits, the book also contains a section on training for pedestrianism, written by Barclay himself. The popularity of pedestrianism waned in the 20th century, but the present work, beautifully bound and in wonderful condition, is a charming and surprisingly engaging tribute to its heyday..
Reviews
(Log in or Create an Account first!)
Details
- Bookseller
- Phillip J. Pirages Fine Books and Medieval Manuscripts (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- ST17836
- Title
- PEDESTRIANISM; OR, AN ACCOUNT OF THE PERFORMANCES OF CELEBRATED PEDESTRIAINS DURING THE LAST AND PRESENT CENTURY
- Author
- (WALKING - COMPETITIVE). [THOM, WALTER]
- Book Condition
- Used
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- FIRST EDITION
- Publisher
- Printed by D. Chalmers and Co. for A. Brown, and F. Frost, [et al.]
- Place of Publication
- Aberdeen
- Date Published
- 1813
- Pages
- 1 p.l., viii, [9]-286 pp.
- Size
- 228 x 145 mm. (9 x 5 3/4").
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs
Terms of Sale
Phillip J. Pirages Fine Books and Medieval Manuscripts
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
- Does the default shipping charge seem high? If so, please contact us by email at info@pirages.com for a shipping charge tailored to your order and location. You may also call us at (800) 962-6666 in the US or (503) 472-0476 outside the US, Monday through Friday between the hours of 10 am and 4 pm US Pacific time or leave us a message.
- For all orders outside the US and Canada, please contact us for shipping charges before completing your order.
- If you complete your order before you receive a shipping quote, we will need to contact you to get additional funding to cover the cost of shipping before we can ship your items.
- Except in the cases of items priced at $100 or less (for which we charge a small handling fee), we wish only to pass along actual carrier charges to our customers. The constraints of this website force us to assume that each purchase is both heavier and further away than average, so we would be pleased to adjust the charges to reflect actual weights and locations.
About the Seller
Phillip J. Pirages Fine Books and Medieval Manuscripts
About Phillip J. Pirages Fine Books and Medieval Manuscripts
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Morocco
- Morocco is a style of leather book binding that is usually made with goatskin, as it is durable and easy to dye. (see also...
- Bookplate
- Highly sought after by some collectors, a book plate is an inscribed or decorative device that identifies the owner, or former...
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Raised Band(s)
- Raised bands refer to the ridges that protrude slightly from the spine on leather bound books. The bands are created in the...