PORTER'S SPIRIT OF THE TIMES. A Chronicle of the Turf, Field Sports, Literature and the Stage. Volume II, Nos. 1 - 26

New York: [Wm. Porter & George Wilkes], 1857. First Edition. Hardcover. Occasional light foxing or small edge tear; minor wear to binding. Very Good. Folio (11-1/4" x 16") in early leather-backed cloth-covered boards with leather corners and marbled endpapers. Includes 26 issues (7 March 1857 - 29 August 1857) of this important sports newspaper containing accounts of horse races, billiards, cricket matches, angling, hunting, yacht racing, chess, and some of the earliest reportage of baseball games including printed box scores (developed by Henry Chadwick in 1856) and rule changes; 415 pages plus single-page index at the end. Illustrated throughout. PORTER'S SPIRIT was one of the first publications in America to devote a considerable amount of space to “base ball.” Baseball breakdown as follows: formation of a team or update on a team (14), rosters (17), and results (17) with some or all of the rosters/results part of the same entry. Very early baseball coverage.