Selection of Games at Chess, Actually Played in London, by the late Alexander M'Donnell, Esq

vii+280 pages with appendix. Octavo (8 1/4" x 5 1/4") issued in green cloth with gilt lettering to spine and blind stamped cover. (Whyld: 1836-13) First edition.

Alexander McDonnell (1798-1835) was the son of a Belfast doctor and the strongest player from either Britain or Ireland before the rise of
Staunton. In contemporary publications his name was sometimes printed as M'Donnell and he is not to be confused with the Dublin-born Rev G.A. MacDonnell (1830-1899) who had some good results in the 1860s and 1870s and lived until 1899. M'Donnell is best known for being the loser of the first known Evans Gambit game (to Capt. William Evans himself) and for his
marathon series of matches against the French champion Labourdonnais in 1834. (Tim Harding)

Condition:

Corners bumped, re backed with original spine, some damp rippling at front edge, previous owner's name on front paste-down, some occasional light pencil ticks, else about very good of a scarce item.