Beginning in 1845, the New York Knickerbockers were the first fully organized base ball club to play the game with written rules similar to those used today. While they did not invent the game, they had an unparalleled role in stabilizing the playing rules and maintaining standards of conduct in a way that fostered an astonishing proliferation of players and clubs. Based on years of research and told in the style of oral history, this fictional work features all the principal figures from the Knickerbocker club, including Doc Adams, James Whyte Davis, Alexander Cartwright, William Wheaton, and Duncan Curry.

From advice on how to treat ladies to how to behave at a party this handy 19th-century guidebook will delight readers with it's entertaining nuggets of wisdom. Ever wondered what to do in polite society if you find an insect in your food? Or how a gentleman should ask a lady to dance? And what on earth is the etiquette for smoking cigars? First published in 1860, this classic guide to gentlemanly behavior is a veritable mine of information and indispensable advice for aspiring gentlemen. No matter if a man finds himself at home, in the street, or in a place of amusement, he has but to leaf through this book to learn how best to behave, and indeed how not to behave. And if he can find time between his numerous invitations to balls and hunting parties, he could benefit from a perusal of the sections on gentlemanly deportment and conversational technique. Not forgetting, of course, the all-important advice on how to treat ladies, surely an integral part of any true gentleman's training.

The conception of "The True Story Book" by Mr. Andrew Lang, was an admirable one, for no more fascinating stories of adventure could possibly be devised than some which have been enacted in this work-a-day world. This volume takes the place of Mr. Lang's annual fairy book, and relates strange episodes from the lives of Prince Charlie, Grace Darling, Benvenuto Cellini, Cervantes, Baron Trenck, Cesare Borgia, Cortes, and many another scapegrace and hero.

This book provides RULES FOR THE ETIQUETTE TO BE OBSERVED IN THE STREET, AT TABLE, IN THE BALL ROOM, EVENING PARTY, AND MORNING CALL; WITH FULL DIRECTIONS FOR POLITE OR RESPONDENCE, DRESS, CONVERSATION, MANLY EXERCISES, AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS. Man was not intended to live like a bear or a hermit, apart from others of his own nature, and, philosophy and reason will each agree with me, that man was born for sociability and finds his true delight in society. Society is a word capable of many meanings, and used here in each and all of them. Society, par excellence; the world at large; the little clique to which he is bound by early ties; the companionship of friends or relatives; even society tete a tete with one dear sympathizing soul, are pleasant states for a man to be in. All in all this is a great book on etiquette. A great place to learn the rules of etiquette.