BAIRD, Mrs W.J. The Twentieth Century Retractor, Chess Fantasies, and Letter Problems.

BAIRD, Mrs W.J. The Twentieth Century Retractor, Chess Fantasies, and Letter Problems.Chess Fantasies as published by Sotherans in 1907 BAIRD, Mrs W. J. The Twentieth Century Retractor, Chess Fantasies, and Letter Problems. London: Henry Sotheran Ltd. 1907. Large 8vo. Original red cloth, gilt triple fillets and motif to front, gilt lettering to spine, floral gold endpapers, all edges gilt; unpaginated, printed throughout in red and black, b&w frontis portrait of author with tissue guard; evidence of library label removed from front

Chess Fantasies as published by Sotherans in 1907

BAIRD, Mrs W.J. The Twentieth Century Retractor, Chess Fantasies, and Letter Problems. London: Henry Sotheran Ltd. 1907.

Large 8vo. Original red cloth, gilt triple fillets and motif to front, gilt lettering to spine, floral gold endpapers, all edges gilt; unpaginated, printed throughout in red and black, b&w frontis portrait of author with tissue guard; evidence of library label removed from front board, occasional spotting mainly to fly-leaves, a little shelfwear, very good; presentation inscription to the Hastings Chess Club to half-title (see below), with the club's red inkstamps to prelims and title page, shelf mark "701" to half title, small stickers to spine and front paste-down.

First edition. A presentation of three hundred previously unknown chess problems, each one prefaced with a Shakespearean quotation that apparently gives a clue to the solution. Published by Henry Sotheran in 1907.

This is the work of a true chess pioneer and a rare female participant in a very masculine world. Edith Baird (1859-1924) composed chess problems from an early age and, especially after her marriage in 1880, became widely published. In 1893 she won a prestigious international award and saw her problems appearing in The Times, and in 1902, after fourteen years, produced her first book, Seven Hundred Chess Problems. By the time of her death in 1924 she had created over two thousand chess problems, a remarkably prolific achievement.

The book presented a completely new kind of chess problem - the retractor, in which the solver must work backwards and take a specified number of moves. The resulting puzzles range from the relatively benign to the almost impossible, including two in which the printed board is completely lacking in pieces.

Provenance: From the library of the Hastings and St. Leonards Chess Club. Founded in 1882, the club is still thriving today.

SKU: 2121327