Cambridge Encyclopedia :: Cambridge Encyclopedia Vol. 22

Edmond Hoyle

Writer on card games, called ‘the father of whist’, who lived in London, UK. His popular Short Treatise on Whist (1742) ran into many editions, and was ultimately incorporated with his manuals on backgammon, brag, quadrille, piquet, and chess into an omnibus volume (1748).

Edmond Hoyle
English card game authority, "The Father of Whist"
Born 1672
England
Died 29 August 1769
London, England

Edmond Hoyle (1672 - August 29, 1769), also known as Edmund Hoyle, is a writer best known for his works providing detailed descriptions of games. Along with personal instruction, he sold a short booklet on the game to his clients, describing his basic approaches to the game. To prevent this, Hoyle published A Short Treatise on the Game of Whist in 1742, copyrighting his work.

Because of his success, Hoyle followed with similar treatises on backgammon, chess, quadrille, piquet, and brag.

A Short Treatise on the Game of Whist was regarded as authoritative until 1864, after which time they were superseded by the new rules written by John Loraine Baldwin and adopted by the Arlington and Portland clubs.

Many modern card game rule books contain the word "Hoyle" in the title, but the moniker does not mean that the works are derivative of Hoyle's.

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