Whist writers and their pseudonyms

Wirst, why did so many early writers about whist and other card games feel the need to write under a pseudonym? It certainly was a very popular trend amongst card game authors in the 18th and 19th centuries. From my own very modest research over the years I have identified more than 50 such authors hiding behind a name other than their own.

Of course, there were many female novelists at this time who wrote under a man’s name, believing that prejudice against women would detract from their capacity to find a publisher or undermine sales and recognition[1]. But this does not appear to apply to those who wrote about whist and other card games. As far as I can tell, only three of the 50 or so pseudonym authors I have identified (see below) was female, and one of these (Madame Chira) was happy to advertise her gender.

One overarching possibility is that, in a largely protestant country, card games in general and gambling in particular were frowned upon by large sections of the religious community. Use of pseudonyms offered writers a cloak of anonymity which would help to protect them from the criticism or lack of respect from some at least of their fellow countrymen.

One of the most famous pseudonyms – “Cavendish” – was Henry Jones (1831 – 1899). Jones was a surgeon and general practitioner practicing medicine until 1869 when he became a full-time writer on sports and games. He began writing on the subject in 1857 and took his pen name from the Cavendish Club of which he was a member and frequent participant. He was obviously proud of his club but that is hardly a reason to adopt its name in all of his subsequent writings. Perhaps he thought that “coming out” as a prolific author on a wide variety of card games would undermine his professional standing as a GP and surgeon? Perhaps the reason was more practical. It is certainly easier to understand the massively successful marketing campaign by De La Rue of all the books, whist markers and other related materials under the brand name “Cavendish” than it would have been using his birth name, Jones! The Jones Whist Marker would possibly have had less impact on sales than Cavendish – except, perhaps, in Wales. ^[1] .

This wasn’t a problem for the author of the other great card game brand of the late 19th /early 20 century, Robert Frederick Foster (1853 – 1945). Foster had a surname which was perfect for the job and, perhaps importantly, he had no profession to hide! If “Cavendish on Whist” was the “must have” book of the 1860s, “Foster’s Whist Manual” took over this role from the first edition published in 1890 (followed by countless others). Other “Foster” books and products were everywhere.

Another influential writer on card games was Angelo John Lewis (1839 -1919) who wrote under the name of Professor Hoffmann. He studied law at Oxford University and became a barrister. Very early in his career he became a talented amateur magician and used his pen name first to publish a series of articles in Routledge’s Every Boy’s Annual and subsequently became a prolific author on magic and a range of card games. It seems reasonable to assume that Angelo Lewis the barrister was initially, at least, unwilling to publicise his other, unrelated activities in the publishing world lest it damaged his professional credibility and standing.

Eventually, as can happen, the “hobby” took over from the work and he too became a full-time writer. Later in his career he wrote under his own name with Professor Hoffmann in brackets underneath!

So, as these three examples show, separating profession from hobby was perhaps one reason for adopting a pseudonym; greater effectiveness in promotion and marketing was maybe another, all against a background of religious sensitivity to card play and gambling. One or more of these reasons would have applied to any number of the authors listed below and may help to understand the extent of anonymity amongst card game writers.

It is possible that some, at least, disguised their identity because they were implicitly or explicitly critical of the works of other authors and feared the consequences.

Others were clearly writing for fun, or parodying the work of others. Finally, it is difficult to escape the conclusion that, just occasionally – and perhaps more than occasionally - it was done because everybody else was doing it! Any number of the authors named in this article wrote card game books both under their own names and using a pseudonym without any obvious reason other than that it was fashionable to do so. The most obvious example of this concerns one of the doyens of 19 Century Whist, William Pole. His book “The Theory of the Modern Scientific Game of Whist”, published under his own name, was standard reading for all whist players and went into many editions and formats. The name Pole gave authority to anything he wrote on the subject. And yet, in the 16 edition of Major A’s “Short Whist: its Rise, Progress and Laws”, Pole contributes “An “Essay on The Theory of the Modern Scientific Game” under the by-line Professor P. Why else would he do that? Pseudonyms can cause confusion Some ‘noms de plume’ have caused confusion, both at the time and later. Bob Short is a fine example. According to Frederic Jessel2, Robert Withy, under the pseudonym Bob Short, wrote “Hoyle Abridged. Short Rules for Short Memories at the Game of Whist, with Laws of the Game. Adapted either for the Head or Pocket (1793).”

This august volume was updated, revised and corrected in 1819 under the name Bob Short, Junior. As Robert Withy died in 1803 an alternative author had to be designated for the substantially rewritten work, hence the addition of “Junior” which Jessel notes is most unlikely to refer to a genuine relative of the original author. The identity of Bob Short Junior remains a mystery.

Above: A Cavendish Whist Marker by De La Rue & Co., linking Henry Jones’s pseudonym to products marketed under the Cavendish name.

Above: Portrait of Henry Jones (1831–1899), the whist writer known as “Cavendish.”

Above: Foster’s Whist Manual by Robert Frederick Foster, whose name became another major card-game publishing brand.

Above: The Foster Whist Marker, patented and manufactured by Chas. Goodall & Son.

The complications do not end here. In 1801 a further publication is produced by a different publisher3 also under the name Bob Short vis “Twelve Short Standing Rules for Ladies with Short Memories at the Game of Whist”. Jessel writes “These rules, evidently an imitation of the better-known ‘Bob Short’s’ Rules by Robert Withy, have been attributed to Mrs. ^{[2] [3]} Barbauld, apparently because she adopted the pseudonym for a tract unconnected with cards.” Mrs Barbauld (1743-1825) was born Anna Laetitia Aikin, and for over half a century became a most prolific writer, poet, essayist, literary critic, editor, and author of children's literature as well as being a prominent member of the Blue Stockings Society.

Regrettably, later authors have confused the two (maybe three) Bob Short authors and even wrongly attributed the original Robert Withy book of 1793 to Anna Laetitia Barbauld.For example, Julian Laderman, Bumblepuppy Days, 2014. In an otherwise wonderful scholarly and erudite book on the evolution of whist to bridge, Laderman, as a consequence of this confusion, wrongly attributes authorship of the 1793 book to Mrs. Barbauld and, as a result, incorrectly credits her with being the first female author of a book on whist.

The potential for confusion also exists through the writings of father and son George and Charles Pardon. Both wrote under their own names and under the name Crawley; George Frederick Pardon (1824-1884) was usually “Captain Crawley”; whilst his son, Charles Frederick Pardon (1850-1890) was frequently, but not always, Rawdon Crawley. Later editions of some of Captain Crawley’s works were further, the father (George F.P.) was also known to have used the forename Rawdon as can be seen in the Prefaces to two of Captain Crawley’s books - on “Backgammon”

(1858) and “Billiards” (1866) - which are signed ‘Rawdon Crawley, Captain unattached’. Identifying who wrote what, when and where can become a problem.

Uncertainties also arise about the authorship of “The Whist Player”. The Laws and Practice of Short Whist Explained and Illustrated by Lieut. Colonel B---- “(1856). The first edition is attributed by Jessel to Colonel A. F. Blyth. Some copies of the second edition (1858) have “by Colonel Blyth” on the cover. The third edition (1866) is attributed to Colonel Blyth on the cover and has a Preface signed by “A. F. Blyth”. So many questions? Is this an example of anonymity (Lieut. Col. B---) being shed in favour of the authors full name (Col. A.F. Blyth)? Or is Blyth itself a pseudonym? Although Jessel (a usually reliable contemporary writer) confidently attributes all three editions of the book to Col. Blyth, I can find no trace of a colonel of this name at this time in army records. Scouring the web I have seen one bookseller expand the A.F. initials into Augustus Frederick, whilst another attributes this book to H.C Bunberry !! Neither identify their sources. The jury is out on this one while research continues, but in the meantime I will add Lieut, - Colonel B - to my list of pseudonyms below, and continue to ponder whether or not Col. Blyth existed under that name at all.

Who are these guys?

I attach a list of pseudonyms and their known authors which I have gleaned from a variety of sources over the years. I have leaned in particular on the remarkable work of Frederic Jessel (1905) . For each I have given the date of their earliest known relevant publication and, wherever possible, dates of their birth and death.

“A Professor” 1862 Charles Henry Wharton Meehan Not strictly principly a writer on whist but a US authority on Euchre and Draw Poker, and who wrote on a variety of other card games.. He was appointed as the first Law Librarian of Congress in 1833 “Aquarius” 1883 Lowis D’Aguilar Jackson (1840 – unknown) Lewis D'Aguilar Jackson was born in India. In 1858, he joined the Royal Bengal Engineers as a lieutenant. However, in 1862, Jackson flogged his servant who died of his injuries. After a protracted delay and trial, Jackson was court martialled, sentenced to four years prison, and discharged from service. After his incarceration, he returned to civil engineering and wrote several articles and books on that subject as well as a novel and a series of books on whist, écarté, piquet, cribbage and other card games.

“Berkeley” 1890 W. H. Peel W. H. Peel is best known for his contributions to The Club Series of books published by G. Bell & Sons. His first attempt at his volume “Bezique and Cribbage” was, ^[4] according to Jessel, “mainly pirated from Cavendish” and had to be suppressed!

Henry Jones later gave his approval to a “greatly condensed” version. “Badsworth” 1903 Allan Lindsay Lister When Googling A.L.Lister and entering the National Trust Collection, the only attribution to Lister is “Boaz 1898: The Laws of Bridge adopted by the Portland Club; and how to play Bridge”. This may be a quirk of filing, or an incorrect attribution, but is it possible that Badsworth was also Boaz? The dates work, and Lister’s first publication concerned “The Laws and Principles of Bridge”. (The Bridge referred to here is, of course, later termed Bridge-Whist and pre-dated Auction and Contract.) “Bob Short” Robert Withy 1792; Anna Laetitia Barbauld nee Aiken 1801 The story of the confusion between these two authors sharing the name “Bob Short” is described in the text above. See also Bob Short Junior. “CAM” 1865 Waller Lewis “Which Card to Lead” published by Longmans, Green and Co., London. Not to be confused with Lewis Waller, a contemporary English actor!

Above: Mudie’s Improved “Foster” Whist Marker, manufactured by Chas. Goodall & Son for Mudie & Sons.

Above: Modern Magic, one of the books published by Angelo John Lewis under the pseudonym “Professor Hoffmann.”

Above: Portrait of Angelo John Lewis (1839–1919), the barrister, magician and card-game writer known as “Professor Hoffmann.”

Above: More Magic by Professor Hoffmann, the pseudonym of Angelo John Lewis.

“Captain Crawley” 1861 George Frederick Pardon (1824-1884) Pardon senior was a prolific journalist and author. His writings were eclectic, ranging from stories about animals and birds to tales of the operas. G.F.P. wrote about most card games and backgammon and produced a modernised version of Hoyle “being explanations of the best modes of playing the most popular games in present use, with Respective Rules and Regulations adopted at the clubs and by the best players”. He also occasionally used the name Rawdon (see text above).

“(Sir) Rawdon Crawley” 1889 Charles Frederick Pardon (1850-1890) Pardon junior was, like his father, a committed game and sports enthusiast. Apart from writing books on games (under his own name) and editing and updating his father’s texts on whist (as Rawdon Crawley), he was editor of Wisden’s Cricketers’ Almanack between 1887 until his untimely death in 1890. During this time he instituted the Wisden Cricketers of the Year Awards. After his death, his brother Sydney took over as editor of Wisden for 35 years. Charles and his two brothers founded Pardon’s Cricket Reporting Agency in the 1870s. Finally, the attribution of a Knighthood to this pseudonym is a mystery. Jessel includes this in his list of named authors, but I can find no reference to the title being used in any of Rawdon Crawley’s publications.

“Cavendish” 1862 Henry Jones (1831 – 1899) I have written elsewhere on this site about the extraordinary character that was Henry Jones. Suffice it to say here that in addition to his immense contribution to the world of whist, in 1875, as a member of the All-England Croquet Club in Wimbledon, he proposed that one of the lawns should be given over to lawn tennis.

The first Wimbledon Tennis Championship was held there two years later. If this was not enough, by the turn of the century he had written all of the descriptions of the better-known card games in Encyclopaedia Britannica and Chamber’s Encyclopaedia. ^[5] “Cervantes Hogg esq.” 1811 Eaton Stannard Barrett (1786 – 1820) An Irish poet and author of political satires. His sole contribution to the card game literature was “The Metropolis; or, A Cure for Gaming. Interspersed with Anecdotes of Living Characters in High Life.”

“Coelebs” 1851 Edward Augustus Carlyon (1828-1874) Several editions of “The Laws and Practice of Whist” were published in London and New York between 1851 and 1862. He was a barrister working in New Zealand.

“Lieut. Colonel B---” 1856 possibly A.F. Blyth or H.C. Bunbury Author of “The Whist Player”. Lt.-Col. B---- was a pseudonym used in the first edition, but was A. F. Blyth in later editions. See discussion in the text above.

“Cut Cavendish” 1904 Edwyn Anthony This name” is likely to be a tongue-in-cheek reference to a well-known brand of pipe tobacco at the time, while linking the work to the famous whist writer. His principal contribution to the genre was “How to Win at Bridge. A Popular and Practical Guide”.

“Disque” 1888, 1891 James Anderson Peddie J. A. Peddie wrote principally about life, and gambling with particular reference to success and failures at the Monte Carlo casino.

“FHC” 1887 F.H. Culver An American writer contributing “Proper Leads in Whist”, Chicago, 1887 “Five of Clubs” Richard Anthony Procter (1837 – 1888) Proctor was primarily an astronomer who achieved mixed successes in attempting to popularise knowledge of space and the planets. However, in 1866 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and became its honorary secretary in 1872.

He was an expert in all that related to map-drawing, and published two star-atlases. He wrote extensively on whist, chance and gambling as well as a host of publications related to his primary profession.

“G.W.P.” 1880 George William Pettes Pettes became a prolific American writer on American or Standard Whist in the 1880s and 90s. In the 1870s he was writing about the First Light Infantry Veteran’s Association.

“H.J.F” 1895 Henry J. Fulljames “The Whist Leads in Nine paragraphs”

Above: Title page of Hoyle Abridged, published under the name Bob Short in 1822.

Above: Captain Crawley’s Handbook of Whist, Loo & Cribbage.

Above: Backgammon by Captain Crawley.

Above: Preface to a Captain Crawley book signed “Rawdon Crawley, Captain Unattached,” illustrating the overlap between father and son’s pseudonyms.

“Jack Smarte” 1893 J.S. McTear McTear used the pseudonym Jack Smarte when writing his book “Penchant. A Game of Cards for Two Players”, Mudie & Sons, 1893. Interestingly, he contributed several articles to The Gentleman’s Magazine on card games between 1899 and 1903 under his own name. Perhaps by then he knew that his cover was blown!

“J.R.W” 1869 James Redding Ware Handbook of Bezique, 1869. Also collaborated with Frederic Hardy on The Modern Hoyle, 1870 “Junius” 1888 Frank A. Hilliard American author of The Game of Solo-Sixty, 1888 “Nestor” 1890 Thomas D. Lowther An American writer on the laws and aphorisms of whist between 1890 -1901.

“Persicus” 1903 Baron George de Reuter (1863-1909) Not strictly a writer on whist but the author of “The Laws of Four-Handed Bezique, adopted by the Portland Club” . How could I leave him out?!

“Professor Hoffmann” 1877 Angelo John Lewis (1839-1919) A remarkable and prolific author who made major contributions to the literature on magic as well as whist and other card games. See text above.

“Professor P” 1865 William Pole (1814-1900) Pole was one of those 19 Century characters that was involved in so many things that you wonder how he could have found the time to pack it all in. He was a Professor of Engineering, a Doctor of Music, secretary to a Royal Commission and a member of others. He wrote countless books ranging from the philosophy of music to the history of steam. and biographies of major engineers. He advised the government on everything from water supply and sewage management to ammunition for the armed forces. Yet he still found time to master the game of Whist and apply his scientific approach to the game and write about it.

“Lord Aldenham” 1874 Henry Hucks Gibbs 1819-1907 Strictly speaking, this is not a pseudonym but it sounds like one! In fact H. H. Gibbs was indeed the 1st Baron Alderman who was a British banker, businessman and Conservative politition. His sole foray into card game authorship was to attempt to promote the game of Ombre by the private publication of a monograph which failed, despite several editions, to find a commercial publisher.

“Major A” 1834 Charles Barham Coles C. B. Coles wrote his initial book “Short Whist: Its Rise, Progress and Laws” in 1834 to be followed by 18 editions, each adding further material. Despite its title, it included the laws of ecarte, piquet, cassino (sic), cribbage and backgammon and each edition expanded its coverage. The 16 edition in 1865 famously included the essay by “Professor P.” referred to earlier.

“Major Tenace” or “The Major” 1885 George Washington Bailey G. W. Bailey wrote “A Handbook of Whist and Ready Reference Manual of the Modern Scientific Game” published in London & New York, 1885, under the pseudonym Major Tenace. He added The Game of Hearts, 1886 under the name The Major.

“Nestor” or “T.D.L” 1890 to 1901 Thomas D. Lowther In frustration at his fellow countryman’s failure to agree to a standard set of Laws by which to play whist, this American player and author prepared a short monograph “Laws of American Whist” (1890) under his initials T.D.L to facilitate debate and provoke agreement. He later (1894) published “Aphorisms of Whist” under his pseudonym, “Nestor”.

“Nimrod” 1838 Charles James Apperley A minor contributor to the literature on games. A Welsh writer on hunting and the Turf, all under the name Nimrod, contributing occasional articles to Frazer’s Magazine for the Town and Country, including The Anatomy of Gaming (1838).

“Papus” or “Tau Vincent” 1896 Gerard Encausse 1865 – 1916 A French-Spanish physician, hypnotist, and populariser of occultism. His sole contribution to the English literature on cards was on the use of Tarot cards by the Bohemians. Translated from the French by A. P. Morton.

“Pembridge” 1880 John Petch Hewby His first published contribution was “Whist or Bumblepuppy?” Ten lectures addressed to children”. It is worth pointing out that “children” in this context does not refer to very young people, but to new or inexperienced whist players. The term “children“ was one of a number of terms used at the time to describe newbies, and “Bumblepuppy” suggested an inadequate player. By the fourth edition it had expanded to 13 lectures, and his final contribution (1884) was titled “The Decline and Fall of Whist”. “Perseverance” 1860 William Henry Cremer (1811 – 1889) Best known for his books on magic and card tricks, his principle published contribution here was his book “Patience”. “Portland” 1894 James Hogg In 1894 James Hogg edited “The Whist Table. A Treasury of Notes on the Royal Game”

Above: The Whist Player by Lieut. Colonel B----, an early edition attributed to an uncertain author.

Above: The Whist Player by Colonel Blyth, a later edition that names A. F. Blyth.

whose contributors included “Cavendish” and a host of other notable writers. His pseudonym was taken from the Portland Club in London which was the body which prescribed the Rules for card games played in the UK and across the British Empire!

“Professor M” 1901 William Bell William Bell wrote “The Origin and nomenclature of Playing cards” for the Art Journal in 1861 under his own name. By the time he wrote “Tricks with Cards” in 1901 perhaps he thought it wiser to use a pseudonym.

“R.T.” 1889 Rosella Trist American author of “The Leads at Whist. Comprising the Altered Leads suggested by ‘Cavendish’, New Orleans 1889”.

“Rubicon” Sir Arnold Henry Moore LUNN (1888-1974) A. H. M. Lunn was a skier, mountaineer and writer, knighted for “services to British Skiing and Anglo-Swiss relations” in 1952. He wrote dozens of books and articles on a wide variety of topics from religion to downhill skiing. He is catalogued here because of his 1920 book on “Auction Piquet”. I just love the first paragraph of his Preface: “Auction Piquet was invented at Oxford but it did not attain its present form until it had been played for two and a half years by an enthusiastic circle of British prisoners of war. Captivity is an acid test of a card game”.6 ^[6] “Slam” 1901 E. Chittendon Chittenden published “Modern Bridge” in 1902 along with the newly drafted Laws of Bridge by “Boaz” (still unidentified). Readers will recognise that this was stage one of the development of whist into bridge as we know it today. It was subsequently designated as Bridge-whist.

“Tarbart” 1901 De La Rue? One of a host of books designed for a public hungry for new versions of patience at this time. This one “Games of Patience! Illustrated by numerous Diagrams” is a classic and I have seen it attributed to Thomas Andros De La Rue, then chairman of the company which was extremely effective at devising and marketing popular products. I have no evidence to question or support this claim.

“Trumps” 1864 William Brisbane Dick 1827 – 1901 An American player and author whose publications cover five pages of Jessel, the most famous of which is “The American Hoyle or Gentleman’s Hand-Book of Games played in the United States, with Rules, Descriptions and Technicalities, adapted to the American Methods of Playing”. After 17 editions over almost 30 years, he produced “Modern Pocket Hoyle; containing all the Games of Skill and Chance as played in this country at the present time. Being an Authority on all disputed points.” Throughout this long career he maintained his pseudonym although the true authorship was well known. One can only surmise that his emphasis on American rules and players suggests that he had little interest in marketing his publications overseas.

“JRW” or “Andrew Forrester” 1866 James Redding Ware 1832 - 1909 J. R. Ware was a prolific novelist and playwright who, amongst other things, created the first female detective in a novel (1863). Nevertheless, he found time to write his “Handbook of Whist”, “The ABC of Whist” and a “Handbook of Bezique” all by J.R.W. In addition, under his own name in collaboration with Frederic Hardy he wrote “The Modern Hoyle, or How to Play Whist, Chess, Dominoes, Draughts, Backgammon, and Bezique” which was published in both London and New York. His alter ego “Andrew Forrester” was preserved for his plays and novels.

“Zuresta” or Madame Chira 1897 Ida B. Prangley I include Ida Prangley here to demonstrate that writing about cards under a pseudonym was not an exclusively male preserve. Ms. Prangley’s written contributions were concerned with using playing cards to tell fortunes…rather than to lose them when playing whist!

I also have a list of pseudonyms that I have yet to identify. All and any help in this regard would be most welcome.

Even the extensive scholarship of Frederic Jessel had been unable to uncover the real names of the following: “Ace of Spades”, The Theory and Practice of Bridge, Bombay,1903 “Battle-Axe”, Bezique, 1870 “Camden”, The Standard Rules of the Royal Game of Bezique, 1883 “Hamish”, The New Whist, 1881 “Hobah”, The Game of Modern Ombre; its rules and regulations, 1874 “Hellespont” , The Laws and Principles of Bridge, 1901 “JAR”, Progressive Whist and Whist Drive, 1903 “Numero”, A Collection of Twenty Games to Puzzle and Amuse, 1890

“Pickwick”, The Game of Napoleon, 1884 “Premier Pas”, Goodall mini booklet on Scientific Whist, 1891 “Templar”, Bridge, George Bell & Sons, 1895, 1904 In addition, the following authors remain elusive.

“An Amateur” (1844 - ); “Boaz” (1894 – 1905); “BWD” (A Believer in Whist Developments) (1889); “EDB” or “The Colonel” (1886,1894); “Jackpot” (1908/9); Solus (c.1930). ^[7]