Bookvica

[HOW TO PLAY GORODKI AND LAPTA CORRECTLY] Podvizhnye igry dlia vzroslykh: Sbornik [i.e. Outdoor Games for Adults: Collection]

Taraskin, V.

Kharkiv: Iunosheskii sektor izdatel’stva ‘Proletarii’, 1925. Item #1430

78, [2] pp.: ill. 22x15 cm. In original illustrated wrappers. Spine early repaired, then damaged, its fragments lost, covers partly detached, pale pre-war stamps on t.p. and last page. Otherwise very good.

First and only edition. One of 10 000 copies.
A collection of rules for outdoor games that were popular in early Soviet Ukraine, including old Russian activities and adopted foreign games. The edition overviews lapta, handball, croquet, gorodki, field hockey, lawn tennis, tug of war, relay race, harpastum [named ‘garpaston’], leapfrog, aeroball and volleyball. Most of them were focused on managing a ball and absolutely all were team plays.
The book shows photographs and drawings of players, also schemes of some fields and exemplary patterns for gorodki [a kind of wooden skittles].
Some Russian folk activities were known since the 15th century and were held during urban celebrations. A part of the mentioned games was included in All-Soviet sports competitions. For example, the rules of gorodki were codified in 1923 and it was played all over the country.
The book includes a Russian variant of harpastum and a little-known game ‘aeroball’ that was a kind of volleyball, but easier. It was completely replaced with a children’s game ‘pionerball’ invented in the 1930s.
Apart from this edition, V. Taraskin published two books on football in 1925, and one of them contains rules for referees.

Not found in Worldcat.

Sold