The Badminton Library of Sports and Pastimes was a sporting and publishing project conceived and founded by Henry Somerset, 8th Duke of Beaufort  (1824–1899). Between 1885 and 1902 it developed into a series of sporting books which aimed to cover comprehensively all major sports and pastimes. The books were published in London and in Boston.

Offered here is the Badminton Library of Sport and Pastimes: Golf by Horace G. Hutchinson, 2^nd Edition 1890, London: Spottiswodde and Co., with contributions by Lord Wellwood, Sir Walter Simpson, A. J. Balfour, M.P. Andrew Lang, H.S.C. Everard and others.   Illustrated with numerous drawings by Thomas Hodge and Harry Furniss, including frontispiece with tissue-guard. Written in pencil on second page is: “4092  Book #7”; on title page under the printed words Second Edition is: “1^st March – 2^nd June 1890”,  463 pages.  Binding is tight.  Excellent Condition. A very presentable copy.

According to Donovan & Jerris in The Game of Golf And The Printed Word 1566-2005, Hutchinson's "Golf' was generally accepted as one of the finest golf books ever written.  Hutchinson covered the game more thoroughly than any book previously published.  The book offers significant insight into the state of the game, just as its popularity was starting to increase dramatically around the world.  The chapters on instruction may seem dated to the modern reader, but the portions of the book dealing with equipment and course design are particularly valuable for historians of the game.

For anyone interested in the history of the game, this book is a must own. It was published in 8 editions between 1890 and 1911, and reprinted again in 1987 and 1996.