Name/Title
The Official Laws of BackgammonDescription
It is remarkable how many different “Official” sets of rules were published in 1930. Each one cites for authority some assortment of the same named private clubs and published authors on the game — yet no two sets is the same. This article is unique among them as it presents the laws as in a state of negotiation, though “substantially in force at many fashionable clubs whose members play according to the rules in this article.” The near-dozen clubs Julian Jerome mentions does not include the influential Racquet and Tennis Club of New York City, which would take leadership in codifying and publishing the Laws of Backgammon the following year with Charles Scribner’s Sons (1931). Neither does the article make any reference to John Longacre, whose “Authorized” Rules of Backgammon were already in wide circulation (see publications earlier in the timeline, above). Jerome names Thorne, Hattersley, Boyden, Bond, and Mabardi as approving the Vanity Fair rules — an impressive cadre of published writers, but notably lacking backgammon heavyweight Grosvenor Nicholas as well as Longacre. Both, along with Nicholas’ writing partner C. Wheaton Vaughan, would serve on the New York Committee establishing the 1931 Laws.Publication Details
Periodical
Vanity FairPeriodical Type
MagazineTime Period
Modern BackgammonOther Names and Numbers
Other Numbers
Number Type
SequenceOther Number
1930_12
