Encyclopedia of Sports by MENKE, Frank G - 1944

New York: A.S. Barnes and Company, 1944. Hardcover. Illustrations by Willard Mullin. Small 4to. Red cloth with black lettering, pictorial dust jacket. xii, 628pp. Numerous line drawings. Near fine/good plus. Jacket quite edgeworn, with variety of edge chips and expert archivally closed (on verso) edge tears -- thus overall complete and even attractive. A tight, quite nice revised edition of this authoritative A to Z reference work, ranging from "Amateur Athlete" to "Checkers (Draughts)" to "Jai Alai" to "Yachting" and everything in between. This copy handsomely signed and inscribed by the author in black fineline on front flyleaf: "To my friend, / Richard D. Day, / with all good wishes / Frank G Mende / 9/12/44." Day was a decorated Army Air Force officer in World War Two; his small ownership inkstamp appears on the title page. Menke (1885-1954), nicknamed "America's Foremost Sports Writer," was a highly-regarded and prolific sports historian, author and reporter. An uncommon title seldom found signed.