Carpentier, Georges – The Art of Boxing

Description

Carpentier, Georges ‘The Art of Boxing’ 1926 1st ed. 172-pages. Some foxing to pages and slight wear to top/bottom of spine, else good condition. Dust jacket is mylar protected but missing the top 2″ of front of the dust jacket and top 1/2″ of rear of the jacket, as well as top one-eighth inch of spine, basically a poor jacket. Contents: A Careful Survey of Oneself, Sizing Up an Opponent, On Mental Energy, The Importance of Weight, Hands-Gloves-Bandages, The Whip Punch, The Backbone of Boxing, On Round Hitting, The Importance of Defence Work, In-fighting, On Foul Blows and Certain Rules, Boxing and Fighting, Is There a French Style, How Boxing Originated. Carpentier’s Full Records.

The Art of Boxing is an uncommon instructional volume and personal memoir written by the iconic French multi-division champion Georges Carpentier during the twilight of his active professional fighting career.

Bibliographic Details:
• Title: The Art of Boxing
• Author: Georges Carpentier
• Publisher: George H. Doran Company (New York) (Simultaneously published in the UK by George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd)
• Publication Date: 1926 (First American Edition)
• Pagination: 172 pages (Features instructional narrative through page 159, immediately followed by an Appendix tracking his complete fighting record from pages 160–172)
• Format: Octavo (8vo), hardcover

Overview & Content:
Georges Carpentier—affectionately nicknamed “The Orchid Man”—gained international celebrity as a remarkably fluid, fast, and scientific boxer who captured European championships across several weight classes before winning the World Light Heavyweight Title and challenging Jack Dempsey in the historic 1921 “Battle of the Century.”
In his preface to this book, Carpentier notes that his goal was to provide practical hints to aspiring young boxers without making the instructional reading tedious. To achieve this balance, the book beautifully intertwines technical strategic guides with rich, firsthand autobiographical recollections of his major fights, training camps, and observations on national boxing styles.

Physical & Interior Presentation:
• Binding: The American first trade edition is bound in a striking red cloth with the title and author cleanly stamped on the front cover and spine.
• Dust Jacket: The scarce original pictorial dust wrapper features a large, iconic black-and-white portrait of a clean-shaven, smiling Georges Carpentier taking up the majority of the front panel, framed by clean typographic borders.
• Illustrations: Contains 9 monochrome photographic plates (including a frontispiece portrait of the author). The interior plates dynamically capture Carpentier modeling essential pugilistic techniques, stances, guards, and counter-punching positions.