Lister, Dudley – How to Box

Description

Lister, Dudley ‘How to Box’ 1952 1st ed. 256-pages. Good condition in a good mylar protected price-clipped dust jacket. The frontispiece has a gift inscription to a boy from an uncle and two aunts.

The 1952 first edition of How to Box by Dudley Lister, in good condition with a matching Good, price-clipped dust jacket secured in a protective Mylar sleeve, has an estimated retail market value of $90 to $125.

Because it was published in the United Kingdom and had a relatively modest print run, finding copies with an intact original dust jacket—even one that has been price-clipped—is quite uncommon for boxing bibliophiles.

Book Description:
Published in London in 1952 by Eyre & Spottiswoode, How to Box is a comprehensive instructional manual written by Colonel Dudley S. Lister. Lister brought a unique level of prestige to the project; he was a highly decorated World War II Commando leader and the former British Amateur Heavyweight Boxing Champion.
• Physical Characteristics: The book is a standard octavo volume containing 256 pages of text. It features an eye-catching pictorial dust jacket and is heavily illustrated inside with instructional black-and-white line drawings by Noel Syers, which explicitly break down stance, footwork, defensive maneuvers, and punching combinations.
• The Narrative / Content: Rather than just a list of drills, Lister leverages his military background and championship ring experience to deliver a highly disciplined, tactical approach to the sweet science. The book is designed to teach both beginners and competitive amateurs how to execute professional-grade boxing techniques with clinical efficiency.
Value Breakdown & Condition Analysis
• The Dust Jacket Preservation: In the antiquarian sports market, the dust jacket represents up to 70% of a book’s total value. While a “price-clipped” jacket (where the original retail price was clipped off the inner flap) technically docks the price for absolute purists, placing the jacket into a brand-new protective Mylar sleeve halts any further edge wear or tearing. This vastly improves its display value and keeps it in the premium tier for standard copies.
• The “Good” Condition Grade: For a 1952 printing, a “Good” grade implies the book shows honest shelf wear—such as light cloth discoloration on the spine, bumped corners, or mild paper toning—but remains entirely intact, clean, and structurally sound. Unjacketed copies in this condition routinely fetch around $40 to $50; the inclusion of the complete, protected jacket doubles that baseline value.