this is a hardback book titled " the principles of chess in theory and practice " by james mason . this is published by horcae cox in 1896 . the book has 318 pages ! some of the contents include, castling, capturing, stalemate, notation, laws of chess, the forces generally, and more ! the book is in well used condition and has suffered with staining mostly at the beginning and at the back ! most of the pages are in nice used condition with some having some browning ! pages are tight ! and the covers are stiff and ok ! a scarce copy ideal as a reference book