The Art of Swimming by Captain Mathew Webb first edition 1875

WEBB, Captain Matthew. The Art of Swimming. Edited by A. G. Payne. 
 
London: Ward, Lock and Tyler, [c.1875].
 
8vo. Pp. 111 plus 4 pages of advertisements at the rear. Chromolithographic portrait frontispiece of Webb, numerous text illustrations of strokes and techniques. Publisher’s striking blue cloth gilt, upper cover blocked with portrait medallion of Webb in gilt within a decorative border of tridents and dolphins, lettered in gilt and black. Spine ends and corners rubbed, some wear to cloth (notably a small abrasion to lower front cover), inner hinges tender but holding, scattered foxing to preliminaries; two holes in the fabric on the backstrip, a tear to the bottom corner, the front free end paper has a small portion cut out to the top right; an about good, presentable copy in the rare pictorial binding.
 
First edition of Webb’s instructional manual, published shortly after his historic swim across the English Channel in August 1875. Webb (1848–1883) became a Victorian sporting hero after completing the Channel crossing in just under 22 hours, the first person to do so without artificial aids. The Art of Swimming combines autobiographical reflections with practical guidance on strokes, training, and technique, illustrated with muscular figures demonstrating movements in the water.
 
Webb’s fame was tragically short-lived: in 1883, aged only 35, he drowned attempting to swim the rapids below Niagara Falls, an audacious stunt that captured headlines around the world. His early death, coupled with his iconic Channel crossing, cemented his place as a cult figure of Victorian sport.
 
A desirable piece of Victorian sporting literature celebrated both for its subject matter and its publisher’s cloth binding. The book is rare in commerce—no copies are currently for sale—and institutional holdings are limited, with only six copies traced in the UK.