WISDEN, John. The Cricketer's Almanack for the year 1864, edited by W.H. Crockford and W.H. Knight. London: John Wisden, 1864. 8° (152 x 93mm). (Slight soiling on pp. 73-74, p. 85 to end with nibbled corner.) Modern brown buckram, spine titled in gilt, red speckled edges, printed wrappers in facsimile. FIRST EDITION, with the newly retired Sussex bowler taking the role of publisher. Fred Lillywhite’s Guide to Cricketers, by now in its nineteenth edition, had already shown that a market existed for the cricket annual. From the start Wisden’s almanack gave the game an elevated status as part of national history; in the almanack section itself, one of the sporting feats interwoven with the dates of historic battles is the publisher’s own ten wickets in an innings in a recent North v South match. Yet interest was taken in catastrophic failures as well as victories, again perhaps reflecting British military history. In the section called ‘Extraordinary Matches’ an equal amount of space is given to an innings of 0 by the 2nd Royal Surrey Militia and the victory of George Parr’s team against Eighteen of Victoria. The new almanack and each monthly part of Dickens’ Our Mutual Friend, serialised in 1864-65, sold at the same price of one shilling.