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barrysloateMax- in the back of the 1889 Spalding Guide there is an ad for "Athletic Sports", with the plain cover version offered for $3.50 and the Morocco cover for $5.00. That is an enormous amount of money for that era, when the Guide itself could be purchased for a dime. It's clear the book was aimed at the wealthy, and it may explain why so many survived. Who would throw out such an expensive book?
I am not aware of the salesman's sample you cited. Do you have a scan (or a description)?
"Sights and Sounds...", which was published in 1893, is just a rehash of parts of the 1888 book. But it is clearly scarcer.