While doing research to make sure friends and I had our rules correct for mid-19th century croquet over the summer, I came across this resource (with a fantastic lengthy name, as is common for these sorts of books in the 19th century): How To Play Croquet. A New Pocket Manual of Complete Instructions for American Players. Illustrated with Engravings and Diagrams Together with All the Rules of the Game: Hints on Parlor-Croquêt, and A Glossary of Technical Terms.
I found great enjoyment reading through the book (it’s not a long read) and think it will be fun to share some of the amusing passages here.
To start, a few excerpts from the introduction:
This next excerpt is from the section describing the game itself. I enjoy the word choice and the conclusion of the players shouting “Victory” and waving their mallets in the air!
And lastly, a few of the benefits of playing croquet, from the conclusion of the book.
I appreciate the final admonition about not cheating, but I have to say that when a game of croquet with friends gets too long and people stop paying attention… a bit of ‘move it along’ assistance to the game can be quite helpful!
The Quintessential Clothes Pen 