A Treatise on Skating

the long version

First published in 1772, Robert Jones’s Treatise on Skating is the oldest surviving book about ice skating. It begins with advice on choosing skates and starting to skate, then details more difficult maneuvers for advanced skaters. Several editions, some containing new material, were published in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Today’s readers will find this glimpse into the beginning of figure skating fascinating. This edition includes the full text of the original 1772 edition, the sheet music for “The Skater’s March” from the 1780 edition, the letter to the reader from the 1797 edition, and W. E. Cormack’s 1855 revisions, plus a new introduction and notes.