On Fencing
New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1943. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Hardcover. xv, [1], 300, [2] pages. Illustrations. Appendix. Decorative front cover and spine. Foreword by Paul Gallico. Some endpaper discoloration. Some cover wear and soiling. "A model of fencing instruction."—Time Magazine. "A detailed and well-illustrated exposition of the art."—The New York Times Aldo Nadi (29 April 1899 – 10 November 1965) was one of the greatest Italian fencers of all time. Aldo was born into a fencing family in Livorno, Italy, and both Aldo and his brother Nedo Nadi were fencers from a very young age. They were both taught foil and sabre in the classical Italian school of swordsmanship by their father, Beppe Nadi, who believed the épée to be an "undisciplined" weapon and refused to teach it. The brothers therefore practiced épée by themselves. In 1920, at the age of 21, Nadi won gold medals at the Olympics in team foil, team épée, and team sabre. He also won a silver medal in individual sabre, second only to his brother Nedo Nadi. Nadi emigrated to the United States in 1935. He taught fencing in New York City from 1935 to 1943, and in 1943 published a book On Fencing. Also in 1943, he relocated to Los Angeles, California, where he continued to teach fencing in his own school, in addition to occasionally coaching actors for fencing scenes in films. He even made a film appearance himself, as a bodyguard in To Have and Have Not (1944), starring Humphrey Bogart. In 1955, Nadi wrote his autobiography (The Living Sword: A Fencer's Autobiography), which was published 30 years after his death. More