Good to see how close you are the "greats" here.

Sure do well any biographer could consult the necessary sources - open source style, especially when contesting a reputable source such as Harding.

<We have great pleasure in laying before our readers the following games, played by Mr. Blackburne, blindfold, at the Athenaeum, on Thursday last.>

The other game being Blackburne vs Colonel Baker, 1871.

The question now seems to be when Blackburne arrived in Bristol for his 3-day stay, and what he did on each day?

So, reading the previous post, the Wednesday <WDP> notes Blackburne's 3-day stay, and I assume the same source explicitly mentions the 17b simul on Tues Nov 21 (1871), and odds and ends on Wed Nov 22.

We already know <Missy> claims Nov 23 for the final 10b simul with the prestigious members of the Bristol Anthenaeum CC.

So Blackburne was in Bristol on Nov 21-23.

Let's ask - does this schedule make sense?

Specially, that the select first-rank members of the club, who arranged for his appearance, defer to the very end of his stay for their turn of play?

Hmm....

Not to mention that my reading of an excerpt by Harding suggests his source was Burt's own account in his written history of the Bristol CC.

Patience was a virtue back then. It had to be. Besides, some of these first-rank players had faced Blackburne on the first two days. The presence of Colonel Baker of Bath and Fedden from Cardiff may also have influenced the schedule.

<Not to mention that my reading of an excerpt by Harding suggests his source was Burt's own account in his written history of the Bristol CC.>

Not just yet... please allow me a little allowance since I don't have Harding's book.

The question, to be precise, is what source did Harding use to date the simul on Nov 21th?

If there are multiple primary sources which conflict, it behooves us to outline the discrepancies - and to allow some discussion of their resolution.

The <WDP> report of November 27th, p.3, doesn't mention the date of the blindfold display, nor the other two days's play, so if Harding hadn't seen the earlier reports, he may have assumed it was a lone performance.

I'd still be amazed if Harding's refs for the chapter didn't include the work reviewed here:

https://books.google.com/books?id=u...

I'm pretty sure Burt himself gave Blackburne arriving on the 21th, staying for three days, and playing the 10b simul on the first day, with the Burt game lasting 8 hours (but see below). All of which matches Harding's account.

One might expect Burt's telling to get priority, but whichever way one decides, a note on the ambiguity might be worth mentioning.

* * * * *

Here's Burt's account:

<
Mr. Blackburne arrived November 21st, and played ten blindfold games simultaneously against the following strong opponents,-Rev. A. C. Rowley, Messrs. Thomson, Fedden , Burt, Boorne, Vines, Cook, Banfield, Berry, and Col. Baker. The first three were drawn after 5 1/2 hours play ; Burt won at the end of 8 hours, and all the rest lost >

THE BRISTOL CHESS CLUB; ITS HISTORY, CHIEF PLAYERS - J. Burt (1883), p14

So yes, it's true, if one squints just right, a reading of the above doesn't conclusively say the games were played on the 21th, but a reasonable person would certainly interpret it that way.

And, while here, there's also this mention on p117: