samsloan wrote:
I have two books in front of me:

"The Outline of Contract Bridge" by Louis H. Watson author of Watson
on the Play of the Hand published in 1934

and

"Watson's Classic Book on the Play of the Hand at Bridge" new edition
enlarged and modernized by Sam Fry, Jr.published in 1959

Amazon lists 17 different books by Watson. However, I suspect that
most of them are the same book over and over again, just with the
title slightly restated.

Does anybody know the answer to this question?

The Library of Congress has 3 titles + 1 revision
1) _The outline of contract bridge_ (New York, Grosset & Dunlap [c1934])
LC Control No.: 34039034
CALL NUMBER: GV1282.3 .W365
2) _Watson on the play of the hand at contract bridge_, foreword by
Oswald Jacoby. (New York : Lewis Copeland Co., 1934.)
LC Control No.: 34012851
CALL NUMBER: GV1282.3 .W37
2a) _Watson’s classic book on the play of the hand at bridge_. edited
and modernized by Sam Fry.(New York, Sterling Pub. Co. [1958])
LC Control No.: 58001847
CALL NUMBER: GV1282.3 .W37 1958
3) _Culbertson system self-teacher_. [Pittsburgh, Contract bridge
publications, c1935]
LC Control No.: 35030520
CALL NUMBER: GV1282.3 .W363

The British Library Integrated Catalog has (1), (2), and (2a) but not (3):

1) _The Outline of Contract Bridge, etc._ (Grosset & Dunlap: New York,
[1934.])
System number: 003864625
Shelfmark: 7916.f.19.

2) _[Watson] on the play of the hand at Contract Bridge_ (New York :
Lewis Copeland, 1934.)
System number: 012171865 and 012172043 and 003864626
Shelfmark: W9/2077 DSC and W81/5397 DSC and 7921.bb.23

2a) _Watson’s Classic Book on the Play of the Hand at Bridge_ ...
Enlarged and modernized by Sam Fry. (Barnes & Noble: New York, 1959)
System number: 003864627
Shelfmark: 7924.aa.40.

Also, who was Louis H. Watson? When did he die? Is his biography
available anywhere?

_The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge_ (1964-1971, Crown Publishers and
1984- ACBL) will answer your questions. He was a first-tier player, a
successful writer, columnist, and editor. He died in 1936.