OXFORD COMPANION TO CHESS

It's usually referred to as the Noah's Ark Trap.

Hooper & Whyld do not cite the origin of this term. They note:

"In the book of the New York tournament 1924, Alekhine carelessly
recommended this variation as a means of obtaining a quick draw;
his advice was followed by E. Steiner who, playing Capablanca in
the Budapest tournament 1229, fell into this ancient trap. Some
suggest that the black pawns on a6, b5, c4, and d6 resemble the
shape of an ark, others that the trap is 'as old as the Ark.'"



wrote:
I notice that Wikipedia says it is not known exactly where the term
comes from, or exactly why it is used. I have an 1895 reference in
which Mason uses the term, giving an exact reason for his usage, and
clearly in a context where the reader is not supposed to know it as
any sort of standard term.

Is this well known (Wikipedia not always being reliable), or does
anyone have an older use?

Jerry Spinrad