The Popular Game of Tiddledy Winks
Classification:
Date:
1897
Medium:
Cardboard, felt, glass, ivory
Dimensions:
box: 2 1/2 x 5 3/4 x 5 3/4 in. ( 6.4 x 14.6 x 14.6 cm )
Description:
"The Popular Game of Tiddledy Winks" table game with 28 ivory playing pieces, a glass cup, four circular green felt pads and an instruction booklet in a paper covered cardboard box; box has four trapezoidal dividers printed red, white, blue and yellow; box top chromolithographed with an image of a Victorian family seated around a table playing "Tiddledy Winks"; box cover inscribed, "THE POPULAR GAME OF/ TIDDLEDY/ WINKS/ New/ Edition/ 1897./ PARKER BROTHERS/ SALEM, MASS. U.S.A.".
Credit Line:
The Liman Collection
Object Number:
2000.579
Marks:
lithographed: on the box cover: "THE POPULAR GAME OF/ TIDDLEDY/ WINKS/ New/ Edition/ 1897./ PARKER BROTHERS/ SALEM, MASS. U.S.A."
Gallery Label:
Tiddledy Winks, first patented in England in 1889 and marketed to an adult audience, captivated Americans during the 1890s. The game's general concept is flicking a game piece (wink) with another instrument (tiddledy or squidger) to make the wink fly into the air. The modern spelling, tiddlywinks, came into use during the 1950s.
Bibliography:
Hofer, Margaret K. "The Games We Played: The Golden Age of Board & Table Games." New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2003.
Date Begin:
0
Date End:
1897
eMuseum Object ID:
42949
Due to ongoing research, information about this object is subject to change.
Game of Dr. Busby
Classification:
Date:
ca. 1890
Medium:
Cardboard, paper
Dimensions:
box: 1 x 4 1/8 x 5 1/4 in. ( 2.5 x 10.5 x 13.3 cm )
each card: 3 5/8 x 2 1/2 in. ( 9.2 x 6.4 cm )
Description:
"The Game of Dr. Busby" card game with twenty chromolithographed playing cards and an instruction booklet in a paper covered cardboard box; five sets of four cards each representing a family, Dr. Busby, Cod the fishmonger, Corn the gardener, Melon the coach driver and Bull the butcher; box cover lithographed with a medallion portrait of Dr. Busby and a horse drawn carriage on a road; box cover inscribed, "GAME OF/ DR. BUSBY/ PUBLISHED BY J. H. SINGER, N.Y.".
Credit Line:
The Liman Collection
Object Number:
2000.574
Marks:
lithographed: box cover: "GAME OF/ DR. BUSBY/ PUBLISHED BY J. H. SINGER, N.Y."
Date Begin:
0
Date End:
1890
eMuseum Object ID:
42942
Due to ongoing research, information about this object is subject to change.
The Improved and Illustrated Game of Dr. Busby
Classification:
Highlight:
Not promoted
Date:
1843
Medium:
Cardboard, paper
Dimensions:
box: 1/2 x 2 1/2 x 3 5/8 in. ( 1.3 x 6.4 x 9.2 cm )
each card: 2 3/8 x 3 3/8 in. ( 6 x 8.6 cm )
Description:
"The Game of Dr. Busby" card game with 18 chromolithographed playing cards in a paper covered cardboard box; two sets of four cards and two sets of five cards each representing a family, Busby, Spade, Doll's and Ninnycometwitch; box cover inscribed, "THE/IMPROVED AND ILLUSTRATED/ GAME/ OF/ DR. BUSBY/ SALEM, MASS./ PUBLISHED BY W. AND S. B. IVES".
Credit Line:
The Liman Collection
Object Number:
2000.566
Marks:
printed: on the box cover: "THE/IMPROVED AND ILLUSTRATED/ GAME/ OF/ DR. BUSBY/ SALEM, MASS./ PUBLISHED BY W. AND S. B. IVES".
Gallery Label:
"The Game of Dr. Busby," perhaps the first original American card game, called on players' memory skills to win the game. It was packaged in a purposely nonsensical way, grouping twenty people and things into four suits or "families." The players, presumably children, had to remember who among the group had each card. Dr. Busby's black servant, an impeccably dressed and honorable man, is probably the earliest representation of an African-American in an American game.
Date Begin:
0
Date End:
1843
eMuseum Object ID:
42940
Due to ongoing research, information about this object is subject to change.
The Game of Dr. Busby
Classification:
Date:
1843
Medium:
Cardboard, paper
Dimensions:
box: 1/2 x 2 1/2 x 3 5/8 in. ( 1.3 x 6.4 x 9.2 cm )
each card: 3 5/8 x 2 3/8 in. ( 9.2 x 6 cm )
Description:
"The Game of Dr. Busby" card game with twenty block printed and hand-colored playing cards and an advertising card in a paper covered cardboard box; four sets of five cards each representing a family, Busby, Spade, Doll's and Ninny-Come-Twitch; applied label on the box printed, "THE/ IMPROVED AND ILLUSTRATED/ GAME/ OF/ DR. BUSBY./ SALEM, MASS./ PUBLISHED BY W. AND S. B. IVES"; instructions applied to the back of the box.
Credit Line:
The Liman Collection
Object Number:
2000.506
Marks:
printed: on the box label: "THE/ IMPROVED AND ILLUSTRATED/ GAME/ OF/ DR. BUSBY./ SALEM, MASS./ PUBLISHED BY W. AND S. B. IVES"
Gallery Label:
W. & S. B. Ives was a major force in the game industry from its inception in the early 1840s until the emergence of McLoughlin in the 1850s. The Game of Dr. Busby, based on European games in which players build "suits" of cards composed of family members, was America's first popular card game.
Date Begin:
0
Date End:
1843
eMuseum Object ID:
42939
Due to ongoing research, information about this object is subject to change.
The Peculiar Game of My Wife and I
Classification:
Date:
ca. 1890
Medium:
Cardboard, paper
Dimensions:
box: 1 1/8 x 6 1/2 x 5 in. ( 2.9 x 16.5 x 12.7 cm )
Description:
"The Peculiar Game of My Wife and I" card game with instruction booklet and 94 playing cards in a paper covered cardboard box; box cover lithographed with illustration of a man and woman riding a horse drawn cart; cover inscribed, "THE PECULIAR GAME of/ MY WIFE AND I/ PARKER BROS/ PUBLISHERS/ SALEM-MASS./ MY WIFE & I GOING TO TOWN".
Credit Line:
The Liman Collection
Object Number:
2000.572
Marks:
lithographed: on the box cover: "THE PECULIAR GAKE of/ MY WIFE AND I/ PARKER BROS/ PUBLISHERS/ SALEM-MASS./ MY WIFE & I GOING TO TOWN"
Date Begin:
0
Date End:
1890
eMuseum Object ID:
42936
Due to ongoing research, information about this object is subject to change.
Young Folks Geographical Game
Classification:
Date:
ca. 1890
Medium:
Cardboard, paper
Dimensions:
box: 1 x 6 1/4 x 4 3/8 in. ( 2.5 x 15.9 x 11.1 cm )
each card: 3 1/2 x 2 1/2 in. ( 8.9 x 6.4 cm )
Description:
"Young Folks Geographical Game" card game with 36 playing cards in a paper covered cardboard box; polychrome lithographed box cover with an image of a small boy in a sailor suit pointing to a globe with two girls looking on; box cover inscribed, "YOUNG FOLKS'/ GEOGRAPHICAL/ GAME./ McLOUGHLIN BROS., New York."
Credit Line:
The Liman Collection
Object Number:
2000.762
Marks:
lithographed: on the box cover: "YOUNG FOLKS'/ GEOGRAPHICAL/ GAME./ McLOUGHLIN BROS., New York."
Date Begin:
0
Date End:
1890
eMuseum Object ID:
42933
Due to ongoing research, information about this object is subject to change.
The New Pretty Village Boathouse Set
Classification:
Date:
1897
Medium:
Cardboard, paper, metal
Dimensions:
box: 7/8 x 8 1/4 x 12 in. ( 2.2 x 21 x 30.5 cm )
Description:
Miniature cardboard village in a box with one complete house, six houses missing roofs, two tin stands in a paper envelope and eight paper figures, trees, and accessories; box cover lithographed with an image of a boy and girl playing with a village set on a large table while a mother holding an infant looks on; box inscribed, "THE NEW/ PRETTY VILLAGE/ BOAT HOUSE SET./ COPYRIGHT/ 1897 BY/ McLOUGHLIN BROS./ 890 Broadway/ NEW YORK."
Credit Line:
The Liman Collection
Object Number:
2000.440
Marks:
lithographed: on the box cover: "THE NEW/ PRETTY VILLAGE/ BOAT HOUSE SET./ COPYRIGHT/ 1897 BY/ McLOUGHLIN BROS./ 890 Broadway/ NEW YORK."
Date Begin:
0
Date End:
1897
eMuseum Object ID:
42928
Due to ongoing research, information about this object is subject to change.
The New Game of Teddy's Bear Hunt
Classification:
Date:
1907
Medium:
Cardboard, paper, lead, wood and ivory
Dimensions:
Open (board): 17 5/8 × 23 7/8 in. (44.8 × 60.6 cm)
Container (box): 1 7/8 × 18 1/4 × 12 1/2 in. (4.8 × 46.4 × 31.
Description:
"The New Game of Teddy's Bear Hunt" board game with board, six lead figures of Teddy, a lead figure of a bear, two wooden dice cups and two ivory die in a paper covered cardboard box; snow scene lithographed on the board with six paths of blue footprints leading from a fire and one path of red and yellow paw prints leading from a living bear to a dead bear; board inscribed, "TEDDY'S BEAR HUNT/ GAME/ START/ FINISH/ COPYRIGHTED 1907 BY BOWERS & HARD/ MANUFACTURED BY BOWERS & HARD, 211 STATE ST., BRIDGEPORT, CONN."; paper label applied to the board reverse with an image of Teddy about to shoot a startled bear in a snowy wooded landscape; label inscribed, "THE NEW GAME / TEDDY'S BEAR/ HUNT"; lithographed image on the box cover is the same as the board label.
Credit Line:
The Liman Collection
Object Number:
2000.370
Marks:
lithographed: on the board: "TEDDY'S BEAR HUNT/ GAME/ START/ FINISH/ COPYRIGHTED 1907 BY BOWERS & HARD/ MANUFACTURED BY BOWERS & HARD, 211 STATE ST., BRIDGEPORT, CONN."
printed: on the board label: "THE NEW GAME / TEDDY'S BEAR/ HUNT/ COPYRIGHTED 1907 BY
Date Begin:
0
Date End:
1907
eMuseum Object ID:
42927
Due to ongoing research, information about this object is subject to change.
The Great American Centennial Exhibition Puzzle Blocks
Classification:
Highlight:
Not promoted
Date:
1875
Medium:
Wood, paper
Dimensions:
box: 3 x 22 x 11 1/2 in. ( 7.6 x 55.9 x 29.2 cm )
Description:
Five paper covered wood jigsaw puzzles in a box with images of buildings at the 1876 American Centennial Exposition including the Main Building on opening day, Art Gallery in the moringing, Horticultural Hall at night, Agricultural Hall during a storm and the Machinery Hall at sunset; five lithographed images of each puzzle in the box; paper covered wooden box with a lithographed image of the art gallery; box cover inscribed, "The Great American CENTENNIAL EXHIBITION PUZZLE BLOCKS, In Sectional Parts./ TRADE MARK./ PRINTED IN OIL COLORS./ ENDLESS AMUSEMENT./ Brett Litho Co. 116 Fulton St. N. Y. REGISTERED IN THE PATENT OFFICE AT WASHINGTON D. C. IN THE YEAR 1875/ PATENT PENDING 1875/ IN FIVE VIEWS./ COMPRISING./ 1.-ART GALLERY./ MORNING VIEW./ 2.-MACHINERY HALL./ SUNSET VIEW./ 3.-HORTICULTURAL HALL./ NIGHT SCENE-iLLUMINATED./ 4.-AGRICULTURAL HALL./ STORM VIEW./ 5.-THE MAIN BUILDING./ DAY SCENE.-Grand opening./ Manufactured by/ GEORGE H. CHINOOK,/ NEW YORK."
Credit Line:
The Liman Collection
Object Number:
2000.317
Marks:
lithographed: on the box cover: "The Great American CENTENNIAL EXHIBITION PUZZLE BLOCKS, In Sectional Parts./ TRADE MARK./ PRINTED IN OIL COLORS./ ENDLESS AMUSEMENT./ Brett Litho Co. 116 Fulton St. N. Y. REGISTERED IN THE PATENT OFFICE AT WASHINGTON D.
Gallery Label:
The 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition, the first exposition of its kind in the United States, celebrated 100 years of American independence and the nation's emergence as an international industrial power. More than ten million visitors visited the works of 30,000 exhibitors during its six-month run, encountering mind-boggling wonders like telephones, typewriters, and a gigantic Corliss steam engine. This puzzle depicts the Main Exhibition Hall, the largest building in the world at that...
Date Begin:
0
Date End:
1875
eMuseum Object ID:
42923
Due to ongoing research, information about this object is subject to change.
The Hand of Fate Fortune Telling Game
Classification:
Date:
1901
Medium:
Cardboard, paper, plastic
Dimensions:
Container (box): 1 × 15 1/8 × 14 1/2 in. (2.5 × 38.4 × 36.8 cm)
Description:
"The Hand of Fate: Fortune Telling Game" board game in a cardboard box; on cover, illustration with figure of a girl dressed in a witch costume with a peaked red hat and a cape, teaching a black cat, both inside a ring with symbols of the zodiac, around the ring are black cats, bats and owls; box cover lithographed, "THE HAND OF FATE/ FORTUNE/ TELLING/ GAME/ McLOUGHLIN BRO'S/ NEW YORK./ COPYRIGHT 1901/ by McLOUGHLIN BROS./ NEW YORK."; one paper disc pasted to plastic case inside box; a sheet of printed paper with a circle cut out of center, with answers to the questions on the discs in circles bordering interior edge.
Credit Line:
The Liman Collection
Object Number:
2000.476
Marks:
lithographed: on the box cover: "THE HAND OF FATE/ FORTUNE/ TELLING/ GAME/ McLOUGHLIN BRO'S/ NEW YORK./ COPYRIGHT 1901/ by McLOUGHLIN BROS./ NEW YORK."
Gallery Label:
The Hand of Fate is one of many parlor games revealing Victorians' fascination with mysticism. The magnetic dial at the center can be employed to play different games depending on which of the surrounding rings is used. The innermost circle allows the "hand" to answer historical questions, the middle circle provides character reading based on a player's birthday, and the outer circle of numbers lets players ask true/false questions (even = true, uneven= false).
Bibliography:
Hofer, Margaret K. "The Games We Played: The Golden Age of Board & Table Games." New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2003.
Date Begin:
0
Date End:
1901
eMuseum Object ID:
42907
Due to ongoing research, information about this object is subject to change.
















