The
The Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and
Printed Ephemera
Henry Francis du Pont
5105 Kennett Pike,
302-888-4600 or 800-448-3883
OVERVIEW OF THE
COLLECTION
Title: Collection of toys and games
Dates: circa1701-1987
Call No.:
Quantity: circa 6 cu. ft.
Location: 38 G-I and map case 3, drawer 9
SCOPE AND CONTENT
This is an artificial collection formed by gathering
together toys, card games, board games, paper dolls, puzzles, and some scrap
that were not already part of other collections. Some items were commercially printed, while
others are home-made. Further
acquisitions will be added to the collection as received. Each item is individually cataloged.
LANGUAGE OF MATERIALS
The materials are mostly in English, but also in German, French, Spanish, and Italian.
RESTRICTIONS ON
ACCESS
Collection is open to the public. Copyright restrictions may apply.
ACCESS POINTS
Topics
Toys
Paper toys
Paper dolls
Educational games
Board games
Puzzles
Games
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION
Location: 38 G-I and map case 3, drawer 9
Ph 1280.1-.52
“All the Bubbles” playing cards [photographs]
Photographs of a deck of playing cards called “All the Bubbles.” The cards were printed shortly after the
South Sea Bubble scandal, which broke in
67x29
Presidential flash cards, 1881.
20 cards: ill. (black & white); 12 cm.
These flashcards contain black and white lithographed
portraits of the first 20 presidents of the United States. Each card uses the same background and lists
birth date, birth place, and death date of the presidents. Printed by J.H. Bufford & Co. of
All items in good condition.
68x32
Franc-Macons, [circa 1730].
1 item: col. ill.
Peep show depicting a gathering of freemasons. The setting, the inside of a meeting hall, features such scenes as a group of men sitting at a head table, a group looking at a globe, a few men gathered in front of what appears to be nautical instruments, and others standing or sitting at tables talking. Text of title in French.
In a slipcase covered with marbled paper; title from slip
case.
71x216
Tuttell, Thomas, [fl. 1695‑1702].
Mathematical playing cards, 1701.
48 items: ill.; 9 cm.
Thomas Tuttell was a British mathematical instrument maker
who flourished from 1695‑1702. A
former apprentice to Henry Wynne, Tuttell was a member of the Clockmakers
Company and later was appointed Instrument Maker to the King of England in
1700. In his shops in
This set of engraved playing cards by Thomas Tuttell, dating 1701, depicts various mathematical instruments and their application to various occupations. The upper right hand corner contains a depiction of a small playing card. The remainder of the card contains the illustration, caption, and the description. Instruments shown include "dyals," cross‑staffs, compasses, scales, bows, surveying wheels and chains, theodolites, protractors, quadrants, etc. Occupations such as millwrights, bricklayers, shipwrights, and architects are portrayed, and their description includes a mention of the mathematical instruments most commonly used in the trade.
Missing four cards: Ace of Spades, Five of Hearts, King of Diamonds, and Jack of Diamonds.
72x357
The elements of astronomy and geography: explained on 40 cards beautifully engraved and coloured by the Abbe Paris, 1795.
1 set (40 cards): ill.; 10 cm.
Consists of 40 engraved, numbered, and hand colored cards in
the original box featuring an engraving of a globe and telescope. Each card
features an illustration and explanatory text.
For example, several cards depict geometric shapes with a description of
various kinds of measurements (circumference, angles, diameter, etc.). Another subset of cards describe groups
(Peroescii, Antoeci,
Title on the box.
73x311
Cut-out figures of two girls.
circa 1863.
The figures of these two girls were cut out of a colored illustration, most probably a fashion plate. The older girl holds a whip out of the younger girl’s grasp. The cut-out figures could have been used as paper dolls or could have been mounted into a scrapbook.
76x198
Wallis, John.
A new map of
1 puzzle (42 pieces): col. ill.
John Wallis operated a map warehouse at No. 16,
Puzzle with 42 pieces that join together to form a map of Europe. The pieces are in a wooden box with a label on top. (The pieces have been removed from the wooden box and are now assembled as a map.)
Title from label.
76x429
Leslie, Miss.
History of
1 game (60 cards): ill.
Includes sixty cards "with labels of five different
shapes and four different colors."
Each card contains information about a place or person in
In original box; top nearly detached. Title from box.
77x399
Snyder Bros.
Trolley: the great card game, copyright by Snyder Bros., 1904.
1 game (60 cards): ill. + instruction leaflet.
The Snyder Bros. was a printing and manufacturing firm in
The instruction leaflet offers rules for nine different games that could be played with Trolley cards. In each version, players use information and illustrations on the cards to make combinations that result in trumps and tricks. Trolley cards, motormen, conductors, fare, passengers, and transfers are depicted. Each card contains a number, a roman number or ace, king, queen, and jack that are used in making matches. Although most of the cards were printed with black ink, the colors red, green, and orange were each used on five cards.
In original box. Title from the box.
79x15
Transparent slate.
13 items.
The transparent slate is a wooden frame with a glass piece. To use, the instructions say: "With a fine pointed Black Lead Pencil trace (on the Glass) over every line of the copy which is underneath; when this is done remove the back of the frame, take out the copy and in place thereof put white paper; then replace the back as it was before. Compare the drawing you
have made with the copy and make any alterations that may be necessary." Also included are twelve pages of engravings that could be used with the slate. Depicted are horses, cows, hens,
the American flag, vignettes, the American eagle, birds, ships, etc.
Glass piece is missing from the slate.
79x70
W. and S. B. Ives.
Game of Dr. Busby: improved and illustrated/published by W. and S. B. Ives, 1843.
1 game (20 cards): col. ill.
The firm operated by W. and S. B. Ives was located in
Consists of twenty hand-colored cards in a cloth slipcase with printed directions for playing the game on the back of the case. The names of the characters depicted on the cards have been written on each of the cards in pencil. Some of the characters are posed, while others are engaged in activities. The activities include male raking hay, male carrying water, woman sewing, woman ironing, boys fighting, man harvesting grapes, woman playing piano and singing, woman carrying bucket, man hoeing, man carrying basket of vegetables or fruit. Posed figures include a man smoking a pipe and holding a tankard, a boy in student attire, a man standing on a street corner, a man with a dog, an African American man with a basket, a boy with a wheelbarrow and broom, a girl and woman with flowers. Also includes pictures of a garden wall and a cat drinking from a milk pan.
Original box; print fading; moderate grime.
Note: compare this game to one in Col. 669 (Thelma Mendsen Collection), acc. 70x130.23-A.7a-k, which is the “Game of Dr. Fusby, M.D.A.S.S.” The Fusby game was printed circa1880 by McLoughlin Bros. of New York. There are no directions with the Fusby game.
See also accession 12x100, The Improved and Illustrated Game of Dr. Fuzby, by Professor Punch, circa 1845, also in Col. 220.
79x345
Wooden soldiers, 18th century
4 items: col. ill.
Consists of four miniature wooden toy soldiers, hand carved and hand painted in the 18th century. The soldiers wear red jackets with gold buttons and tall black hats. The trousers are discolored and the original color is difficult to discern. The figures are glued onto round disks, carved on the underside. The paint has flaked or rubbed off in many places.
79x358
Paper soldiers and horses [circa1800-circa1820].
28 items: ill. (col.)
Consists of twenty-one paper soldiers and seven paper horses. The items were hand-made and hand-colored; playing cards were used as the base material. The soldiers' uniforms indicate that the items date from the Napoleonic period.
Items are mounted on acid-neutral boards; the boards have
been placed in a three-ring binder.
80x32
Adams, Josiah.
The new world: a game of American history: from discovery to James K. Polk/Josiah Adams, 1845.
1 game (40 cards): ill.; 10 cm.
Josiah Adams was a publisher and bookseller in Brick Church
Chapel,
Contains forty cards, twenty with engravings of famous people in American history, and clues to their identity. Also contains twenty cards with descriptive questions and answers about the original colonies and first eleven presidents. The object of the game is to match corresponding cards from the two sets. In addition, there is a trade card for Josiah Adams that advertises other games available from him. The original instruction booklet is missing, but a photocopy of the booklet is filed with the game.
Instruction booklet missing; cards in a cloth covered slipcase with gold embossed title and picture of American flag and eagle; slightly worn. (Photocopy of instruction book is filed with the game, acc. 05x98.
80x120
Portrait authors; an amusing and instructive pastime containing 32 fine portraits of eminent authors, 1873.
1 game (64 cards): ill. + instruction leaflet.
An educational card game in which the players try to assemble groups of cards containing lithographed portraits and printed biographical sketches of thirty-two 19th century authors, most of whom were American. There are 2 cards for each author: one with the portrait and the other with biographical information. The authors are divided into categories: biographers, historians, humorists, journalists, moral and religious writers, novelists, poets, and story writers. Set includes instruction booklet. The color lithographed cover contains the note that the game was "patented Sep. 2, 1873," and has the initials "E.I.H." in a lozenge as the only indication of possible publisher.
Name index to the authors is appended to this finding aid.
(This was formerly Doc. 89.)
80x215
Milton Bradley & Co.
The contraband gymnast/published by Milton Bradley & Co., 1872.
1 toy: col. ill.
Movable toy in a decorative envelope showing possible positions of a black gymnast dressed in a red, white, and blue suit. The item is accompanied by the original horizontal bar upon which he performs.
Title from envelope. Tears in the envelope.
80x238
Erotic playing cards / published by Lord Willwell and Lady Cainotware at Pricipoles, [circa 1890].
1 game (32 cards): col. ill.
Set of playing cards with eight cards per suit (diamonds, clubs, hearts, and spades). The cards are wrapped in purple tissue paper with a label bearing the names Rowlandson, Beardsely, Bayros, and Uta Maro. The set is identified as number 15 of a limited edition of 1,000 total copies. When the cards are examined under light, scenes of an erotic nature show through the back.
The picture on the nine of hearts is by Aubrey
Beardsley. It is reproduced in the book Erotic
Antiques.
Title from box.
80x271.1
Nassauer-Haus in Nürnberg.
Purchased in
Published by Screiber.
1 leaf and 1 page, attached: ill. (col.)
Paper model of the Nassauer-Haus in Nuremberg, Germany, with an attached sheet giving a history of the house.
The text is in German.
80x271.2
Poupées à Habiller, No. 861.
Purchased in
1 leaf: ill.
Modern copy of a circa1860 paper doll, the original lithography of which was done by Olivier-Pinot. The modern copy is in black and white. The doll, her dress, and her accessories have front and back views. The accessories include a bonnet, a hat, and two fancy headpices composed of flowers and lace caps.
Although purchased in
80x271.3-.4
Die Freunde aus der Kinderzeit, nro. 226, 227.
Purchased in
Printed by C. Wolf & Sohn and by Braun & Schneider, München.
2 leaves: ill.
Modern black and white copies of story sheets which were created by E. Ille in 1858. Both sheets depict a variety of wooden toys, including soldiers, animals, a nutcracker, and people. Under the toys are rhyming couplets that say something about what the toys are doing (e.g., the couplet under the stork tells how everyone is waiting to see what the stork has brought).
The text is in German.
81x87
F. A. Richter & Co.
Richter's anchor blocks of stone in three colors: known as "stone building blocks"/F. A. Richter & Co., [circa 1900].
2 boxes of blocks: col. ill. + 3 books of models and 4 sheets of figures.
F. A. Richter & Co. was an importer located at
Contains two boxes of blocks labeled 10A and 14A designed to supplement the original set of anchor blocks. The blocks are described as "a great educational toy and pastime." Stones in three colors (slate blue, brick red, and cream) are accompanied by books with designs for architectural models, shown as sectional drawings. Suggested buildings include: castles, churches, fortresses, town gates, bridges, and moats. The four sheets of uncut figures depict people in historic costume. Text on box and accompanying material is in English, German, Spanish, and Italian.
The wooden boxes have illustrations of elaborate columns in classical and gothic styles.
81x272
Spool Cotton Company.
John Martin's spool zoo, 1931.
6 items: col. ill.
The Spool Cotton Co. was located in
Complete set of the Spool Cotton Company's spool zoo, set number 2. The six animals represented by a cut out of a head and tail are a fox, bear, zebra, lion, elephant, and hippo. Each animal requires a spool of a different size, onto which the head and tail are glued. Cards with the cut outs include instructions for assembly, a poem about the animal shown, and a description of what the particular size of thread is used for. The set is in an envelope that includes a letter from the manufacturer.
Envelope and cards brittle.
81x273
Deininger Bakery.
Paper dolls, [circa 1930].
20 items: col. ill.
The Deininger Bakery was located in
Consists of five paper dolls each with three sheets of dresses and hats "given away everyday with each loaf of Bond bread." The dolls and costumes are uncut. While the four girls have different types of party dresses, outfits for the boy include a football uniform and a baseball uniform. There is an advertisement for Bond bread on the back of each doll. Printing was done by the American Colortype Co.
Dolls are in original envelopes; brittle.
81x288
American Art Works.
Cut out of a Deadwood coach, 1896.
1 sheet (uncut): col. ill.
One sheet of cut out parts that make a stagecoach (a Deadwood
coach) when assembled. Parts included
are the body, top, front, and back of the coach, axles, pole and whiffletrees,
front board, trunk rack, driver's seat, trunk, straps for rack, wheels, four
horses, and five men posed in different positions for the top of the
coach. A small picture of the finished coach
is also featured. The sheet was printed
as the art supplement to the Philadelphia Press,
Plastic cover is taped to the back of the sheet with masking tape.
81x451
Smith, Anthony W.
Smith's pictorial parlor oracle, 1869.
1 game: ill.; 29 cm.
According to the panel of directions on the reverse of the game board, the oracle "was designed to supply a want long felt, of an innocent, highly entertaining and instructive amusement for the young of both sexes in the home circle, at social parties, picnics, &c. The flattering reception and success it has met with wherever introduced, are our strongest testimonials of its utility and adaptation to this purpose."
(This was formerly Fol. 28.)
82x145
Adams, Josiah.
The game of kings. --
1 deck (38 cards): ill.; 10 cm. + instruction booklet.
Educational game of cards that "comprise a brief history of the English monarchs, from the Conquest to the present time, with an engraved figure of each." Each card includes a picture of the monarch (also including Oliver Cromwell), a poem about his or her reign, the date the person came to the throne and the number of years reigned, and some names associated with the reign. Booklet of 16 pages summarizes each monarch's reign. Includes a card printed with directions for playing game, and a card titled "Early History," which lists the kings from Egbert (came to throne in 827) through Harold (died 1066).
(This was formerly Doc. 62.)
82x146
G. Bishop & Co.
The engineer's shop and horizontal engine working
model/Bishop &
1 sheet (uncut): ill.
The firm G. Bishop & Co. was located at 101 Houndsditch,
One uncut and uncolored sheet with instructions for assembling an engineer's shop with a chimney, sandwheel, and two workmen. The sheet was to be pasted onto cardboard before objects were cut out and assembled. The wheel was supposed to support half a pint of sand so that the machine actually operated.
82x369
The
1 sheet (uncut): col. ill.
Uncut sheet for a paper doll and four outfits with
instructions for cutting out and attiring the doll. Both the front and back of a woman, four
period dresses representing different eras (1820, 1860, 1900, and 1920), and
appropriate head gear are featured. The
dresses, hat, and bonnet are based on items in the Costume Collection at the
83x41
Fox, George, fl. 1800.
A new, moral, and entertaining game of the reward of merit / Invented by Geo. Fox, 1801.
1 sheet in slipcase; ill.; 38 x 69 cm.
A game of 37 spaces, each illustrated and labeled with a rhyming moral, such as: "a Gardener; Plant what is good, root out what's bad; Then You'll become a charming Lad"; "a Dunce; Return great Dunce, with marks of Shame; Unto the Place from whence you came"; "a Puppy; You're pert to all, yet nothing know; Therefore pay one, sweet-scented Beau"; and "a Dutiful Child; Your Parents you always regard; Therefore three Stakes is your reward." Rules are included.
(This was formerly Doc. 60.)
83x72
Theodore Press Co.
Musical dominoes/invented by C. W. Grimm; published by Theodore Dresser, 1893.
1 game (36 pieces): ill. + two instruction booklets.
The Theodore Press Co. was located at
According to the instruction book, "How to Play Musical Dominoes," the musical domino as invented by C. W. Grimm consisted of 36 pieces and was to be played by two or more persons. The face of each piece has two equal squares in which are note value signs ranging from a whole to a sixteenth. The play is similar to dominoes. Six variations are explained in a second booklet, "How to Give Musical Domino Parties."
In original box; title from label on the side of the wooden box; booklets are brittle.
83x212
The Sybil’s leaves, 1835.
Cards containing versified advice and admonition suitable for courting couples. One card in italic type indicates that this deck of "harmless prophecies" can be used for amusement "as each fond hope is told, betray'd each wile." Lacks specific instructions.
(This was formerly Doc. 63.)
83x116 (in map case)
Science in Sport, or the Pleasures of Natural Philosophy.
Game board with folder.
The game is mounted on linen for ease of folding. In addition to the directions, the board
describes the different branches of natural philosophy: mechanics and
gravitation, hydrostatics, hydraulics, pneumatics, acoustics, light and heat,
electricity and galvanism, optics, and astronomy. The board is decorated with black and white
pictures of scientific instruments, scenes illustrating scientific principles
(a windmill, fireworks, a hot air balloon, etc.), the scientists Robert Boyle,
Rene Descartes, Benjamin Franklin, and Lord Francis Bacon, and a view of
The game was published on
The folder is made from stiff blue board. A label is pasted on the front; the wreath and bow design are printed on the label, but the title “The Pleasures of Natural Philosophy: a New Game” is written by hand.
[Note: the folder was found in the stacks without an accession number and was given the number 03x44. Later, the game board was discovered in a map case drawer, and the two components were reunited under the original accession number of 83x116.]
83x117 (in map case)
Het Spel der Uitvindingen = Jeu des Inventions.
Game board with directions in Dutch and French. The board is decorated with colored illustrations of various inventions, such as a sewing machine, steamboat, locomotive, camera, hot air balloon, phonograph player, telephone, thermometer, and others. In the middle of the board is a picture of Thomas Edison, surrounded by pictures of other inventors, such as James Watt, Elias Howe, Daguerre, Galileo, Benjamin Franklin, A. Krupp, and Z. Jansen. The object of the game is to go around the board and arrive in the middle. Along the way, one can be helped by having the steamboat or locomotive advance one’s game piece, or hindered by having to lose a turn in order to have one’s photo taken, or by having a cannon shoot one back several spaces.
84x146
Latta, Katherine, 1889‑1980, former owner.
Paper doll, 1897.
11 items.
Katherine Latta resided in Chestnut Hill,
Consists of a girl paper doll, five costumes, three headdresses, and a bird, marked "Gebr. Must. Sch. No. 37604/ Series II." The items are German in origin and are dated 1897. Also included is an envelope inscribed "Barbara Lewis Latta."
85x10
Milton Bradley & Co.
American fire department: a section picture toy.
With chromolithographed illustration of firemen in action on its cover, this puzzle-like toy consists of 54 cards measuring 17.5 x 3.75 cm. on which are pictured "a complete modern American Fire Department, consisting of Steamer, Horse Carriage, Chemical Engine, Insurance Patrol Team, and Hook and Ladder Truck, on the run to a fire."
(This was formerly Doc. 55.)
85x135
Milton Bradley & Co.
Myriopticon: a historical panorama of the rebellion/published by Milton Bradley & Co., [circa 1866-circa 1868].
1 box with a roll of paper: col. ill.; 13 x 21 x 5 cm. + accompanying lecture, showbill, and sheet of admission tickets.
Milton Bradley began making toys in 1860. He developed the idea for the myriopticon around 1866 after viewing a German toy with moving parts. The myriopticon is considered the first item to capture the home viewing audience with a moving picture.
Object provides a visual history of the Civil War commencing
with Gen. Anderson and his men entering
References: Shea, James J.
It's all in the game.
References: McClintock, Inez. Toys in America Washington, DC: Public Affairs Press, 1961, pp. 225, 262.
85x165
United States Playing Card Co.
Fauntleroy playing card, no. 29, [circa 1910].
1 game (52 cards): col. ill. 6 x 4 cm.
The United States Playing Card Co. was located in
Small size deck of enameled playing cards in its original box. The ace of spades card contains the trademark of Fauntleroy playing cards. Fauntleroy is also depicted on the box. The back of the cards have a blue design.
Moderate grime on box; cards in good condition.
86x37
La poupee modele, [circa 1870].
1 sheet (uncut): col. ill.
Uncut sheet for a paper doll and three outfits. Both the front and the back of a woman, three
dresses, and a wig are featured. The
item was produced by importer, T. Dupuy, in
Text in French.
86x63
Paper dolls, [circa 1920].
13 items: col. ill.
Consists of a six inch tall paper doll along with twelve costume changes, all hand drawn and colored. Among the items in the wardrobe are a smocked dress, party dress, play clothes, school clothes, winter coat, legging set, and striped pajamas. Dolls, teddy bears, and other objects form part of the outfits. The doll and each costume were mounted on construction board, laced with strips to prevent movement, interleaved, and sewn into a folder. The folder is embellished with a girlish figure within a medallion topped with a bow and streamers, also hand colored. Though the maker is unknown, a monogram of CWT is a distinguishing mark.
Moderate grime.
86x67
McLoughlin Bros., Inc.
The new folding doll house, 1894.
1 item : chiefly ill. ; 33 x 33 cm.
Eight hinged panels unfold to make four rooms. An 1896 McLoughlin Bros. catalog (quoted in Jacobs' History of Doll's Houses) describes it this way: "It makes four rooms, Parlor, Dining-room, Bed-room and Kitchen, each 13 inches square, without roof, parted off by partitions 13 inches high. It is designed to be played with on a table. A number of little girls may thus get round it to the very best advantage. It is made of stout binder's board covered with colored designs representing the carpets, walls, windows, mantels, etc., as seen in houses. It is designed to be furnished with paper or other small furniture, and to be occupied by paper or other small dolls."
The doll house is folded inside its original box, although the box is not in good condition. Inside the box lid is a large color lithograph showing two girls at play with the doll house. A printed label on the back of one of the panels gives explicit directions for opening and closing the toy.
(This was formerly Fol. 42.)
86x81.1-.12
Toy theater, [circa 1860].
11 sheets: col. ill.
Consists of 11 hand colored sheets representing backgrounds
and characters for a toy theater or theaters produced by J.F.S.i.E. Each sheet contains a number in the bottom
right hand corner; several are stamped printed in
well as Indians is represented. Occupations are identified for each.
Captions are in German, although text on the background sheets is also in English and French.
86x93
Das Schloss zu Edinburg = Le chateau d’Edinbourg = The castle of Edinburgh, [circa 1835].
1 item: chiefly color illustrations.
Germany: no publisher.
Peep show of the castle of Edinburgh, depicting store and house fronts, people inside the buildings engaged in social activities, people outside walking the streets, a regiment of soldiers, horse drawn carriages, etc. The front panel shows the castle, with views of West Port and the Grassmarket. There are three peepholes, the larger one in the center (with stylized eye-lashes), and two smaller ones on either side.
See Ralph Hyde, Paper Peepshows, catalog 104.
86x94
Peep show of a coronation service, [circa 1804-1821].
1 item: chiefly color illustrations.
Peep show that pulls out into a three dimensional representation of a cathedral during some type of ceremony, probably the coronation of a king. Although the dealer from whom this item was purchased identified the building as Westminster Abbey (and thus the coronation would be that of George IV in 1821), in fact the building more closely resembles Reims Cathedral. Based on the costumes, however, the coronation seems to be that of Napoleon Buonaparte, although he was crowned at Notre Dame de Paris, not in Reims. The action being shown is not the crowning of the king, but rather his anointing by an archbishop (or in Napoleon’s case, Pope Pius VII). The art work is fairly detailed and features such things as chandeliers, people in a balcony, soldiers in uniform, a band, etc.
In a very worn slipcase.
86x106
The gem library blocks / E. I. H., [1882?].
24 blocks inside a box: col. ill.
Consists of twenty‑four blocks shaped like books in a wooden box made to look like bookshelves. Each block represents a letter of the alphabet, with the exception that "XYZ"
constitutes one block. The sides of the blocks which show when they are in the box resemble the spines of books, with a volume number assigned to each of the letters. The objects depicted on the block are listed on the spines. One side of the block features a large illustration that incorporates its letter in its design. For example, the letter "B" is illustrated by a boy climbing it. The other side of the block contains pictures of objects that begin with the letter represented. Each block is just over 8 cm. tall, 9.5 cm. long, and just over 2 cm. wide.
86x160
Guérin-Müller et Cie, editor.
Théâtre miniature. Vol. II: la kermesse villageoise grand fête foraine en quatre parties, [circa 1875].
1 v.: col. ill.; 34 cm.
Bound volume featuring four pop up scenes with accompanying text. The first scene is of a zoo and depicts such animals as lions, tigers, birds, and polar bears. People are shown standing in front of cages, feeding the animals. The second illustration is of a circus ring with jugglers, clowns, ladies riding horses, and tightrope walkers performing for a crowd. The third scene appears to be a circus side show with a live jack in the box. The last depiction is of a playground with swings, a see-saw, children lawn bowling, and a swan in a pond.
Text under each scene in French.
86x163.1-.6
Playing cards
6 items : ill. ; 9 x 6 cm.
Six playing cards of
some sort, probably mid-19th century, perhaps from a board or a
mathematical game. On one side of each
card is found a picture and a set of numbers arranged in four columns. The first card shows what may be a royal
person sitting on a throne, with “Punch and Judy” type figures and the odd
numbers from 1 to 63. The second card
shows a lady wearing a bonnet and a ball gown, and some of the numbers 2 -63
(the pattern begins 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 11).
The third card depicts a workman and some of the numbers 4-63 (the
pattern begins 4-7, 12-15, 20-23). The
fourth card shows a laughing man and the numbers 8-15, 24-31, 40-47, and
56-63. The fifth card depicts a man with
his mouth so very wide open that the numbers appear inside his mouth. His numbers are 16-31 and 48-63. The last card shows a man in a wide brimmed
hat, and the numbers 32-63. Two sheets
of paper were glued together to make a sturdier card.
86x207
McLoughlin Bros., Inc.
The judge's game cards, 1889.
1 game (52 cards): col. ill. + instruction booklet.
A set of 52 cards, divided into four different groups. Instruction booklet explains that "three distinct games can be played with these cards, directions for which are given below, and the ingenuity of players will, in a short time, suggest many other methods of playing not here given. In fact, any game of cards can be readily played with this pack." The four suits are illustrated with cartoon caricatures of the families of a judge, a professor, a mariner, and a senator.
(The was formerly Doc. 88.)
87x61.1 (in map case)
Selchow & Richter, Co.
Pin the tail on the donkey, [after 1870].
1 sheet with 20 tail pieces: col. ill.
Selchow & Richter, one of the toy industry's leading distributors, was founded in 1867.
Early version of the popular party game, Pin the Tail on the Donkey. The large sheet features an illustration of a brown donkey on fabric. Twenty of the original tails are included.
87x93
Howland, E. A.
The Japanese puzzle, for home amusement and instruction, with a set of blocks, 1872.
1 puzzle (10 wooden pieces in decorated box) + rules booklet.
Consists of five identically truncated squares. The resulting trapezoids and five triangles are to be arranged in patterns suggested in the rules booklet or in the imagination of the user. The plain wooden pieces are in a small decorated box; both the small box and rules booklet are in a much larger decorated box that was, perhaps, the container for a number of these game sets when produced by E. A. Howland in Worcester, Massachusetts.
(This was formerly Doc. 86.)
87x181
Schwarze katze, 1984.
1 game (41 cards): col. ill. + instruction booklet.
Set of forty cards (one through ten of each suit) and a
joker. The cards are reproductions from
the Museum Kind und Spielzing in
Instructions in German and Italian.
87x188 (in map case)
An Interesting Jubilee Game.
A hand-colored aquatint, mounted on linen, for ease in
folding. The game celebrates the golden
jubilee of the reign of King George III of
A photocopy of the rules for this game is filed with the printed copy of this finding aid.
88x72
Waterproof Playing Card Co.
Waterproof playing cards/The Waterproof Playing Card Co., [circa 1860].
1 game (54 cards): ill.
Deck of round playing cards with one joker and one card advertising the Waterproof Playing Card Co. The illustrations of the king, queen, and jack are fairly standard. There is a yellow design on the back of the cards.
In original box, which is worn; moderate grime and staining.
88x132
Strawbridge & Clothier.
Strawbridge & Clothier child's shopping game, 1908.
1 game board: col. ill.
Strawbridge & Clothier marketed this children's game to encourage the habit of department store shopping. Players used a spinner to determine how many spaces to move their tokens on a turn. The first player to complete a circuit of the board went to Toyland. Game instructions are on the back of the board. The structure of the board resembles a Parcheesi board. Illustrations replicate various departments and merchandise available at Strawbridge & Clothier. The store exterior is depicted in the center of the board. Children dressed in a variety of types of clothing illustrate early 20th century fashion.
Staining; board is matted.
88x220
McLoughlin Bros., Inc.
Paper soldiers, 1870‑1884.
6 items: col. ill.
Consists of six paper soldiers, all from McLoughlin's series, published between 1870 and 1884, sometimes referred to as Type IIs. Each soldier is wearing a different uniform.
88x229.1-3
Paper dolls, [circa 1855]‑1857.
3 items: ill.
Consists of a hand made paper doll in a dress, dated 1857, and a newspaper clipping from around 1855 that depicts another doll similar in appearance.
Found in a Bible donated to the library
88x234
Trent, Robert.
The oldest woodframe house still standing in North America: a seventeenth century colonial room modeled after the parlor of the Fairbanks House of Dedham, Massachusetts (c. 1637)/Includes inventory, furnishings, and text by Robert Trent, 1980.
8 sheets (uncut): ill.
The volume opens to make three walls of a parlor room. There are eight loose sheets. One sheet describes the house, its owner, Jonathan Fairbanks, and his wife, Grace, and gives an inventory of the house at the time of Jonathan's death. The remaining seven sheets contain items to be cut out and used with the house, including: a livery cupboard, a chair, figures (Jonathan, Grace, and a child), the parents' bed, feather pillows, a mattress, books, a trundle bed, and a sea chest. The walls feature windows, doors, a fireplace, a coat rack, and guns. There are directions for assembly on the back of the volume.
90x17
A visit in the circus, [circa 1890].
1 v. (10 p.): col. ill. ; 14 x 11 cm.
Volume originally designed to fold out to show scenes from a
circus, but some of the pieces are separated from each other. Horse tricks, a girl on a tightrope, and horses
with dogs are featured in vividly colored scenes. Clowns are interspersed and
an audience is shown in the background.
The volume may have formed the backdrop for a child's toy or game. It was manufactured in
Cover title; brittle.
90x82
Jullien, editor.
Les anamorphoses, [circa 1870].
1 game (24 cards): col. ill. + one cylinder.
Consists of twenty-four hand-painted cards that offer an
example of mid‑19th century anamorphic art. A metal cylinder is used to view distorted
illustrations to make them appear three dimensional. Pictures feature a king and queen, a robber,
men and women engaged in various activities, and animals in costume. While some of the characters appear posed
others represent caricatures. The item
was made in
An inscription on the inside of the box reads: "Merrie
Christmas Seymour from Aunt Susan, 1871"; however on the bottom of the box
is found the inscription “
The box has been repaired with masking tape; there is a chip in the top of the cylinder.
91x39
Paper weaving
circa 1839
1 item
Someone interwove a sheet of green paper and a sheet of
yellow paper, and pinked the outer edges, but it is not clear what the resulting
shape is supposed to be. The yellow and
green papers were the covers of printed pamphlets, one a report on schools and
the other something related to law, printed in
91x61
West & Lee Game Company.
Avilude: or game of birds, 1873.
1 game (64 cards): ill.; 10 cm. + instruction booklet.
The West & Lee Game Co. was located in Worcester, Ma.
Educational game of sixty-four cards featuring eight groups
of birds: wading, pigeon tribe, honey eaters, web-footed, birds of prey, running
birds, and singing birds. Cards are
divided into two types: engravings of birds and descriptions of the birds. Players try to make pairs by matching a
picture with its description. Use of the
eight groups of birds complicated the play and scoring. An eight page rule booklet and scoring guide
describes several variations of the game.
On the box containing the cards is an engraving of several birds playing
a game of cards. Avilude was patented on
In original box (worn, but intact). Booklet brittle.
92x162.110
Toytown. No. 15, storehouse, [20th century].
1 sheet (uncut): ill.
Cutout of a storehouse or barn depicting a boy pushing a wheelbarrow, a cow ready to be milked, and two rabbits. Instructions for coloring and cutting and folding the scene are featured. Printed in blue ink on cardboard.
93x30
Milton Bradley & Co.
The game of Rip Van Winkle: a modern version of an old tale/Milton Bradley Company, 1909.
1 game (40 cards) + booklet.
Consists of forty cards in a box featuring an illustration of Rip Van Winkle. The accompanying booklet contains directions and the text of the story of Van Winkle.
Blank marks replace words in certain spots of the script. The reader pauses at each blank and the players read the words on the cards.
Title from cover of the story booklet.
93x42
Gavitt, Harry E.
Gavitt's stock exchange/Harry E. Gavitt, 1904. ‑‑
1 game (33 cards): ill. + instruction booklet.
Card game played by three to four players, called stock brokers. Thirty‑two of the cards are divided into four sets of stock. Players trade cards to get all eight of a particular type of stock. Cards are traded face down so that a player does not know what the cards are. A Fatal Telegram Card causes ups and downs in the stock market and complicates play. The winner is the first to get a full set of eight cards. An instructional booklet as well as clippings from the Topeka State Journal and other newspapers endorsing the product are included. The cards are enameled with rounded corners and are in a yellow box with gold printing.
93x131
Fleischer, Frederick.
Scraps in black and white, for cutting out. series 1, [187‑]
1 v. (7 leaves): ill.; 23 cm.
Frederick Fleischer was a publisher of black and white
scraps in
Consists of 44 "silhouette" cut outs on seven sheets wrapped in a paper cover. Many of the black and white cut outs depict vignettes of people engaged in dialogue and activities.
Such scenes as children playing, two men on horseback dueling, boys on a seesaw, children playing badminton, a couple dancing, and a man smoking a pipe are featured.
Title from wrapper.
94x47
Catlin.
Chess set, 1889.
1 game board + 51 pieces.
Catlin was the manufacturer who patented this chess set on
This chess set appears to have been designed for use while traveling. The leather board folds in half with one side serving as the playing area and the other for storage of pieces.
The chess pieces slide into slits at the bottom of each square. Bound in cloth boards.
96x13
Leisure activities puzzle, [circa 1862].
1 puzzle (24 pieces): ill. (some col.)
This puzzle consists of six sections made by matching four
pieces together. Each wooden piece is 2 ½”
x 3 x 3/8" and is covered by a colored lithograph, possibly produced in
½” x 9" which is broken. The painted box lid depicts a castle. "Netting box, Ann Hume" written on bottom of box.
96x87.1-2
Drayton, Grace G. (Grace Gebbie)
Dolly Dingle's travels/by Grace G. Drayton. ‑‑
2 sheets (folded): ill. (some col.) ; 40 cm.
These two sheets of Dolly Dingle's paper dolls are each folded into four pages with an extra sheet glued in. The attached sheet of paper contains text, cover illustrations, and
instructions for making four "Little Books" that correspond with the paper doll themes. Each folded page of paper dolls represents costumes from various countries. Series one contains
costumes from
97x8
Paper dolls, circa1930
12 folders: ill.
A collection of paper dolls, most of which were cut out of magazines around 1930. Most of the dolls are girls. There is one boy doll, a toddler cut out of an ad with homemade outfits which could be a boy, and a set of twins, one of which is probably a boy. Several of the dolls are homemade and have homemade outfits; a few of the magazine dolls also have homemade outfits. Some of the outfits have matching hats, shoes, and stockings. A few of the dolls have dogs, cats or other accessories. Four of the dolls were made from heavy card stock, perhaps cut from the lid of a box; they were not made as paper dolls and they have no outfits. In addition, there are two illustrated poems cut from a magazine, one about a girl cutting her curls (which caused her mother to cry), and the other a Valentine poem.
98x24
Clemens, E. J.
Clemens' silent teacher: dissected map of the
1 game box: col. ill.
A children's game designed to be an object lesson in
geography. Its cover illustration
features a map of the
Pieces are all missing; have only the top and bottom of the box.
01x36
Campbell, Betty, designer
“The Dress Parade of the Round About Dolls”
Circa 1930s
A box containing two girl dolls, fabric, dress patterns, and instructions for making real cloth and paper garments for the dolls. The patterns and fabric have not been used.
01x37
“The Guzzle Family: Reproduction of Eighteenth-Century Paper Dolls”
Two sheets in an envelope, reproduced from originals in the Colonial Williamsburg collection. Includes father, mother, two sons; originals date from last quarter of the 18th century.
01x85.1-.43
Assortment of paper dolls, circa1855-circa1900
A miscellaneous assortment of paper dolls, with costumes, mostly from circa1855-1885. The group includes two boy dolls, Little Fred and Paul, and girls named Daisy, Laura Neil, Sarah Brown, Stella, and Minty Green. Two dresses, four hats, and some homemade costumes could not be associated with any particular doll. A later costume was an advertisement for Willimantic thread.
01x111
Place de Promenade à
Hambourg = Promenade Platz zu
n.p.: n.p.; circa
1850.
A peep show
depicting a street scene in Hamburg, Germany.
One side of the street is lined with houses, and the other with street
lamps and trees. People walk along the
wide street between them. There are also
two carriages, a hay wagon, men on horseback, several dogs, children playing,
and street vendors. The cover of the box
is decorated with an interior domestic scene.
A little girl is shown looking at a peep show.
The peep show is in
its original box, which is very worn.
The cover and the first part of the show are detached from the rest of
the view and the box. The peep show
descended through the family of the donor.
02x13
Christmas scrap,
paper dolls, greeting cards, and calling cards
An assortment of
large Christmas scrap depicting angels and children in the snow; calling cards
with pieces of scrap affixed to the cards; a set of Cinderella and the Prince
paper dolls (both dolls and costumes are printed on the front and back); a boy
paper doll from circa 1910; women and a couple of men cut from magazines or
newspapers, figures that were not meant to be paper dolls but were cut out and
used as such; two Valentine cards, and two Christmas cards.
The donor collected
these items over the years from a variety of sources. She played with the Cinderella paper dolls in
the early to mid 1960s.
03x44 – was
discovered to be part of 83x116, which see.
04x104
Playing cards.
circa 1960.
Two decks of playing cards in a box. One deck is yellow and the other blue. Both have the seal of the city of
06x46
H.M.S. Pinafore cards.
32 items.
circa1880.
A stack of 32 cards, each decorated with one or more characters from the Gilbert and Sullivan work H.M.S. Pinafore. The characters are named and a little bit is added about them (“Little Buttercup, a Portsmouth Bumboat woman,” “Ralph Rackstraw, able seaman”). The cards are divided into groups numbered 1-8, with 4 cards per group. (Four cards are numbered 1, another four are numbered 2, etc.) They are not in a box, and no publisher’s name is given. It is not known if these were to be playing cards or cards for collecting. The last two cards depict the ship itself and a cat-o-nine-tails.
06x62
Patriotic paper doll.
1864.
A homemade paper doll, 21 cm. tall, but she is missing her
feet and whatever she was carrying, which was probably a flag. The doll is made from card stock and is
dressed in red, white, and blue. The
face, hair, and hands are drawn in pencil.
The doll’s arms are raised above her head and she holds a staff; at one time,
a flag may have been attached to the staff.
Written on the back: “From Sanitary Fair,
06x63
Parrish, Roberta Christine Brinkley, 1924-2007
Paper dolls.
circa1930-1935.
A large assortment of paper dolls which belonged to Roberta Brinkley (Parrish), who was born in 1924. The group includes 4 different Shirley Temple dolls, with clothes, plus stand-up scenes of Shirley Temple on a bicycle, with snowshoes, with a dog, and asleep on the floor next to her dolls. Another group of dolls includes the figures Baby, Jimmy, Betty, Jack, Jill, David, Ruth, Mary, Anne, and Nurse, all with clothes and hats. Some of the miscellaneous toys and accessories may have been part of this set. A few pieces for the set “Baby Sister” by Queen Holden are found, as is part of the container in which the set came. As well, the group includes a boy doll, a girl doll, some miscellaneous dresses, cut-outs of fashion figures, an automobile, and two playing cards (the ace of spades and “Weary Willie,” but not necessarily the Emmett Kelly figure). Also in the group are three cardboard strips which when put together spell the word “dog” and show a picture of a dog.
06x84
Corn and beans: the funniest game out.
Includes directions, question card, answer cards, pieces of corn, and some beans, all in the original box, which is decorated with a picture of children playing the game. The game was meant to teach facts about American history. There were questions about Christopher Columbus, the Pilgrims, the American Revolution, the constitution, and a few other facts. The directions pamphlet said that the publisher’s intention was to print additional sets of questions and answers.
07x63.1-.6
Paper dolls.
circa1893
The Worcester Salt Co. was located at
Six paper dolls, five of which were used as trade cards or
advertisements. One doll was an advertisement
for Worcester Salt Co. Four of the dolls
advertised
07x73.1
Last quarter of 19th century.
A home-made figure of Columbia or Lady Liberty. The torso is printed; the woman wears a helmet and has a piece of star-studded blue fabric draped over one shoulder. The torso is glued to a skirt made of red and white striped paper, with a gold foil border.
07x79
“The Circle of Knowledge: A New Game of the Wonders of Nature, Science, & Art”
London: J. Passmore, circa1850s
A folded board game in book form, but without instructions (instructions are available from the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, Australia). The game spaces are colored illustrations of different topics: Europe, Earth, electricity, spring, Asia, air, chemistry, summer, Africa, fire, optics, autumn, America, water, astronomy, and winter. The illustrations for America show Yankee traders with African workers, men panning for gold, Native Americans outside a dwelling, and the zodiac sign for Scorpio. The illustrations for electricity show a lightning storm, men with wires attached to what appears to be an iceberg, telegraph wires, and the east wind. A magic lantern show is depicted under optics. Allegorical figures represent Europe, Asia, America, and Africa, as well as Knowledge, Science, and Art. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert are also depicted.
08x46
Building blocks, 1890s?
A set of children’s building blocks in a wooden box. On the box lid is a colored print showing six structures which could be built with the set. The box holds 25 blocks, including an arch, a semicircular piece, five triangular pieces (in three sizes), and four carved balustrades. From the illustration, it is apparent that the set is missing at least one triangular piece. Nothing is known about the creator of this set, nor where it was made.
10x44
Geography cards
Probably printed in
A set of 65 cards containing information about countries
around the globe. The set divides the
world into four quarters: Europe, Asia, Africa, and
Twenty cards are printed on the back of playing cards. On the back of Egypt is found a design which includes part of the seal of George III, with the name Llewellyn, and the word Exportation, suggesting that the playing cards had been printed in England.
10x62
Christmas crackers
circa1850-1900
Five assorted Christmas crackers. One is covered with blue (possibly faded green) and gold paper, on which the initials E and M and the name “Tom Smith’s” are printed. A picture of a girl has been added as decoration. This cracker is heavier than the others and probably holds a surprise. Two crackers are covered with embossed gray paper, and according to their labels contain a “ladie’s” hat and a pope’s cap. The remaining two are covered in embossed gold paper and contain a jockey’s cap and another pope’s cap. The crackers have not been opened, and the actual contents are unknown.
Christmas crackers were invented by Thomas J. (Tom) Smith of
London in 1847. He sold sweets, and
developed the crackers, which included a popping mechanism, to promote his
business when sweet sales were down. His
son Walter expanded the idea, including hats and a small gift rather than a
sweet in the cracker. There were many
imitators. Crackers are commonly part of
Christmas celebrations in
12x54
Davis, Dorothy E.
The Ugly Duckling and paper dolls
A copy of the book The Ugly Duckling and Other Stories (New York: A.L. Burt Co., 1906) and paper dolls which Mrs. Davis had cut out when she was a girl and had stored in this volume. She cut figures out of magazines to represent a family she named Mr. and Mrs. Henderson, with their children, so she could have paper dolls in modern fashionable clothing. Each group had its own place in the book, thus Mrs. Henderson and her dresses were between pages iv-1, and daughter Estelle’s hats and coats were between pages 8-9, etc. Also found were a car and a picture of a bedroom.
Mrs. Davis grew up in Baltimore in the late 1920s. She stated that “playing with paper dolls was a great way to spend ‘can’t play outside’ time, but most of the ‘bought’ ones were children with their cute clothes. However, with the help of mother’s old fashion-type magazines, her permission and a pair of scissors, there could be lots of up-to-date fashionable grown-up ladies to be the mommies and big sisters of our paper doll families.”
12x100
Punch, Professor.
The Improved and Illustrated Game of Dr. Fuzby /by Professor Punch.
1 game (20 cards): col. ill.
circa 1845.
Consists of seventeen hand-colored cards (out of the original twenty) in a cloth slipcase with printed directions for playing the game on the back of the case. The names of the characters depicted on the cards are printed on each of the cards, along with an emblem (bottle, scissors, chicken, and coat) which divides the cards into suits. This set is missing Matilda the nurse, Mrs. Caudle, and Snip the tailor. No publisher is listed on the box.
Original box; print fading; moderate grime.
Note: compare this game to one in Col. 669 (Thelma Mendsen Collection), acc. 70x130.23-A.7a-k, which is the “Game of Dr. Fusby, M.D.A.S.S.” The Fusby game was printed circa1880 by McLoughlin Bros. of New York. There are no directions with the Fusby game.
See also accession 79x70, Game of Dr. Busby: improved and illustrated, published by W. and S. B. Ives, 1843, also in Col. 220.
12x134.1
Paper dolls
circa 1830-1870.
Male
and female paper figures, holding hands, with faces drawn in pencil, found in
the book The Village Maid, (now in
Rare Books). The figures were cut as two
women (albeit the hat resembles that of a man), but the dress of one has been
trimmed down to a man’s coat and trousers.
12x134.2
Paper doll
circa 1870-1900.
Figure
of an African American man, holding his hat, printed in color on card
stock. The number 9 is printed on a
white tab under the man’s feet, suggesting that this figure was meant to be
placed in a slot on a printed backdrop.
13x16
Loomis, Andrew, 1892-1959.
Wooden jigsaw puzzle of ice skaters, circa 1940?
A wooden jigsaw puzzle made from a painting done by Andrew Loomis, depicting ice skaters, with a woman skater as the predominate figure. A couple of pieces are chipped.
William Andrew Loomis was an American illustrator. He studied at the Art Students League of New York and the Art Institute of Chicago. He worked in advertising, taught at the American Academy of Art, and wrote several books about drawing and painting.
13x106
Wallis, John, active 1798-1815.
Wallis’s Royal Chronological Tables of English History in a Plan Similar to that of Dissected Maps: a facsimile reproduction of the 1788 puzzle printed by John Wallis, London.
A puzzle listing the kings and queens of England, as well as Oliver Cromwell, in chronological order. Each monarch has his or her own piece, with a portrait and a list of important people and events during that person’s reign. This facsimile was produced by Colonial Williamsburg. It is printed on cardboard and housed in a cardboard box.
14x38
Slater, Charles F.
Art gallery
circa 1850-1900
A hand-written parlor game; apparently the audience was shown an object and it was to guess a title for a picture. Some examples: sixteen peppermints would suggest the title “Sweet Sixteen,” oats would suggest “Horse Fair” [i.e. horse fare], old shoes would suggest “Worn-out Travellers.” The branch of a tree was to suggest “View of Long Branch in Winter, Taken on the Spot,” and perhaps that hints at a New Jersey origin for this item.
Nothing is known about Charles F. Slater.
15x76
The Mansion of Happiness : An Instructive Moral and Entertaining Amusement.
Boston: D.P. Ives & Co.; and Salem, Mass.: S.B. Ives.
1864
Folded board game in which players are confronted with moral (justice, piety, generosity, chastity, etc.) and immoral (Sabbath breaking, poverty, idleness, ingratitude, etc.) situations, on their way to the goal, the Mansion of Happiness. Landing on moral spaces results in the player being able to move forward. Landing on immoral spaces results in the player losing a turn or being sent back several spaces.
A label on the front of the game identifies Henry P. Ives of Salem, Mass., as the publisher. The rules which came with this copy of the game are dated 1843 and were printed by S.B. Ives. A pocket attached to the back of the game once held directions and tokens (no longer present). The flap of this pocket is detached (but present). The game is printed primarily in black and green, with color added to the spaces illustrating life’s situations. The printed game is glued to cardboard backing, and is hinged for folding.
16x28
Busy Work Drawing Cards, Set No. 1.
Chicago: A. Flanagan Co., no date [circa 1900-1930]
A set of thirty cards, all printed with a different, fairly simple, picture of an animal, shape, or object. Apparently, children were to practice drawing these pictures. Shapes include circle, square, rectangle. Animals include horse, cow, dog, cat, duck, goose, burro, and other farm animals. Objects include tree, apple, kite, ladder, bat, a pie, baseball, top, etc. The cards are in their original brown paper envelope, with a picture of an apple on front.
The name Bruce Lentz[?] is written on the back of one of the cards, and the name Florence [illegible]gle is written on the back of another.
16x88
Boston Sunday Globe supplement
Minstrel show
Boston: The Globe, 1896, May 17
A scene printed on cardboard which was to be cut out and assembled. Includes a background, which could be set up in the circus which was in the previous week’s paper, and nine figures of African-American minstrels. The figures have exaggerated facial features and clothing. Two men strum banjoes, one holds a tambourine, one holds a fan, and one holds a cane (which rather resembles a short hockey stick).
The name Harriet A. Kemp, and some other words, are written on the back.
2017x34
Paper dolls cut from fashion magazines, circa 1900-1910.
Twelve female figures cut from fashion magazines or catalogs for patterns and then used as paper dolls (although no costume changes were possible). Eleven are dressed in the S-silhouette popular in the first years of the 20th century, and one wears a “hobble skirt.” The dolls are named on the back.
2017x35
Old fashioned embossed Shakespeare characters: cut-out paper doll and costumes sheet.
New York: Merrimack Publ. Corp., 1979.
An uncut embossed sheet with a paper doll, and costumes and wigs or hats for the roles of Juliet, Cleopatra, Lady Macbeth, and Rosalind.
2017x37
The game of Venetian fortune teller.
Salem, Mass.: Parker Brothers, circa 1910-1920.
Fourteen cards and a spinner in a box printed with the name of the game. Each card is headed by a statement or question: what others think of you, what is your greatest desire, what will your future husband or wife be, where will you or he propose, shall you travel, and others. Each statement or question has twenty-four possible answers, and the spinner goes up to 24. No directions are with the game, but perhaps one chose a card and then used the spinner to determine the number of the answer to that card’s statement or question.
2017x38
Decker, F. G. (Francena Gore), 1844-1921.
A game of the states, by F. G. Decker, A.M., and O. F. Decker, M.D.
Buffalo, N.Y.: O.F. Decker, 1890.
A card game in a box, with seventy cards with questions, directions for play, and a map of the United States. There is a card for each state and territory (Hawaii was not yet a territory, but Indian Territory was separate from Oklahoma),the District of Columbia, for sections of the country (New England, Rocky Mountain states, etc.), and for special features: Hudson River, Appalachian Mountains, Potomac River, Mississippi River, Yellowstone Park, Colorado River, and Yosemite Valley. The directions for play tells how the cards were to be used. The map divides the country into the sections used in the game.
The box lists titles of other games by the same authors, including three games of characters (Bible, American, and foreign), a game of cities, and a game of the world. The part of the box which slides out (which originally held the cards, directions, and map) is printed with a list of the salaries of United States officers.
Oscar F. Decker (1839-1903) was an allopathic physician and printer in Buffalo, New York. His wife Francena Gore Decker (1844-1921) was his partner in the printing business. She was the daughter of Moses and Flora Ballou Gore, and was born in Monroe, Massachusetts. She graduated from Elmira Female College in 1873. In the 1880 census, she was listed as a school teacher in Dunkirk, Chautauqua County, New York. The couple married after the 1880 census was taken.
2017x60
St. Charles Condensing Co. (St. Charles, Ill.)
Seven card puzzle, circa 1905.
An envelope with seven cards, which “when put together, will make a perfect square,” advertising St. Charles Unsweetened Evaporated Cream, made by the St. Charles Condensing Co. The puzzle was sent to those who mailed in a certain number of gold cows cut from the can label. The puzzle pieces depicted scenarios where canned cream was useful: at sea (people on a small sailboat), at a picnic (family in the park), useful to soldiers in the field and to miners in camp, and in winter when it was difficult for a milkman to make home deliveries. One piece depicts the can, and the last one shows children singing. On the back of each piece is a rhyming couplet extolling the usefulness of canned cream. (A diagram of the completed square is filed with the pieces.)
St. Charles Condensing Co. had plants in St. Charles, Ill., and Ingersoll, Ontario. The Ingersoll plant opened in 1899.
2017x85.97a-b
Kellogg Company.
Chiquita Brands International.
Chiquita banana cloth doll, circa 1950-1965.
(ATHM 2014.35.2)
A length of fabric on which is printed the front and back of a Chiquita banana cloth doll, along with instructions on how to assemble the doll (cutting along dashed lines, stitching most of the way around, and stuffing). Also, the envelope which held the doll, addressed to Mrs. H. S. Bailey in Voluntown, Conn. The doll was available from Kellog’s by sending in a box top from Kellogg’s Corn Flakes and ten cents. It was mailed folded, but is now rolled on a tube. The doll is the image of a banana with a face, a full skirt, and a fancy hat.
2019x54
Clark, John Heaviside, approximately 1770-1863.
Myriorama, a collection of many thousand landscapes, designed by Mr. Clark.
London: Samuel Leigh,1824, 1971 reproduction given by Diamond Abrasives Corporation and De Beers Industrial Diamond Division.
A box containing sixteen numbered cards, each with a section of landscape, which could be arranged in any order to create different scenes. (No matter in what order the cards are placed, the scene is always continuous.) The landscape sections include trees, ruins, cottages, ships on a river, a family by a campfire, a man fishing, a lighthouse, and shepherds. This is a reproduction of the original set.
2019x72
Parker Brothers, Inc.
Touring: the great automobile card game.
Salem, Mass.: Parker Brothers, 1926.
1 card game: color ; in box 10 x 13 cm
A boxed card game, with instructions, and an advertisement for other Parker Brother games. The instructions include some variations for playing. All cards are present. The subtitle on the box lid is “The Famous Automobile Card Game.”
RELATED MATERIALS
Note: also check references under the subject headings Paper dolls; Toys; Games; Card games, and other appropriate terms.
See also Collage albums in this repository.
Doc. 239
The little post card painter
Circa 1904
Maxine Waldron Collection of Children's Books and Paper Toys.
(various acc. no.)
A large collection of paper dolls, toy theaters, and other games and toys. Also included are articles about dolls, paper dolls, and games; fashion plates; postcards and note cards depicting dolls, toys, and clothing; and drawings done by Mrs. Waldron.
Charles Magnus Collection – 3 board games, as follows:
93x33.1
Magnus, Charles.
Running the blockade/Charles Magnus, [circa 1861‑circa 1865].
93x33.2
Magnus, Charles.
New game of snake/lithograph of Charles Magnus, [circa 1856‑circa 1860].
93x33.3
Magnus, Charles.
Comical game of pigs and kittens/by Grandfather Fisher; published by Charles Magnus, [circa 1870].
(acc. 85x212-213)
Wyatt, Mary Kent.
Paper dolls, [circa 1890-circa 1899].
circa 75 items: col. ill.
Col. 838
John and Carolyn Grossman Collection.
This collection has a number of games, toys, amusements, and some paper dolls.
Col. 220,
(acc. 80x120.1-.65)
Portrait
authors: an amusing and instructive pastime containing 32 fine portraits of
eminent authors.
1873.
Index to pictures
and biographical sketches on cards:
Abbott,
John S. C. .1, .33
Adams,
William T. .29, .61
Alger,
Horatio, Jr. .17, .49
Arthur,
T. S. .18, .50
Bailey,
J. M. .9, .41
Bancroft,
George .5, .37
Beecher,
Henry Ward .19, .51
Bennett,
James Gordon .13, .45
"
Clemens,
Samuel L. .11, .43
Collins,
William Wilkie .21, .53
Curtis,
George William .14, .46
Dickens,
Charles .22, .54
Eggleston,
Edward .30, .62
Greeley,
Horace .15, .47
Hale,
Edward Everett .20, .52
Hawthorne,
Nathaniel .23, .55
Higginson,
Thomas W. .31, .63
Holmes,
Oliver Wendell .25, .57
"Josh
Billings" .10, .42
Locke,
David Ross .12, .44
Longfellow,
Henry W. .26, .58
Lowell,
James Russell .27, .59
Motley,
John Lothrop .6, .38
"Nasby,
Petroleum V." .12, .44
"Oliver
Optic" .29, .61
Palfrey,
John G. .7, .39
Parton,
James .3, .35
"Petroleum
V. Nasby" .12, .44
Prescott,
William H. .8, .40
Raymond,
Henry J. .16, .48
Shaw,
Henry W. .10, .42
Sparks,
Jared .4, .36
Thackeray,
William M. .24, .56
Trowbridge,
John T. .32, .64
Whittier,
John Greenleaf .28, .60