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Not currently on display at the V&A

Historical Amusement - A New Game

Card Game
1850-1855 (published)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This game is described as a new and entertaining game on the history of England. The larger cards have pictures of English kings and queens from William I to Victoria. The smaller cards have the answers to the questions printed in a booklet. The game requires the players to collect the small cards that relate to the larger ones. Interestingly, there is a dissected puzzle that uses the same king and queen portraits. This particular game used to belong to a girl called Emma A Henborough. She wrote her name on the bottom of the box.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 132 parts.

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TitleHistorical Amusement - A New Game (manufacturer's title)
Materials and techniques
Hand-coloured engravings on card
Brief description
Boxed card game, Historical Amusements, published in England by N Carpenter in the 1850s
Physical description
Design: HAND COLOURED WOOD ENGRAVINGS AND LETTERPRESS
engraved pictorial label on lid of box
Dimensions
  • Box length: 12cm
  • Box width: 9.2cm
  • Box height: 5.4cm
Object history
There is a dissected puzzle with the same medallion portraits - E.1833-1954
It is enscribed in ink on the bottom of box:- Emma A Henborough



Games & puzzles - CGG 1991
Historical context
Rewards: ?
Forfeits: ?
No. of Players: ANY
Equipment required: 35 cards (with one missing) from a set of 36 showing medallion portraits of the sovereigns of England from William I to Queen Victoria
96 cards (4 missing) from a set of 100 printed with the answers to the questions contained in the booklet of rules. (2 18in x 1 3/8in, 3/4in x 2 3/4in
printed booklet giving rules ; pages numbered 3 to 31 ( in poor condition)
wooden box divided into 2 compartments with a sliding lid

Rules:
Publisher was Nicholas Carpenter who was at 11 Goswell Terrace from 1850 to 1855.

The game requires the players to collect the small cards that relate to the larger ones and these are the answers to the questions posed in the booklet. The booklet also shows the answers

HISTORICAL AMUSEMENTS - A NEW AND ENTERTAINING GAME ON THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND

RULES.

Any number of persons may play at this game in the following manner: a President must be appointed, whois to see if the qeustions are correctly answered: the president distributes about six or eight counters to each player, the remainder to be left in the box, which will serve for a pool. He then deals the answers round, an equal number to each player; after this is done, he shuffles the pack of Heads, and placing the whole pack face downwards on the table, desires one of the players to take the uppermost and read aloud the name of the king, when he was born, died, etc. The president then asks the question from this little book, connected with the card turned up and whoever plays the proper answer, receives one counter from the pool; but if the answer is wrong, one counter must be paid to the pool. The next player then takes a Head and the same rule must be observed till all of them are read. When a player has forfeited all his counters, his remaining cards must be given to the player on his right hand.
Should the pool become empty, each player must contribute one counter.
The game is decided in two ways, either by all but one player having forfeited their counters, or by all the hjeads having been turned up, in which case the remaining players are to reckon their counters, and he who has the greatest number wins the game.
The winner takes the contents of the pool, and claims the office of president in the next game.
Production
stevens & co: printers, bell yard, fleet street - on booklet back
Summary
This game is described as a new and entertaining game on the history of England. The larger cards have pictures of English kings and queens from William I to Victoria. The smaller cards have the answers to the questions printed in a booklet. The game requires the players to collect the small cards that relate to the larger ones. Interestingly, there is a dissected puzzle that uses the same king and queen portraits. This particular game used to belong to a girl called Emma A Henborough. She wrote her name on the bottom of the box.
Collection
Accession number
E.1810&:1 to 131-1954

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Record createdMarch 4, 2000
Record URL
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