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The Infant's Cabinet of Fishes

Card Game
1801 (published)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This educational game comprises 27 cards and a small booklet. It is called, 'A History of Fishes Volume II' and it has descriptions of 30 fish. The fish cards each have a hand coloured etching of a fish with its name and a reference to where it appears in the 'History of Fishes'. Makers of board and card games were very specific about dates, and along with the publisher's name and address, the date of publication - October 3, 1801, appears on the cards. This dolphin fish is not what we regard as a dolphin today.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleThe Infant's Cabinet of Fishes (manufacturer's title)
Materials and techniques
Wood, hand-coloured card and bound paper
Brief description
Boxed set of cards, The Infant's cabinet of Fishes, published in England by John Marshall in 1801
Physical description
Wooden box with sliding lid that has an illustration of a fishbowl containing three fish on a table in a garden. The box is lined with pink paper and contains twenty-seven cards and a small printed booklet. One of the cards is from a different set and has a picture of a 'Chinese Manderine' (sic). The other twenty-six cards are incomplete sets from two volumes - twelve from Vol I and fourteen from Vol II. The booklet is titled A History of Fishes Volume II and has descriptions of thirty fish. The fish cards each have a hand coloured etching of a fish with its name and a reference to where it appears in the History of Fishes. Also on the card is the publisher's name and address and date of publication, October 3 1801.

The animals and activities depicted are: 'Porcupine Fish', 'Charr', 'The Whale Fishery', 'Opah or King Fish', 'Nasal Notocanthus', 'The Herring Fishery', 'Carp', 'Bleak', 'Cat-Fish', 'Banded Perch', 'Paper Nautilus', 'Yellow Loricaria', 'Shooting Fish', 'Sword-Fish', 'Angel Fish', 'Red Scarus', 'Lump-Fish', 'Dolphin', 'Spotted Gurnard', 'Pike', 'Bib', 'Bream', 'Hermit Crab', 'Red Perch', 'Scarlet Carp', 'Oysters', 'Lobster'.
Dimensions
  • Box length: 9.1cm
  • Box width: 6.3cm
  • Box height: 4cm
  • Cards length: 7.4cm
  • Cards width: 4.7cm
Marks and inscriptions
THE INFANT'S CABINET OF FISHES Made and Sold by John Marshall No. 4 Aldermary Church Yard London (Printed on lid)
Credit line
Given by Mr. C. Lawson Smith
Object history
Given to the Museum in 1937 by C. Lawson Smith [1937/1838]
Subjects depicted
Summary
This educational game comprises 27 cards and a small booklet. It is called, 'A History of Fishes Volume II' and it has descriptions of 30 fish. The fish cards each have a hand coloured etching of a fish with its name and a reference to where it appears in the 'History of Fishes'. Makers of board and card games were very specific about dates, and along with the publisher's name and address, the date of publication - October 3, 1801, appears on the cards. This dolphin fish is not what we regard as a dolphin today.
Collection
Accession number
E.427-1937

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Record createdJanuary 29, 2004
Record URL
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