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Monopoly

Board Game
1940-1945 (manufactured)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Monopoly board game set with original box.

Square folding board covered with paper, which opens to reveal the playing surface. This is colour printed with rectangular boxes around the edge named after London streets and railway stations. The centre of the board has the Monopoly trade mark of name with two houses and two trains. There are two rectangles marked out with question marks and labelled 'Chance' and 'Community Chest.' The outside of the board is covered with olive green paper with a strip of brown linen on the fold. There is a label stuck on one side printed in red and black with the trademarkand a cartoon figure of a man waving a wad of money.

The spinner is a rectangular piece of card with rounded corners printed black on one side with instructions in white. Attached to this by a metal rivet is a card disc printed in red and white with numbers. The disc spins when turned.

Six playing pieces each made up of a block of wood stained black, with a colour printed piece of card slotted into the top. The pieces show a car, a shoe, an iron, a battleship, a top hat and a rocking horse.

A set of twenty-eight property cards printed with the name of the property and the rent due on one side and the mortgage value on the other. They have serrated edges and would originally have formed strips.

A set of 239 pieces of paper denoting money in demonations of 500, 100, 50, 20, 10, 5 and 1, each with a different colour - red, orange, lilac, green, cream, blue and yellow. Printed in black on each is its number and a symbol of a train and house.

A set of 16 pink 'CHANCE' and 16 'COMMUNITY CHEST' cards, each printed on one side with its respective title and on the other with instructions to follow in the game.

Set of twelve 'hotels,' wooden blocks stained red and carved into a basic house shape.

Set of thirty-three 'houses,' wooden blocks stained green and carved into a basic house shape.

The instructions consist of one folded piece of paper printed with the rules of the game, plus a smaller sheet explaining a short version.

The packaging consists of a card box lid covered with black paper on its sides. The top is covered with a printed label similar to that on the board. The base is of card covered with white paper.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 13 parts.

  • Board Game
  • Spinner
  • Playing Piece Set
  • Card Set
  • Money Set
  • Card Set
  • Card Set
  • Building Set
  • Building Set
  • Instructions
  • Instructions
  • Box Lid
  • Box Base
TitleMonopoly (manufacturer's title)
Materials and techniques
Printed card and paper, stained wood
Brief description
Game board and boxed set of game pieces for Monopoly made in England by John Waddington Ltd between 1940 and 1945
Physical description
Monopoly board game set with original box.

Square folding board covered with paper, which opens to reveal the playing surface. This is colour printed with rectangular boxes around the edge named after London streets and railway stations. The centre of the board has the Monopoly trade mark of name with two houses and two trains. There are two rectangles marked out with question marks and labelled 'Chance' and 'Community Chest.' The outside of the board is covered with olive green paper with a strip of brown linen on the fold. There is a label stuck on one side printed in red and black with the trademarkand a cartoon figure of a man waving a wad of money.

The spinner is a rectangular piece of card with rounded corners printed black on one side with instructions in white. Attached to this by a metal rivet is a card disc printed in red and white with numbers. The disc spins when turned.

Six playing pieces each made up of a block of wood stained black, with a colour printed piece of card slotted into the top. The pieces show a car, a shoe, an iron, a battleship, a top hat and a rocking horse.

A set of twenty-eight property cards printed with the name of the property and the rent due on one side and the mortgage value on the other. They have serrated edges and would originally have formed strips.

A set of 239 pieces of paper denoting money in demonations of 500, 100, 50, 20, 10, 5 and 1, each with a different colour - red, orange, lilac, green, cream, blue and yellow. Printed in black on each is its number and a symbol of a train and house.

A set of 16 pink 'CHANCE' and 16 'COMMUNITY CHEST' cards, each printed on one side with its respective title and on the other with instructions to follow in the game.

Set of twelve 'hotels,' wooden blocks stained red and carved into a basic house shape.

Set of thirty-three 'houses,' wooden blocks stained green and carved into a basic house shape.

The instructions consist of one folded piece of paper printed with the rules of the game, plus a smaller sheet explaining a short version.

The packaging consists of a card box lid covered with black paper on its sides. The top is covered with a printed label similar to that on the board. The base is of card covered with white paper.
Dimensions
  • Board width: 486mm
  • Depth depth: 486mm
  • Spinner width: 114mm
  • Spinner depth: 77mm
  • Playing pieces height: 36mm (maximum)
  • Property cards height: 79mm (each)
  • Property cards width: 63mm (each)
  • Money width: 98mm (each)
  • Money depth: 52mm (each)
  • Chance and community chest cards width: 90mm (each)
  • Chance and community chest cards depth: 52mm (each)
  • Hotels height: 17mm (eacg)
  • Hotels width: 10mm (each)
  • Houses height: 14mm (each)
  • Houses width: 10mm (each)
  • Instructions height: 276mm
  • Short version instructions height: 74mm
  • Box height: 32mm
  • Box width: 190mm
  • Box depth: 160mm
Production typeMass produced
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'MONOPOLY / TRADE MARK PATENT No 453689' (Printed beneath trademark on label on the board)
  • 'Manufactured in Great Britain by / JOHN WADDINGTON LTD. / LONDON & LEEDS' (Printed on a label on the board)
  • 'MONOPOLY / PATENT NO. 453689' (Printed on the front of each banknote)
  • 'TRADE MARK PATENT N0 453689' (printed on the box beneath trademark on label)
  • 'Manufactured in Great Britain by / JOHN WADDINGTON LTD. / LONDON & LEEDS' (printed on a label on the box)
Credit line
Given by Mrs Barbara Davies
Object history
The donor was born in 1929 and was brought up in London. She remembers playing with this game in the early 1940s

Historical significance: The way this particular set was constructed and the materials used reflect the shortages prevalent during World War II
Production
Reason For Production: Retail
Place depicted
Association
Collection
Accession number
B.7:1 to 13-2001

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Record createdAugust 24, 2001
Record URL
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