The game pictured on the left was made by West and Lee, Worcester, Massachusetts (US) in 1873.
Written on the bottom of the box are the words Susie Parkhurst, North Chemford, Mass., 1880. The Museum purchased this game for the collection in 1982.
The box (photograph on the left) is now somewhat faded. The lid (8.5cm long x 11.5cm wide x 1.5cm high) is gold with a floral design in the corners. In the center is the name of the game in red lettering around the picture of a bear.
Below the bear is a quotation from the American poet Longfellow.
And they painted on the grave [...]
Of the graves yet unforgotten
Each his own ancestral totem;
Figures of the bear and reindeer,
Of turtle, crane and beaver.
There are 37cards (7.4cm long x 5.2cm wide) with round corners and plain backs (lower right). The single card with a picture of a lion is the "totem card" (bottom right). There are four "suits" of 9 cards each - domestic fowls, domestic animals, wild animals, wild birds. Cards are valued from 20 to 100. The 20, 40, 60, 80 cards have a picture and some information about a bird or animal. One card in each suit lists the other cards in the suit and this card is worth 100 points.
This is a "trick taking" game for four people. The intent of the game is to acquire the "totem" card and the most points during the play of the game.
Typical of games during this period, there is an educational component, in that as one plays the game, one can learn about the animals and birds from the information on the cards!
According to some historians, an educational component in a 19th century game supposedly made sales more palatable among certain segments of the population.
Last update March 10, 2010