Features
- Cover Type: Hard Cover with 176 pages
- Published by: Princeton Architectural Press
- Edition: 1st Edition March 1, 2003
- Written in: English
- ISBN 10 Number: 1568983972
- ISBN 13 Number: 978-1568983974
-
Book Dimensions:
10.8 x 10.3 x 0.7 inches
- Weighs: 2.3 pounds
From Publishers Weekly
You will not find Monopoly or Scrabble here, but rather The Popular Game of Broadway and Soldier Ten Pins. But some of the other names will be familiar in this vividly illustrated collection of late 19th-century and early 20th-century games in the collection of the New-York Historical Society: Milton Bradley (producer of, among others, Anagrams and Other Letter Games) and Parker Brothers (who produced What's His Name, a quiz game about famous men). This fascinating look at games past is not all play: Jackson, president of the Historical Society and a historian at Columbia, posits that games reflect the social concerns of their times, and illuminating captions offer bite-size lessons in social history.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Commemorating an exhibition that closed in January 2003, this big, square book revivifies a forgotten corner of American popular culture. On nearly every page, it displays the board, box cover, and other accoutrements of one or more nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century board games, exemplified by some of the best-kept specimens of the old amusements, their brilliant colors barely jaundiced with age. Hofer's sparse text imparts that board and table games enjoyed their American heyday from the 1840s to the 1920s, though, of course, the type persists, as the continued popularity of
Monopoly, invented as late as 1935, indicates. Indeed, some of the oldest games survive, perhaps in adapted form, to this day--for instance,
Fish Pond lives on as a little children's activity at fund-raiser carnivals. Hofer presents the games in such broad and narrow topical chapters as "Parlor Amusements" (a big category) and "War Games" (almost all based on the Spanish-American War), and usually relays just enough, and never too much, information in the captions for one of the most charming sets of illustrations imaginable.
Ray OlsonCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Reader ReviewsBoard games seem to have a monopoly on our entertaining pastimes: Their sales have doubled in the last year alone! And if your idea of a great game is Chutes & Ladders or Risk, they go to jail and do not pass go. Margaret K. Hofer's nifty volume brings together more than 100 eye-popping examples of rare and popular board games, organized by theme, such as sports, courtship and travel. The late 19th century and early 20th century games here are drawn from more than 500 such gems from The New York Historical Society's tremendous collection. What's most fascinating (besides the glorious color photos) is being reminded that as much as times change, some things (like games) don't. Take "The Elite Conversation Cards," manufactured in 1887. Think of it as a vintage "20 Questions" or a host of other games that can be found at Toys R Us .... courting couples "break the ice" with cards that ask such deep, thought-provoking questions such as "Are you inclined to boss the house?" and "Have you ever been in love?" Pass the dice, please.
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