Card game, England, London, 1850-1899
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
1850-1899
Card game in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (museum number B.538:1 to 5-2016), made in England, London, dated 1850-1899, attributed to unknown. The museum's brief description reads: Card game of riddles made in England, 1850-1899.
Museum description: A card game of riddles comprising 142 small rectangular cards with one riddle question printed on each, numbered from '1' through to '144' with two cards missing: numbers '94' and '121'. Some of the question cards have pencil annotations on them. Accompanying the cards are paper sheets with numbered answers to the riddles, handwritten in ink. There are four separate answer sheets, two of these were originally joined as one sheet and all of them are fragile and have signs of foxing.
One of the sheets, with the handwritten title 'Answers to Riddles' was written later than the other sheets and by two different writers, perhaps an adult and a child. The museum records it as Card printed with ink; paper inscribed with ink pen, measuring Length 15.5 cm; Width 9.5 cm; Length 8.8 cm; Width 22.3 cm; Length 17.7 cm; Width 22.3 cm. These details come from the museum's own record; how far this object represents a wider collectible type has not yet been independently verified.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Historical context
As well as normal playing cards, many other card games became popular during the nineteenth century. These were relatively cheap and easy to produce and, compared with many other games and toys available at this time, were affordable to a wider section of society. Playing cards were often associated with gambling so other types of card games were devised for family and social use. Riddles and fortune telling were among the most popular.
Physical characteristics
- Material
- paper, card, printing ink, ink
- Dimensions
- Length 15.5 cm; Width 9.5 cm; Length 8.8 cm; Width 22.3 cm; Length 17.7 cm; Width 22.3 cm
Technical characteristics
- Technique
- Card printed with ink; paper inscribed with ink pen
- Maker recorded
- unknown
- Place recorded
- England, London
Design
- Inscriptions recorded
- 'London' inside a geometric border
Identification
- Museum object name
- Card game
- Museum object number
- B.538:1 to 5-2016
- Museum system number
- O1377005
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.
Research required
- Research required: confirm the wider type, maker and catalogue references against a specialist reference.