Grandmama's New Game of Natural History
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
ca. 1850
"Grandmama's New Game of Natural History" is a boxed card game produced in England around 1850 by an unknown publisher. The complete set comprises a playing sheet measuring 247 mm by 367 mm, a printed sheet of rules, a publisher's advertisement sheet, 24 character cards measuring 38 mm by 31 mm, and 36 animal and bird cards measuring 45 mm by 73 mm. The components are housed in a partitioned wooden box with a sliding lid featuring a pictorial lithographed label.
The game utilizes card, wood, and ink, executed with hand-coloured lithography, hand-coloured wood-engraving, and letterpress printing. The central playing sheet depicts an elderly woman seated at a table surrounded by 24 compartments with nursery rhyme and fairy tale figures. Corresponding to these spaces are 24 character cards, while the 36 animal and bird cards feature coloured depictions on the front with descriptive text and four-line verses printed on the reverse. The sliding lid depicts museum visitors with a stuffed gorilla, zoo visitors viewing lions, and children observing a bear and a monkey.
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
The game was played with any number of participants. Players took turns drawing character cards to collect corresponding bird and animal verse cards placed on the sheet's compartments, with the winner holding the most verse cards. The game forms part of the Raymond Barnett Collection of Toys and Games.
Identification
- Source note
- Transcribed from the Victoria and Albert Museum collection record for this single object; how far it represents a wider collectible type has not been independently verified.
- Museum object name
- Grandmama's New Game of Natural History
- Museum object number
- E.1786:1 to 63-1954
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.