The New & Diverting Game of Alice in Wonderland
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
1918
This object is a card game pack titled "The New & Diverting Game of Alice in Wonderland", published in England in 1918 by Thomas de la Rue & Co Ltd. The complete pack consists of 48 cards made of card printed with ink, housed in a pale pink card box decorated with red printing. The box measures 9.8 cm high, 6.7 cm wide, and 2.5 cm deep.
Each card features a white ground printed in the centre with a single character or object from the story Alice in Wonderland, accompanied by a descriptive caption below the image. The imagery presents drawings by Miss E Gertrude Thomson taken from the original illustrations by Sir John Tenniel. The deck is organized into sixteen sets of three cards, with one card in each group designated as a Leading card that names the other two cards required to complete the set.
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
Based on the book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, this card game serves as an early example of character merchandising. In play, the complete pack is dealt among players, who aim to complete the three-card sets; the player who completes the most sets wins the game.
Physical characteristics
- Material
- Printed card
- Dimensions
- Height (box): 9.8 cm; Width (box): 6.7 cm; Depth (box): 2.5 cm
Technical characteristics
- Maker recorded
- Thomas de la Rue & Co Ltd
- Place recorded
- England
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
- The New & Diverting Game of Alice in Wonderland
- Museum object number
- MISC.27-1991
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.