Catalog Archive
Auction 159, Lot 61

"Walker's Tour Through England and Wales, a New Pastime", Darton, William

Subject: Cartographic Game, England & Wales

Period: 1809 (dated)

Publication:

Color: Hand Color

Size:
17.3 x 19.9 inches
43.9 x 50.5 cm
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This simple map of England and Wales is the game board for a geographical game, with the rules included in text panels at the sides. A numbered route is shown, beginning in Maidstone, Kent with "1" and ending in London with "118." The game is played with a marker and four counters for each player and an eight-sided teetotum spinner, which were not included with the game. The rules are outlined at top left, with several columns below and at far right giving information on each numbered city in the game, with several cities requiring the player to lose up to four turns to "see the city." The winner is the person who lands in London by exact count of the spinner. Dissected and mounted on original linen, folding into original marbled paperboard slipcase with engraved paper title and publisher's labels. Although the publisher's imprint on the map is dated 1809, this example was printed on paper dated "1826" in the watermark. Still an early example of the "Cartographic Game" genre that became very popular in later Victorian England.

References:

Condition: B+

Original color on paper watermarked "J. Whatman Turkey Mill 1826" with light soiling and a few spots of foxing in the text panels. Slipcase has a few small abrasions and is still very sturdy and fully intact.

Estimate: $650 - $750

Sold for: $475

Closed on 9/14/2016

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