Geographical Game (3 results)

No Binding. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. 12 game boards, each with a description, topographical view, and section of a map, lithographed by H. Jannin, Paris, partly coloured by hand, and designed to form three composite boards made up of four smaller boards, versos plain; text entirely in French; some rubbing and minor wear, offered here without the original box and playing pieces that would have come with the game, but in any case uncommon. These boards were issued as a geographical game by Bussière, of Paris, in the 1870s. The game follows the travels of Alfred through the continents of the world. The boards can be joined together in fours to form three larger boards, devoted to Europe/Asia, African/Western Pacific and Easter Pacific/America; when joined in this way, the maps of the four boards form one map. Each board also has a topographical view featuring Alfred: in Constantinople (Istanbul), on a sledge in Russia, at a café in Syria, with a white elephant in Siam (Thailand), viewing sandstorms in North Africa, on the banks of the Nile, in a wealthy Chinese household, a lake in Australia, at Niagara, with Native Americans in a bison hunt, in a sedan chair in the Antilles, and in the Brazilian Amazon. Descriptive text explains the views on each board. The game was issued in box form, with counters and probably rules, but neither the box, counters, or other contents are offered here.

Large folding hand-coloured map of England & Wales. 550x530cm when unfolded. Has 118 place markers on which counters can move when a totum is thrown. The counters can be purchased separately. The players commence in Maidstone (no.1.) and end in London (No.118). Contained in a rubbed card case. Good copy. Scarce. The directions for playing s printed on the sides of the map.

Very good. Original cartonnage box, with chromolithograph print lid, exhibits some edge wear. Complete with all geographical game boards and tokens. Size 9.5 x 11.75 Inches. A rare French geographical game designed by J. X. Matenet and published by Bussière in Paris c. 1875. The game captures the French fascination with world travel at the height of the Around the World in Eighty Days era, when advances in infrastructure and technology made casual global voyages achievable. A Closer Look The game consists of its original box with a lithographed image 'Alfred', the game's protagonist, in a canoe traveling down the Amazon River. Within are 12 lithographed gameboards with maps of various parts of the world, each containing an illustration and short description of Alfred's journey. The boards loosely connect in groups of four to form larger boards / images. In addition, there are 90 numbered wooden piece and 23 red-dyed shell tokens. Gameplay The full rules seem not to have been preserved, but from what we can tell, gameplay required players to draw wooden pieces from the included silk bag. If the number drawn matched the number on player's map-board, the corresponding number could be covered using one of the red disks, until a full 'voyage' is completed. Publication History and Census This game was designed and originally published in Paris by Jules Xavier Matenet. Matenet sold his business in 1866 to Marie Lenis, who in tern passed it, in 1870, to Bussière. The present example bears Bussière's imprint - although one of the game boards still has the original imprint, suggesting that the printing of that card may date to Matenet's lifetime. The individual cards and cover were lithographed by Henri Jannin. The illustrations were done by B. Coudert. Rare, we note a few illustrations of the game online, but see not cataloged examples in known collections.