Museum Collections
Luce Center
Yankee Peddler or What Do You Buy?
Object Number:
2000.666
Date:
1865-1870
Medium:
Cardboard, paper
Dimensions:
Overall: 1 1/4 x 5 1/2 x 5 3/4 in. ( 3.2 x 14 x 14.6 cm )
Marks:
lithographed: on the box cover: "YANKEE PEDLAR/ OR WHAT DO YOU BUY."
Description:
"Yankee Peddler or What Do You Buy?" card game with 11 polychrome vendor cards, 60 merchandise cards and an instruction booklet in a paper covered cardboard box; box cover printed with an image of a man holding a clock in front of a horse drawn cart; box inscribed, "YANKEE PEDDLER/ OR WHAT DO YOU BUY."
Gallery Label:
From the outset of the American game industry until well into the 1870s, games were made by hand coloring engravings. This time-consuming and expensive process was typically executed by factory workers, usually low paid young girls.
Bibliography:
Hofer, Margaret K. "The Games We Played: The Golden Age of Board & Table Games." New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2003.
Credit Line:
The Liman Collection
Due to ongoing research, information about this object is subject to change.