Teetotum
Category
Sports equipment, games and pastimes
Date
circa 1860 - circa 1900
Materials
Bone and paint
Measurements
24 mm (width); 56 mm (height)
Order this imageCollection
Sudbury Hall Museum of Childhood, Derbyshire
NT 657900
Summary
A bone spinning die (teetotum), four sided square with chamfered corners (circa 1860 to circa 1900). It has a turned decorative spinning foot and a turned finger hold above. Each facet has a different capital painted letter, the four being H J K M The original 1860 version of The Game of Life used a teetotum in order to avoid the die's association with gambling.