Card game
De La Rue & Co
Category
Sports equipment, games and pastimes
Date
Unknown
Materials
Cardboard and paper
Measurements
Canasta box - 130 mm (length); 100 mm (width); 23 mm (height), Imperial Leather box - 155 mm (length); 120 mm (width); 30 mm (height), Each playing card - 59 mm (width); 90 mm (height), Table tennis booklet - 69 mm (width); 99 mm (height), Badminton booklet - 69 mm (width); 99 mm (height), Canasta booklet - 88 mm (width); 118 mm (height)
Place of origin
London
Order this imageCollection
Sudbury Hall Museum of Childhood, Derbyshire
NT 667992
Summary
A canasta game in its original box, along with two rule books, for table tennis and badminton, all in an Imperial Leather gift box. The canasta game consists of a cardboard box covered in paper, whose base section is divided in two with a cardboard 'wall', each half housing a pack of playing cards including two jokers, and a small booklet with a grey cover which has 'Canasta, How To Play' printed in blue. The top of the box lid is covered with a blue label which features a Joker and the word 'Canasta' with each letter printed on a playing-card shape. The other two instruction books are small and rectangular with white covers printed in red with red borders. The badminton one is issued by G.W. Battle and Co., the table tennis one by W.B. Tattersall, Ltd. Everything is contained in a rectangular cardboard box covered in red paper, printed on the lid in black, gold and white with a shield logo featuring 'IL' and 'Imperial Leather by Cussons'. On each end of the box lid the wording reads 'No. 5576 Imperial Leather Gift Set Containing 2 Toilet Soaps, And 6 Bath Cubes'. The Imperial Leather box is quite worn at the corners, but the canasta box is in a much worse condition, with all the corners of the lid broken (and two of the base), although nothing is actually missing. Total number of items is 115.
Marks and inscriptions
On the base of the canasta box: 'To John/ Wishing you a happy/ birthday with love from/ Jean.'
Makers and roles
De La Rue & Co, maker