Original Wood “Fishponds: A Parlour Game,” Alfred Seeley Inventor, England, c.1867

Antiques : Games : Seeley "Fishponds"

 

Wonderful original wood “Fishponds” game made in England c.1867, labeled “Fishponds: A Parlour Game,” with the original instructions by “Alfred Seeley, Inventor” pasted to the underside of the lid. It appears that the game originally consisted of 6 wood fishing poles and 42 numbered wood “fishes” – beehive shaped pieces with a metal ring at the top. The game here for sale has only 4 poles and 37 of the 42 numbered fishes. One of these original wood games (also incomplete) was donated to the State Library of South Australia and is in its collection; it is the only reference to the Seeley wood version of this game that I can find on the Internet. The State Library dates the game in its collection to the period 1852-1883, and I have dated the one here to the mid-point of that range.

The fishing poles and fishes are housed in a long wood box with a sliding lid. On the top of the lid is a label with the name of the game: “Fishponds: A Parlour Game.” On the underside of the lid are the instructions noted above, and the label of the establishment that sold the game: “Sharman & Son, Toy and Fancy Repository” on Market Place in Cambridge. The box is approximately 24.2” long by 2.9” wide, and sits approximately 2.0” high. Everything appears to be original, except that there are fishing lines on two of the poles that appear to be more recent than the lines on the other two.

The condition of the box is very good considering the age of the piece; however, a portion of one of the rails where the lid slides into the box split off many years ago. The fishes and poles are in excellent condition, with the apparent substitution of different fishing lines on two of the poles noted above.

This is a beautiful antique game.

Thanks for visiting.

Item ID: H-000066