My inbox has been regularly filled with queries about my thoughts on various items listed on eBay recently. This listing is another that has prompted many inquiries, so I thought it would be fun to compare and contrast this listing to the game that has been in the collection since being purchased through Dunbar Gallery when it sold Hugh Luck’s collection in 1997.
So, first off, do I think this game is truly vintage? Yes, there isn’t any doubt in my mind. Are there differences between the game now available on eBay and my game? Yes. What are they?
First, some preliminaries. I asked the seller to provide photos of the lid’s interior. He quickly and graciously added these to the listing. I asked him how the lid was held together. He couldn’t readily answer, but will supply that information as an add to the listing. I asked him if he could supply better photos of the pipe on which the rings would be tossed. (I believe he will do so.) I asked him what the pipe is made from. He said he thought it was wood but will double-check when able.
(The last four photos are of my game.)
The listed game seems to be housed in a white or light blue box. Mine is a very dark blue. The image on the front of the listed box as well as the surface of the game board have a muslin-like pattern to them, or a minutely and perhaps visually-only pebbly surface. My game’s counterparts are smooth. The coloration of the listed game’s board is lighter than my game board. The back of the listed game board is off-white, mine is darker. The listed game has a dark pipe, perhaps wood, which seems to lack fine detailing. My game has two identical clay pipes, heavily detailed. (I love these clay pipes!) The listed game has no hanging hole at the stem. Mine does - but whether that is how the game was manufactured is unknown. The inside of the lid of the listed game has tipped-in information with a more finished fell than with my game.
The pastel rings seem to be the same. My game has fifteen. It seems the listed game has slightly fewer, but it is hard-to-say based on the photos.
So, what do I make of these differences? I suspect the listed game was produced slightly later than mine - maybe by a year or two. J.W. Spear & Sons was founded in 1879 according to Wikipedia. The same source says game-making became their main business around 1900. I estimate the game was first made around 1910 because there wasn’t much commercial interest before then to drive production of a Halloween-themed game. Plus, J.W. Spear & Sons was in Bavaria until 1932, so I doubt such manufacturing was taking place from 1914-1918 when Germany was fighting what we now call World War I.
In conclusion, it is exciting to see such a rare game being offered - especially by a seller who has listed high-end items for several seasons now to general acclaim. The only advice I would offer to the seller - and trust me, he didn’t solicit this advice - would be to provide a much greater level of detail to the written component of his listings. As I state on page 134, this game came in two versions. The smaller version is nice but doesn’t have the eye appeal of its larger brethren. That smaller version has publicly surfaced maybe 4-5 times over the past 40 years, but this is only the second or third time I’ve seen this larger version come to market.
It will be fun to see what this great game brings! I’ll be watching.
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Mark B. Ledenbach's vintage Halloween collectibles blog.
