Chess Set with Storage Box, copy of set by John Calvert, 1795 England: Mahogany box with drawers on both sides to hold the chess pieces. The storage case has a brown and tan chess board built into the top. There is a set of Red and a set of White chess pieces made of resin (imitation ivory, the pieces in the original set were carved ivory). Early games of chess made in ivory by master carvers and turners were often in red and white, or green and white combinations. This is a great parlor game (parlour game).

    This is an exact reproduction of a chess set made in 1795 by John Calvert in England. John Calvert was a Master of the Worshipful Company of Turners in London.

    Size: 38 cm x 38 cm x 10.8 cm, 15" x 15" x 4.25".

    Game of Chess: Same chess men as in the John Calvert chess set. Comes in glass top display case. No chess board included, but is available separately. Size: 38cm x 31.5cm x 8.5cm, 15" x 12.5" x 3.25"

    Chess Board: Chess Board. Chess Men not included. Size: 40 x 40 x 4.5cm, 15.75 x 15.75 x 1.75"

Chess Men, Boards and Sets
Chess Set with Storage Box copy of set by John Calvert 1795 England	Game of Chess in Display Case no board	Chess Board Classic no chessmen

    Wooden Dominoes Game: Our Wooden Dominoes set contains 28 double-six wooden dominoes, rules for play, and comes packaged in a wooden storage box with sliding lid. The storage box measures 6-3/4 inches by 1-1/2 inches by 2-1/4 inches. By Historical Folk Toys.

     Dominoes have had shapes other than the flat, small pieces we now know. In Korea, dominoes were long, cube-shaped, bone-faced bamboo pieces. In India, "pase" dice-looking dominoes are long rectangular, cubed dice with pointed ends and are made of bone or ivory prisms, marked on four sides.

     Dominoes may have originally been used as counters in dice games or in a method of fortune telling with dice. In the year 1120 A.D., the dominoes we know today existed in China and it is believed that dominoes descended from dice around this time.

     The game of dominoes was a popular game during Colonial American times and continues to be a favorite American game. Dominoes are as popular with adults as they are with children. Many Irish pubs feature domino games and sponsor domino contests.

Wood Checker Pieces

Wood Checker Board Set

    Wood Checker Pieces: These checker pieces are painted wood. The set comes with 12 red and 12 black pieces. You can make your own board out of duck or other material to make a portable checker set for your haversack or valise. Or add a wooden checker board.

     Game of Fox & Geese and Solitaire The number of geese pitted against the fox has fluctuated over the years but the rules have remained basically unchanged: the fox, represented by a single peg, has to prevent the geese, represented by all the other pegs, from surrounding him. In the Solitaire version, all pegs but one must be removed from the board, with the final move ending in a designated hole. Our game board is hand made of solid native hardwood. The set includes a full set of game pegs, as well as a history of the game and instructions. Packaged in a printed box.

This item is Made in USA

No Quarter

Solitaire Games (Parlor Game)

     The Solitaire Game with Precious Stones has a hand turned, polished and waxed mahogany board. 38 marbles, including 2 spares. Every marble is hand cut from semi-precious quarried mineral. Each with its own distinctive colorings and markings, no two are alike. The size of the 20mm game is: 26.5cm x 4cm, 10.5" x 1.5"

     The Solitaire Di Venezia Game (also known as Solitaire De Venise or Venezianisches Solitär). Venetian solitaire game. Hand turned solid mahogany board come with 38 unique 25mm hand-blown marbles, including 2 spares. The marbles are in all colors, highly decorated, with no two marbles the same. Hand-blown marbles can be identified by the small hole in the glass, a tell-tale sign of the glass rod used by the glass blower to hold and turn the sphere in the kiln. The size of the game board is 30cm x 5cm, 12" x 2".

Chinese Checkers Game

     A wonderful 19th Century (1800s) board game that can be played with six players, each using 10 pieces.

Marble Board Games
20mm, Precious Stones	Solitaire di Venezia, Glass Marbles

I. Hardy Cards Package

Early American Playing Cards

C. W. Illuminated Playing Cards

1864 Highlanders Poker Cards L. I. Cohen

American Cards

Wood Poker Chips

Clay Poker Chips

Confederate Generals Playing Cards, 1863

Union Generals Playing Cards, 1863

Union & Confederate Military Leaders

Native American Cards, 1

Native American Cards, 2

Buffalo Soldiers Cards

    Early American Playing Cards, These are the same cards as the I. Hardy playing cards, except without the period style paper wrapper secured with string. Authentic style cards with no numbers. Rev War Design, Correct for Civil War usage by Historical Folk Toys.

    Illuminated Card Deck, This reproduction of a Civil War-era deck is beautifully crafted with gold detail embellishing every card.In the style of the times, this deck includes full-length, single-ended court figures, square corners and traditional non-indexed styling. Originally produced by L. I. Cohen, New York. Correct for the American Civil War period.

    1864 Poker Card Deck, Reproduction of a Civil War era poker deck with full-length, single-ended court figures. Box reproduced with original tax stamps showing hand cancellation June 2, 1864. Correct for the American Civil War period.

    American Playing Cards, Caleb Bartlett. Authentic style cards with no numbers. Very colorful deck. Pre-Civil War but will work nicely. The face cards are Kings are American Presidents, Jacks are Famous Indians, and Queens are Allegorical. Correct for the American Civil War period.

    Confederate Generals Playing Cards, Facsimile reproduction of playing cards originally published in 1863 by M. Nelson, New York. Each card face features an engraved portrait of a general or statesman of the Civil War Era. Each deck contains 54 cards.

    Union Generals Playing Cards, Facsimile reproduction of playing cards originally published in 1863 by M. Nelson, New York. Each card face features an engraved portrait of a general or statesman. Each deck contains 54 cards.

    Union & Confederate Military Leaders Playing Cards, Facsimile reproduction of playing cards originally published in 1863 by M. Nelson, New York. This double deck set (54 cards per deck) features an engraved portrait of a different general or statesman on each card. Contains Union and Confederate Generals Playing Card Decks.

    Native American Card Decks, Not a reproduction decks, but very interesting. Each deck contains a collection of 55 cards with full color portraits of Native Americans painted during the early 19th century. Two sets are available.

    Buffalo Soldiers Card Deck, Not a reproduction decks, but very interesting. The black regiments, which came into being in 1866, quickly earned the respect of both fellow servicemen and opponents. This beautifully illustrated deck of 54 cards pays homage to those leaders whose contributions helped change the face of American. 1866-present including Colin Powell.

Playing Cards Check, by clicking, the box for each item and size wanted. Update the quantity if you want more than 1. When done selecting any/all items, click the "Put these items in my cart!" button.

Item Select Qty Price Reproduction Playing Cards I. Hardy Cards, Rev War Plus Discontinued Early American Playing Cards, Rev War Plus  @ $8.60/deck 1864 Poker Cards (Highlanders), Civil War Plus @ $12.00/deck Illuminated Playing Cards, Civil War Plus @ $28.00/deck Confederate Generals Playing Cards - 1863, Civil War Plus @ $12.00/deck Union Generals Playing Cards - 1863, Civil War Plus @ $12.00/deck Union & Confederate Military Leaders Playing Cards - 1863, Civil War Plus @ $24.00/deck Historical Interest Playing Cards, NOT Reproduction Native American Playing Cards, Set 1 @ $14.00/deck Native American Playing Cards, Set 2 @ $14.00/deck Buffalo Soldiers Playing Cards @ $10.00/deck

    From Venice, cards made their way to other European countries. There are many mentions of cards from Ulm, Germany, in the late 1300s and early 1400s. Even though no actual card packs exist from this time, it is certain that woodcuts would have been used in their production by this time. The invention of the removeable-type printing press made mass production of playing cards possible around 1440.

    Playing cards also became very popular for gambling. Preachers denounced card playing and the conduct that followed "poor losers" who exhibited bad behavior and emotional outbursts. It was declared immoral and prohibitions sprang up in many cities. Ulm, Germany, had a prohibition against card playing in 1397. Other prohibitions and ordinances against card playing occurred in Paris, France, in 1377; St. Gallen, Switzerland, in 1379; Lille, France, in 1382; Barcelona, Spain, in 1382; and, again, in Paris, France, in 1397 forbidding working people to play cards on working days.

    Some card decks from China featured only three "suits." The four suits used in present-day playing cards (spades, hearts, diamonds & clubs) are derived from the Middle Ages where the Tarot deck reflected the societies of Medieval times. The king ruled a world in which there were four classes: the church, military, merchants, and farmers. These four classes were featured as suits on the cards in the forms of cups (the church), swords (military), pentacles or five-pointed stars (merchants), and batons (farmers). When card popularity spread throughout Europe and, particularly, into Germany during the 15th century, the cups became hearts, the swords became spades, the pentacles became diamonds, and the batons became clubs.

    English playing cards from the 15th century probably evolved from France. The first documentation of cards in England is from an Act of Parliament (3 Edw. IV.c.4) in which domestic card makers petitioned against the importing of foreign cards. At this point, cards had plain backs, square corners, no numbers in the corners, and the face cards were single ended.

    It is thought that Christopher Columbus' expedition brought playing cards to what is now Latin America. Cards were later brought to the New World by Jamestown settlers. In the American colonies, Puritan children were not allowed to play cards and the sale of cards was prohibited in their communities. In the Puritan Colony Laws of 1656, children and servants were to be "publickly whipt" for second offenses of playing cards. The county records of Plymouth, Massachusetts, show that in 1633 two heathens were fined two pounds each for card playing. The colonists did, however, enjoy playing cards. When Captain James Cook returned from England to Jamestown, Virginia, he found the colonists starving, but still playing with cards!

    Card designs featuring the King, Queen, Jack, and the "pip" cards (cards without numbers from two to ten) did not change much from the 15th to 19th centuries. During the mid-19th century, face cards became double-headed and the card values appeared in the left corners to allow greater ease in reading fanned cards. Players would also not want their opponents to know whether they had a face card by turning these cards right side up. Doubled-headed face cards helped players "protect the hands" or not "tip their hand" to another player.

    Up until 1850, most playing cards had plain backs. Because this plain side could become soiled or "marked" and used for cheating, design patterns began to appear on the backs of cards. In some American cities further inland, this type of card deck with plain backs was used longer than 1850 simply because it took a while for the other cards to migrate to western states and territories. After cards were played with a number of times, the square corners rubbed off and, so, rounded corners became the new standard. After all, cards were made from only heavy paper then and did not have the plastic-coated finish we see on today's cards. Playing Cards are the basis for some parlor games (parlour games)

    Native Americans also made their own cards, but not out of paper. They used animal hides and decorated each card individually. A set of North American Indian cards is displayed in the National Museum in Washington, D.C.

    Fun Fact: The joker was invented because of a game called Eucher, which needed one more high card. Card manufacturers would add a blank card called the "Eucher card" in each deck. The word was mispronounced and the "joker" was born!

    Dicing games such as Hazard were 18th century tavern favorites in the North American colonies and the forerunner of today's most popular casino dice games. Although gambling may have met with disapproval from many proper colonists, dice were nonetheless a common household item as many board games called for a pair of dice for play.

    Dice in various shapes and designs, made in materials both precious and common were found throughout the ancient world. In early America dice made of wood, bone or ivory would have been common.

    Wooden Dice: by Historical Folk Toys.

    Pewter Dice: While idle in the battlefield 18th century militiamen would take lead musket balls and hammer them into dice to while away the time at camp. We have packaged 3 of our lead free pewter dice, cast to closely resemble those imperfect handmade dice. Come in poly bag along with a history of dice and instructions for play.

    Crown and Anchor: a dice gambling game dating back to the early 18th century. It was popular in the British Navy and also played, though less popular, with Australian and American sailors as well as other servicemen. The game uses three 6 sided dice and a board. Each of the dice have a different symbol on each of the six sides: a crown, an anchor, a spade, a heart, a diamond, and a club. The board / layout, often made of wood or cloth, also contains one each of these same symbols. The player places bets on one or more of the six symbols. The player then rolls the dice and is paid based on the number of symbols showing on the rolled dice corresponding to the symbols the player bet on. Payout is 1:1 for a matching symbol on the dice , 2:1 on a two and 3:1 on a three. The odds are in favor of the banker by around 7.5%. This game eventually evolved into the casino game of "Chuck a Luck". Information about Crown and Anchor dice game from Encyclopedia Britannica. Currently NOT Available, we are looking for a good source for the dice AND board.

Dice and Dice Games
Pewter Dice	Wooden Dice

     When playing dice-like games, values were given to each side of the knucklebones. The bones were tossed into the air and a player tried to have them land on the back of the hand or on the ground. Points were determined and scores kept. Eventually, six-sided cubed dice replaced the bones. A cube-shaped dotted die dated 600 B.C. from the Greek colony of Naucratis, Egypt, was discovered by Flinders Petrie.

     Colonial American children played with dice and wealthy families would have had ivory dice, while the "common folk" would have used wooden dice. Dice have been made of bone, antler, ivory, horn, wood and, later during the American Revolutionary War, soldiers made dice out of lead bullets and played dice games to pass the time.

     Dominoes are closely associated with dice. Domino spots look like two dice placed side by side. Dominoes, along with dice, may have been used in fortune telling as long ago as 1120 A.D.

     As with playing cards, dice had gambling issues that caused prohibitions and ordinances to be passed. In 1364 in St. Gallen Switzerland, an ordinance forbade dice games, allowed board games, but did not mention playing cards. In 1382 in Lille, France, an ordinance forbade various games, including dice and "quartes" (an early word for cards). In the same year in Barcelona, Spain, an ordinance prohibited dice and cards in just one home of a certain town official. Fifteen years later in Paris, France, a decree was issued forbidding working people to play dice and other gambling-type games on working days.

     Many dice games made use of a cup to shake the dice in, rather than in a hand. It seems that this method kept some players from "palming" loaded dice. Loaded dice are dice that have been tampered with to cause a predictable outcome. The "shaker cup" supposedly made dice playing a fair game. The dice could, however, still be "loaded" by a skilled cheat.

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Cartridge Boxes,   Holsters,   Other,

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    We hope teachers, students, historians & researchers will find these pages useful, as well as reenactors & production companies.