Old Dominos

[Caprock Louis]

New to group and really enjoy the reading.


Thoughts on old history are the games they played.
I have a set of dominos my Grandfather got when he was six in 1888 for a sack of wheat.  They have bakelite back and bone face with small brass pin holding together.

Looking on e-bay while back found another set similar but bit larger.  Bought them also. Same composition .  Both have small wood boxes keeping them  My grandfathers are roughly 1/2 inch by 1 1/2 inch .  One I bought perhaps 50% larger

Thinking of taking them to SASS meet for activities.

The old dominos were purchased for my grandfather  in Missouri.  My great granddad bought farm from Tye Bransom whose son founded Bransom Missouri.  Another side note was he left the area because all the large game was gone.  Left the farm and an old Betty Lamp which was used with bear grease.  Very small item.  So many items were not large due to hauling items in such a mobile society back then.  Tye Bransom showed my great granddad where he shot his last Indian. 
None of this is important of course just little side notes on our history
Caprock Louis
Cleburne Texas

[Dr. Bob]

Howdy CL,

I have a couple of sets of old dominoes and enjoy playing with them.  Thanks for posting this topic!!

['Monterrey' Jack Brass]

Welcome CL,

Interesting regarding your post on dominoes and the story behind them. Sounds like you have the single pivot (pin) type as detailed below. Thought I'd post an 1886 catalog reference on dominoes here for you to take a look at.

A note on period dominoes and how old bone & ebony types at times are advertised by collectors: I've seen more than a few times that such & such a set of dominoes are from the Civil War era and are considered to be Southern by virtue of their being affixed with one pin. Not sure where this urban myth came from but I've found no evidence to support the claim of a single pin domino being CS and a double or triple pin being US. The facts are borne out, at least per the documentation below, that single, double, and triple pin dominos were all available at least in 1886 and the only difference between them is the quality of construction (more pins = better built domino). I have a set of 'single pin' dominos and the two halves of each domino can pivot around that pin so the bone and ebony are misaligned - though it takes some effort to create this condition, double or triple pinned dominoes would not do this. At any rate, unless there is solid documentation to the contrary that I'm not aware of, don't buy-in to the collector's myth about certain kinds of dominoes being southern made or even being from the Civil War period.

As for other games, per the same 1886 catalog, there was also: chess, checkers, cards, cards, cribbage, dice, Parcheesi, "Loto" (apparently a German game that was popular), "Yankee Letter Blocks" word building game, and a bunch of other board games no longer current. Also in the catalog are some parlour game 'bagatelle' table top contraptions that had rolling marbles with holes & wickets on the game board.

Info below from the 1886 Peck & Snyder Price List of Out & Indoor Sports & Pastimes (reprinted in 1971 by the Pyne Press)


Thanks for posting about period games/past times, this is something that would have been fairly common knowledge back in the day and is an important part of Victorian era material culture.

Brass

[Dr. Bob]

Brass,

What is the earliest reference that you have to double nine sets being available?  I have the impression that they were just becoming available at the time of your catalogue.

[Caprock Louis]

Thank you for your information

These dominos are a very special item to my mother age 87 and a great heirloom for the family.  Not worth a lot but to us.  I will pass information to her.

Like I said I bought another set and am planning on taking them to a couple of regional meets and if anyone wants to play dominos plan to use them.  They are  bit larger.  I am a history buff with a degree in history.  I am very interested in the past.  Has some to do with me getting into the cowboy shooting along with my interest in shooting.  That is why I like period dress and single actions.

Caprock Louis
Lost deep in the heart of Texas

['Monterrey' Jack Brass]

Dr B - your question must be answered/documented by a person with better references than I have in my library. The 1886 P&S is the only period catalog I have referencing entertainment/parlour games. So if a particular variety of the game emerged at a given time I can't confirm and I dare not conject. All I can offer is the 1886 information posted earlier, unfortunately.

CL - I hope your mom enjoys the info and the fact there are actually people out there who are interested in such things too...!

Brass

[Ozark Tracker]

Caprock Louis I don't know anything about the dominos, but with where my Grandad was born and raised ,  I've got to ask ya what yer familys name is there in Missouri,

Grandpa'a family settled and lived on the farm that is Silver Dollar City now.  Grandpa was raised on a farm that's now at the bottom of the lake there.  The little community there at the time was Radical Missouri.

his Grandparents were Philibert's, Moore's, Stallion's  & Yochum's

[Forty Rod]

I have a set of dominos that I was told were "vegetable ivory".  I later found that they are a form of celluloid, but look very much like ivory.

['Monterrey' Jack Brass]

40Rod - does the celluloid have striations in it (will look like very close parallel thin lines of a slightly darker shade running next to lighter lines) or is it solid, off white in color? If it's solid in color a test to confirm it's 'French Ivory' (i.e. celluloid) is heating up a pin red hot and touching to a less visible area and see if there is an immediate wierd smell from when the hot pin makes contact with the material. It's hard to explain what the smell is but you'd know it if you smelled it. Also the area where the pin touched might discolor a bit. If there is no smell per the above process you may actualy have ivory. It's possible though the chances are very high they're celluloid as that material was pretty common stuff back in the day.

Brass

[Caprock Louis]

To Ozark Tracker

Folks from central Missouri area
Dad's folks name Garner and Hodge; Garners came from Georgia to Tennessee.  This group split with part moving to Missouri and part to Texas.  Texas decendants included John Nance Garner whom my folks side would never support as a @#$@# Democrat.
Mom's side came from Germany in 1850-65 timeline.  Settled around Hermann.  Names as Schunemeyer, Garver, Kramer, Boetcher.  The Great Grandpa Schunemeyer bought farm from Tye Bransom.  Area actually settled around Hermann was mostly German  little and I mean little further south was mostly English.

Interesting side note a number of Russian emigrants seemed to come also with strong German ties.

Interesting side note at time I think St Louiis was nations fourth largest city and a very very strong German contingent in its population.

Not sure what this has to do with old dominos however like I previously posted History is interesting and that is why many of us are enjoying this hobby so much

Caprock Louis

[Forty Rod]

40Rod - does the celluloid have striations in it (will look like very close parallel thin lines of a slightly darker shade running next to lighter lines) or is it solid, off white in color? If it's solid in color a test to confirm it's 'French Ivory' (i.e. celluloid) is heating up a pin red hot and touching to a less visible area and see if there is an immediate wierd smell from when the hot pin makes contact with the material. It's hard to explain what the smell is but you'd know it if you smelled it. Also the area where the pin touched might discolor a bit. If there is no smell per the above process you may actualy have ivory. It's possible though the chances are very high they're celluloid as that material was pretty common stuff back in the day.

Brass

Solid of-white, flammable (one of the pieces wag broken and I scooped a hole to pin and glue it.  I know the smell you mean.