Game

Game of Walking the Tight Rope by McLoughlin Brothers, copyright 1897. A very interesting and scarce board game. The first version of this game was issued in 1870, and the imagery carried references to the post Civil War Reconstruction period, per the New York Historical Society:
“The Game of Tight Rope carries subtle references to America's post-Civil War Reconstruction (1865-1877). Players travel across a precarious rope bridge, trying to avoid plunging into the swift waters below. A nearby rescue boat, piloted by Uncle Sam, carries an African-American child representing the Freedmen's Bureau, an agency formed in 1865 to aid and protect newly freed blacks.“
This edition uses the same image for the game board as the 1870 version ( with slight lettering differences). Also notable is that one of the tightrope walkers depicted represents Charles Blondin, a famous tightrope walker of the day who crossed Niagara Falls gorge several times. The image used on the box lid of this edition appears to be new for this edition.
This game appears complete, with two wooden marker pieces plus a spinner as called for in the instructions. The lithographed game board is mounted onto the inside lower lid of the box. The game play rules are printed on the inside of the upper lid of the box. The lower box lid is split at two corner seams and the upper lid is also split at two corners, but there are no pieces missing from the box. There is some other moderate edge wear to box. General age toning, but colors are bright and vibrant, a very good example overall. The box measures 11” x 9.25.” Very rare, we could not locate any other copies for sale online.