A Key to Walker's Geographical Tour through the Western Hemisphere with Directions for Making the Tour : An Instructive Pastime [booklet ONLY]

London (58, Holborn Hill): William Darton, Jun, 1816. Pamphlet. Good. [1-3], 4-66, [6-catalogue] pages. Approx 6 3/4 x 4 inches. Marbled paper wrappers, string bound. Binding loose with strings deterioriated and signatures loose. Wrapper worn overall. Well used noting thumbing from use and creased corners. Pamphlet. The instruction booklet ONLY (there would have been an accompanying map which is not present here). A direction and rules book for this rare geographical game. Contains instructions and 141 numbered paragraphs for various geographical locations with in depth information about each location. Players start at #1 PHILADELPHIA and finish at #141 BUENOS AYRES. Each entry with from a few sentences to several pages of description about the numbered location.

William Darton, Jun. in 1816 published "WALKER'S GEOGRAPHICAL PASTIME" which consisted of two engravings (the Western Hemisphere and the Eastern Hemisphere) "mounted together on one piece of stout linen cut into 24 sections, overall measurement 38 in x 20 in." Whitehouse is enthusiastic about the game: "Of the old map games this one must occupy a high place; hours of enjoyment are derived from the examination of the place names and by following the voyages of several of the early navigators, e.g. Captain Cook, Captain Vancouver, Captain Gore, M. de la Perouse, all of which are shown in detail and the game published within 40 years of the actual voyages, the dates of which are given." (Whitehouse p 13-14).

While we cannot be absolutely sure that this instruction booklet is for the Western Hemisphere's portion of this game (Whitehouse is not specific about the numbering of this part) browsing through it is quite interesting. The descriptions of many places are extremely detailed and provide insights into the way various locations were viewed in 1816. #23 (QUITO) discusses a devastating earthquake of 1797. #27 (GUADALOUPE) discusses the Caribbees and their fearsome natives who "not satisfied with the workmanship of nature, they called in the assistance of art to make themselves more formidable. They disfigured their faces with great quantities of red paint, with deep incisions and hideous scars on their cheeks...[some] inserted the bone of a fish, a parrot's feather, or a fragment of tortoise shell [in their nose]...and strung together the teeth of such of their enemies as they had slain in battle." The BAHAMA ISLES: "The inhabitants appeared in the simple innocence of nature, entirely naked. Their black hair, long and uncurled, floated upon their shoulders. The had no beards; their complexion was of a dusky copper colour...They were at first shy, but soon became familar, receiving with transports of joy glass beads and other bawbles in return for provisions, etc..." #41 CALIFORNIA is a short entry reporting that Don Joseph Galvez found pearl fisheries, mines of gold, excellent soil, and different tribes who inhabit the country without any chief. There are two pages on New Albion, almost two on NOOTA SOUND "discovered by Captain Cook" etc etc.

Aside from being an artifact of a game, it provides interesting insights into who, what, and where were thought important to the publisher's audience at the time. Also of note is a six page publisher catalog of Children's books by publisher William Darton, Jun. listing 62 titles with prices and some brief commentary.

Rare, with only three holdings in OCLC as of this writing (Univ Cal, Los Angeles, Duke, and Princeton). Only the copy at Princeton notes the presence of the six page publishers catalog in rear.

LITERATURE:
Whitehouse, Francis, "Table Games of Georgian and Victorian Days", 2nd edition, 1971.