Quartermaine Hall

Artisan: Zena Coffield (Zena’s Miniatures)
Date: 2022
Dimensions: 5 x 16 x 29 mm. / ¼ x ⅝ x 1 ⅛ inches (height x width x depth, of box)
Inventory number: 2022.220
Intended Room: Day Nursery
Category: Toys & Games

Provenance: Purchased directly from the artist’s Etsy shop

This board game, first published by the McLoughlin Brothers in 1875, actually offers three games in one (although the board, originally double-sided, is printed on only one side here). The main game was Life’s Mishaps, a game played with wooden counters and a ‘spinner’, in which players had to move around 48 spaces, overcoming mishaps and challenges on the way. The first to reach the end of the board was the winner. Also included in the pack was Domino Rex and Diamonds and Hearts, although sadly I don’t know how these were played. Published in New York, it must be yet another gift from the hastily-invented American aunt of the Quartermaine children.