Sports & Leisure - Overview
The nation's passion for sports is obvious every day—at NASCAR races, kiddie soccer matches, and countless other contests. From a handball used by Abraham Lincoln to Chris Evert's tennis racket to a baseball signed by Jackie Robinson, the roughly 6.000 objects in the Museum's sports collections bear witness to the vital place of sports in the nation's history. Paper sports objects in the collections, such as souvenir programs and baseball cards, number in the hundreds of thousands.
Leisure collections encompass a different range of objects, including camping vehicles and gear, video games, playing cards, sportswear, exercise equipment, and Currier and Ives prints of fishing, hunting, and horseracing. Some 4,000 toys dating from the colonial period to the present are a special strength of the collections.
"Sports & Leisure - Overview" showing 10 items.
Art Moderne card game set
- Description (Brief)
- A mottled green celluloid box containing two decks of cards and poker chips (red, white, and blue). All pieces are made of celluloid. The cards have an Art Moderne design, in green and pumpkin. They are also marked with the initials "NPF."
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1930-1935
- ID Number
- 2006.0098.0886
- accession number
- 2006.0098
- catalog number
- 2006.0098.0886
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Horse
- Description (Brief)
- A celluloid blow-molded horse. It is made of cream colored celluloid and spray painted with deep pink/purple and black highlights. It was made in the Japanese workshop of Ando Togoro and bears that trademark, a crossed circle.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- after 1945
- maker
- Ando Togoro
- ID Number
- 2006.0098.0894
- accession number
- 2006.0098
- catalog number
- 2006.0098.0894
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Bridge set
- Description (Brief)
- A bridge set consisting of 4 score tablets, numbered 1 through 4. Each tablet has a celluloid cover in a different color (blue, red, black, and gold). The gold cover is marbled; the rest are solid. Each tablet cover has a stylized design made of three angular pieces of celluloid glued to the top left-hand corner. These tablets are for auction bridge, which was developed from straight bridge in 1904 and was a precursor to contract bridge.
- Auction bridge is scored whenever the required number of tricks (9 in No Trump; 10 in Hearts and Spades; 11 in Clubs or Diamonds) is scored. In contract bridge, the number of points from tricks taken past bid do not count towards making a game. Bridge evolved from whist, an earlier trick-taking game.
- date made
- 1927
- ID Number
- 2006.0098.1462
- catalog number
- 2006.0098.1462
- accession number
- 2006.0098
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Bridge score sheet
- Description (Brief)
- A score sheet for auction bridge. Made entirely of a thick sheet of cream celluloid, resembles a fence. A woman is halfway over the fence, with one leg and one arm dangling down; both appendages are hinged. Her arm indicates no trump or one of the four suits; her leg indicates the game number.
- The sheet is unmarked but the woman's bobbed hairstyle suggests it was probably made in the 1920s. Scores of previous games can still be seen written in pencil on the sheet. Celluloid could be written on in pencil and erased, which made it a good material for scorecards and memo sheets.
- date made
- ca 1920
- ID Number
- 2006.0098.1463
- catalog number
- 2006.0098.1463
- accession number
- 2006.0098
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Playing cards
- Description (Brief)
- A set of playing cards, probably made of celluloid, contained in an alligator-patterned two-part faux leather case. Pockets on either side of the case contain a game marker. The markers have celluloid discs that indicate "Trump," "Games," and "Points." The cards were manufactured by W. P. Co. of Racine, Wis. They picture an avenue lined with palm trees.
- W. P. Co. was the Western Printing Company, also known as the Western Printing and Lithograph Company, the name under which it was incorporated in 1910.
- The company did a variety of commercial printing from stationery and paper goods to games, puzzles, books, and comic books. It is best known as the publisher and printer of Little Golden Books in partnership with Simon and Schuster.
- date made
- 1939
- maker
- Western Publishing Co., Inc.
- ID Number
- 2006.0098.1472
- catalog number
- 2006.0098.1472
- accession number
- 2006.0098
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Bicycle pump
- Description (Brief)
- A bicycle pump made of cream celluloid with metal fittings. It was made in England. A trademark etched into the barrel depicts a man in Elizabethan clothing holding a shield with the letters "R I."
- ID Number
- 2006.0098.1565
- catalog number
- 2006.0098.1565
- accession number
- 2006.0098
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Richard's Brandy / Brandy Richard
- Description (Brief)
- Scorekeeper for card games, including euchre, whist, and pinochle. Score is kept by a pair of rotating dials. The writing is in English on one side, and in French on the other.
- The piece advertises Richard's Brandy. "Enjoy life but do not forget that Richard's Brandy is the greatest strength giver."
- Location
- Currently not on view
- advertiser
- W. J. Woodburn & Son
- maker
- Whitehead & Hoag Company
- ID Number
- 2006.0098.0768
- accession number
- 2006.0098
- catalog number
- 2006.0098.0768
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Mac's Best
- Description (Brief)
- A baseball score counter in the shape of a catcher's mitt. It is made of two pieces of celluloid held together by brads. Sandwiched between the celluloid pieces are counter wheels, which show through windows, to keep track of runs, hits, and innings. Advertising copy on one side reads, "Mac's Best // Flint's Leading 5 cent Cigar // Geo. E. McKinley, Maker."
- George McKinley was a cigar factory owner in Flint, Mich., who was also active in public life. He served as the mayor of Flint in 1906 and 1907.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1890-1930
- advertiser
- McKinley, George E.
- maker
- Meek Company
- ID Number
- 2006.0098.0926
- accession number
- 2006.0098
- catalog number
- 2006.0098.0926
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Trump indicator
- Description (Brief)
- An imitation-ivory celluloid trump indicator. A figure in the shape of a cancan dancer points a hinged leg toward "no trump" or one of the four suits in play. It is unmarked and probably dates from the 1920s.
- date made
- ca 1920
- ID Number
- 2006.0098.1466
- catalog number
- 2006.0098.1466
- accession number
- 2006.0098
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Toy duck
- Description (Brief)
- Toy duck made of celluloid. Its head is black and its bill is orange. The body is cream-colored with blue wings. It bears a Viscoloid trademark.
- date made
- 1901-1915
- maker
- Viscoloid Company
- ID Number
- 2006.0098.1550
- catalog number
- 2006.0098.1550
- accession number
- 2006.0098
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center