Item #18687 Card Game of Wild Birds with Australian birds. Children's, Australian Birds.
Card Game of Wild Birds with Australian birds.

Card Game of Wild Birds with Australian birds.

America: Ca. 1880. Eight pairs of woodblock illustrated playing cards from an American wild bird card game, each illustrated card with an accompanying card of descriptive text, which includes 4 Australian birds. Each card with an elegant logo on the verso for the card manufacturer, with what appears to be the intertwined letters 'WGO'.

Four of the 8 birds are Australian, including the Oceanic Fruit Pigeon, the Cassowary, the Top Knot Pigeon and the Emu. The text card for the emu states, "The Emue (sic) inhabits the plains and open forest country of Central Australia, where it was in former days very common: but now it seems to be disappearing so rapidly that it is likely, ere many years to be numbered with the dodo, and other extinct birds". The Top Knot Pigeon is described as "this splendid bird is one of the handsomest of the tribe and is a native of Southern and Eastern Australia. ... They have a custom of ascending high into the air, and taking very long flights, packed so close together, that the spectator wonders how they can move their wings without striking their companions." Other birds include ostrich, rhea, crowned pigeon and turtle dove. 2 3/4 x 3 7/8". Not found on Trove. Very good condition. Item #18687

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