This example of that old favorite, Animal Rummy, comes from an undated deck from the Warren Paper Products Co.  And a fresh, clean design it is, too.  Good work, anonymous artisan!  (Posted by Doug Skinner)

[Read more →]

In observance of those solemn back-to-school days, the Ullage Group is pleased to invite you to its third fiesta-fiasco of oddities.  Come step “Through the Blackboard” for a Sunday afternoon of unadulterated educational pleasure. Lisa Hirschfield, Anthony Matt, and Doug Skinner will show and tell about oral traditions of the classroom and schoolyard, antique stereoscopic […]

[Read more →]

Yes, it’s an election year; and no, I won’t add to the punditry.  It’s not that I have nothing to say on the subject, but this site is devoted to the other part, and that’s what I’ll stick to. I would like to mention, however, that religion is playing an ever larger part in US politics.  […]

[Read more →]

It’s Friday; it’s time to relax after that taxing week.  Ullage your beverage, and cast your connoisseur’s eye on another specimen of that most overlooked field of graphic design, the kiddie card. We have another “Old Maid” deck, this time a 1935 “Big-Little Card Game” from Russell.  The pairs in this version, are, curiously, a […]

[Read more →]

is an Abolitionist— A man who wants to free The wretched slave—and give to all An equal liberty. THE ANTI-SLAVERY ALPHABET Alphabets usually have a not-so-hidden agenda, aiming to do more than reinforce rather arbitrary connections between the names of letters and the words that demonstrate their forms and sounds. Some alphabets teach the names […]

[Read more →]

Our last “Slap Jack” dated from 1935; this one is from 1965 (Western Publishing Company). A lot has changed in those thirty years: graphics are looser; Jacks are slappier. (Posted by Doug Skinner)

[Read more →]

We have for you another outpost on the extremes of literature, another specimen of the radically long or brief.  This one is on the short side. The output of the Italian Futurists is uneven: sometimes exuberantly imaginative, sometimes merely creepy and jejune (especially when the fascist strain predominates).  But I usually enjoy the sintesi: bits of […]

[Read more →]

The idea is a simple one: if you have trouble learning the notes on your ukulele, simply paste this chart onto the fingerboard. As someone who has played and taught uke for many years, however, I’d like to point out that this is not a good idea.  First of all, you don’t really want to play while […]

[Read more →]

We haven’t broached the many versions of “Old Maid” yet; it’s time we did.  This one came from Parker Brothers.  I’d like to know when, but they won’t tell me. Old Maid was always an odd game.  The implied message is that you will become an Old Maid if you don’t pair off; but the Old […]

[Read more →]

I’m happy to report that “The Puppet Show,” featuring, among many other wonders, some of my collaborations with Michael Smith, will be at the Contemporary Museum in Honolulu from September 6 to November 23.  For more info on the show, see Bulletin 4 on this site; for more info on the museum, look here. The next […]

[Read more →]