“Tops and Tails,” an undated game from the venerable Viennese firm Piatnik, invited players to match the two halves of animals. The illustrations are detailed, imaginative and charming. And, of course, the players can also amuse themselves by mismatching the cards, creating unusual hybrids. The backs of the cards are also worth a look. (Posted […]

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The Rat Wins! is now available from Black Scat Books! Writer Lucien Descaves and illustrator Lucien Laforge were anarchist activists dismayed by World War I. They cooked up this mordant little satire, pointing out that the real winner of any war is the rat, who feasts on all the corpses–with the suggestion that war profiteers […]

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Bed Bug: A Magazine of the Arts is now available from Black Scat Books! Here’s the description from its editor, Norman Conquest: As the world comes to an end, and the bed bug infestation spreads from France throughout Europe, it is time for a journal devoted to infestation, invasion, and chaos. Featuring works by Alphonse […]

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“Famous Paintings,” published by the Cincinnati Game Company in 1897, offered a variation on the popular “Authors”: the players accumulated four paintings instead of authors. The paintings are reproduced in rather muddy brown, with a dark purple border, and show the artistic taste of the late 19th century. Here, for example, is a painting by […]

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Falling frogs are particularly associated with Charles Fort, who collected many reports in his 1919 book The Book of the Damned. Frog falls, however, have been reported for centuries, and I always enjoy spotting a reference. I was, therefore, gratified to find a frog fall depicted by the curious 17th century philosopher and nonpareil, Robert […]

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“The Game of Birds” was published in 1897 by the Cincinnati Game Co.  That was, of course, before we killed all the passenger pigeons. (Posted by Doug Skinner)

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The holidays are upon us.  Be careful. (Posted by Doug Skinner)

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“Para Volverse Mono,” from Argentina, features monkeys and bananas.  It was given as a premium with the magazine Genios.  The title might be translated (loosely!) as “Go Ape!” (Posted by Doug Skinner)

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Here, as a Christmas treat, is the story of “The Monkey and the Parrot,” written by Alphonse Allais in 1899, and translated by the undersigned this afternoon. THE MONKEY AND THE PARROT Speaking of parrots, do you know the Persian fable of “The Monkey and the Parrot,” a story both ingenious and rich in instruction […]

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I know that people occasionally strap on wooden feet to hoax bigfoot tracks, but had never seen any until I found this pair at the flea market.  They measure 19 inches, and are roughly carved from a knotty wood (I assume pine, but someone else may know better), and are untreated.  They show some cracking […]

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