Amerikansk Væddeløbsspil ["American Race", Lithograph board game]. Publication Date: 1890. Condition: Very Good

Title: Amerikansk Væddeløbsspil

Publisher: Alfred Jacobsens forlag, Kobenhavn

Publication Date: 1890

Binding: Hardcover

Book Condition: Very Good

Edition: 1st

No date. Folding lithographed board game. Paper surface depicting oval course consisting of 67 steps in salmon and eight series of hazards spread over 24 steps with detailed depiction of the various jeapordies. Central to the board is a panoramic view of the sprint finish to the course. At the foot of the game is printed Alfred Jacobsen Lthogr. Inst. Købmagergade 39, Kobenhavn. 50 x 38 cm. The board game folds in half with original red cloth hinge. On the upper cover there is a lithographed competitor in antique running gear and holding the American Union standard. Gilt and black lettering above. Corners very slightly worn. Some minor abrasions but genrally in very good condition. Alfred Jacobsen was born in Copenhagen in 1853, & trained as a lithographer by art printer Thomas Berg. As early as 1874, he established his own lithographic institution in Copenhagen and soon began publishing himself. The USA Cross Country Championships was first held in 1890. Obstacles had been used in competitive racing for up to a hundred years prior. I would estimate that this game was produced around 1890. The inexpensive and ephemeral game would have been played with generic die and counters that were not originally and are not now supplied. It would now be suitable for framing. No other copy has been located in any public institution or private collection, making it rare. Bookseller Inventory # 5017