GAMES FOR CHILDREN.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

A Chinese Street: To Be Cut Out, Coloured and Set Up. An otherwise untraced tabletop game, issued to raise funds for the Zenana Society, the organization that oversaw the Church of England's female missionaries in China and across Asia. Founded in 1880, the society began proselytizing in China four years later, concentrating first on the Fujian area.The figures provided to populate the scene include classic "types": coolies, an opium smoker, schoolchildren, and peddlers, while the "native Biblewoman" is a nod to the mission's activities. Other cut-outs are objects: shop signs, a sedan chair, a shrine, and tables for the fruit, fish, and pawn shops. A gatehouse, labelled "east gate" in Chinese and capped with a double-eave roof, forms the backdrop. The set retailed for the modest price of 1s. 6d.

Found via Rare Books Intel, a search across rare-book dealers, auction houses and marketplaces worldwide.