"Our Donkey Party" Art Fabric Mills, Elms & Johnston, Selling Agents, New York. - Spil - (a.k.a. “Pin the Tail on the Donkey”) - Bomuldsklud

A very rare item. "Our Donkey Party", cotton cloth party game, originating from late 1800's, designed and patented by Charles Zimmerling.

• Made by Art Fabric Mills, Elms & Johnston, Selling Agents, New York.
• This particular piece was estimated to be made between the 1920's - 1930's as is in good condition, despite its age.
• Printed and coloured by hand. Colours are bold and bright, despite the age of the piece.
• There is some heavy staining in some areas and hand drawn marks with pencil and pink pen, most likely by the children that thoroughly enjoyed this item over the years (please see photos).
• 10 Tails included, however I doubt they are the original (please see last photo).
• 66 cm height x 67 cm length.
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The origins of “Pin the Tail on the Donkey” are not exactly known but it is believed to have begun in Milwaukee in 1886, becoming a popular form of entertainment within elite social circles in Washington DC and New York City late that year. At the time, parties involving this game were known as a “Donkey Party”.

Those throughout the country who could not normally afford the entertainment that elite social classes and politicians enjoyed were now able to take part in one of their very activities, pinning a paper tail on an image of a donkey. Up until this time, donkey parties required the donkey and tails to be hand-drawn by players (a secondary contest to the game awarded a prize to the player who could draw the best donkey to be cut out and used for gameplay).

In 1887, a Philadelphia man, named Charles Zimmerling, designed and patented the first Donkey Party game to be sold publicly. Game companies manufactured different images of the donkey,

Over time, the game slowly faded in popularity as adult entertainment. It instead became a game associated with children. It appears the game’s name changed during the late 1950s/early 1960s from “Donkey Party” and “Our Donkey Party” to “Tailless Donkey” and “Pin the Tail on the Donkey”, which, over 130 years later, is still one of the most popular children’s party games.
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• Item will be well packaged and shipped with a tracking number. Thank you for bidding.