Mid 19th Century Victorian Solitaire Game Hardwood Board 37 Handmade Gemstones Marbles

Victorian Solitaire Game Hardwood Board 37 Handmade Gemstones Marbles

This is a complete marble solitaire game, having a beautiful hardwood board and a complete set of 37 stone handmade marbles, all dating to the mid-19th century Victorian period.

This board is a really good example. It is circular and very well hand-turned, with good detail and made of polished hard-wood, possibly red walnut which has patinated to a lovely colour. The board has 36 equip-spaced holes with an additional one in the centre and a gallery to the outer perimeter. Normal boards only have 33 holes and this 37 hole board with more marbles makes the game more interesting.

It comes complete with a full set of 37 (36 plus one spare) early handmade playing marbles. Early marbles are very collectable in their own right and the marbles in this set are nominally spherical of 12.5mm diameter. These marbles are handmade from a mixture of materials and in various enticing colours. The stones and minerals include malachite, red serpentine, rose quartz, obsidian, jasper, blood stone, jade and various agates.

Popular in the court of Louis the XIV, the game was supposedly invented by a nobleman incarcerated in the Bastille in France during the 17th century and was popular in the court of Louis XIV. It is a challenging game for the fan of strategy and skill and became one of the more popular games of the last few hundred years.

To play, place 36 marbles with one hole left unoccupied in the middle of the board. The objective is simply to remove all but one of the marbles by jumping one marble over another, similar to the game of Draughts. The marble jumped is removed to the gallery around the side of the board.

This game is a great display piece in any home and can be played by young and old alike.

Board Diameter: 17cm
Board height: 1.5cm
Gemstone Marbles diameter: 12-12.5mm
Weight: 278g