Adams & Co. (Boston)

Adams & Co. (ca.1860s-1880s) was a publishing firm in Boston, Massachusetts, in the mid-19th century. It specialized in spiritualist authors such as Hudson Tuttle[1] and parlour games such as "Oliver Twist." John S. Adams ran the business, along with George L. Stafford.[2] It operated from offices on Bromfield Street (ca.1867-1873), Pearl Street (ca.1875) and Tremont Street (ca.1880).[3]

Images

  1. ^ Margaret K. Hofer. The games we played: the golden age of board & table games. Princeton Architectural Press, 2003

Games & novelties

Among the "games and novelties" issued and/or sold by the firm:[4][5][6]

  • Budget of Wonders
  • The Chopped-Up Monkey
  • The Conjuror's Puzzle
  • The Cryptograph[7]
  • The Electric Cannon
  • The Electric Cottage, "... by an explosion without powder or fire this cottage is thrown high in air, the experiment being perfectly safe."
  • Eskemo[8]
  • The Feast of Flowers, "a floral game of fortune"[9]
  • Forced Confessions
  • Fun Alive
  • Go–Bang, a Japanese Verandah Game; Stay–Bang and Slam–Bang[8]
  • The Great Egg-Trick, "as performed by Moulabux, of the Asiatic Troupe at the Crystal Palace, London"
  • Humorous Authors
  • Invisible Ink
  • The Invisible Money-Box
  • Invisible Photographs
  • Japanese Curiosos
  • Japanese Egg
  • Japanese Snapping Pictures
  • Komikal Konversation Kards[10]
  • Labyrinthian Puzzles
  • The Love Chase
  • The Magi Divination Cards
  • The Magic Bottle
  • Magic Picture Cards
  • The Magic Wonder Telescope
  • The Magician's Own Cards
  • Match and Catch
  • Mixed Pickles
  • The Moslem Oracle
  • The Most Laughable Thing on Earth
  • Mystic Scrolls
  • Oliver Twist
  • Parlor Ring-Toss
  • The Pigeon-Tail Puzzle
  • Pocket Conjuring Box
  • Popping the Question
  • Puzzle Porridge
  • Santa Claus Magical Christmas Box
  • The Shakesperian Oracle
  • The Seven Racers
  • The Spiral Puzzle
  • The Squirming Fish
  • Three Merry Men
  • Tom Thumb's Comical Fortune Teller
  • Trade and Dicker
  • Tumble-Down Dick
  • Which is the Largest?
  • The Wizard's Pack of Playing Cards
  • Zarofiel[8]

Published by Adams & Co.

1871 advertisement for Psalms of Life by John Stowell Adams (1823-1893), published by Adams & Co.[11]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Adams & Co..
  1. ↑ "Tuttle, Hudson 1836-1910". WorldCat.
  2. ↑ Boston Directory. 1868, 1873. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ↑ Boston Almanac. 1875, 1880. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ↑ How to Play Croquêt: a new pocket manual of complete instructions for American players, illustrated with engravings and diagrams, together with all the rules of the game, hints on parlor croquêt, and a glossary of terms. 1865.
  5. ↑ Publishers' Uniform Trade List Directory, Philadelphia: Howard Challen, 1868
  6. ↑ "Parlor Games and Amusements". American Literary Gazette. Dec 1871.
  7. ↑ "Directions for using the cryptograph, with the Cryptograph". Boston. 1869.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "Games collection inventory". Indiana University, Lilly Library. Retrieved 2012-01-02.
  9. ↑ "The Feast of Flowers: A Floral Game of Fortune (Boston: Adams & Co., 1869)". New York Historical Society.
  10. ↑ Greg Costikyan (2005). "Game Styles, Innovation, and New Audiences: An Historical View". Proceedings of DiGRA 2005 Conference: Changing Views – Worlds in Play.
  11. ↑ "Adams, John S. (John Stowell) d. 1893". WorldCat.
  12. ↑ Edward Whipple (1901), A Biography of James M. Peebles, Battle Creek, Mich, OCLC 752894