Wednesday, 21 December 2016

Australian Toy cards 3: Old maid

"Old maid", anon. 36+1+ instruction card.

This particular deck of cards is for playing the game of "old maid". Like the other cards in this series, they were purchased in a remote australian town, near Phillip island.
 These cards are entirely typical of their genre, featuring cartoon images as their subjects. The names of the personages are altilerative, something that might appeal to their young users.

   This deck seems to be a fairly egalitarian one. With the exception of old maid, there are precisely nine female subjects and nine male subjects. 

  The inclusion of a "Running back Randy" suggests an American origin of these designs, as does the legend "US MAIL" on Mailman Manny's bag. The caricature of the old maid, meanwhile strikes me as more vicious than other examples of the genre.