Ladies & Gentlemens' Conversation Cards

A script for coyness ("If I the proper answer gave, Oh what a hubbub we should have!"), an excuse for broaching matrimonial subjects ("Are children thought by you as teasing...") and a reinforcement of behavioral norms that raise an eyebrow today ("Silence, they say, will give consent...")

48 cards, complete with 24 questions and 24 answers, in slide-style box with lithograph label, 3 x 3.5 x 1 inches. Light soil to cards, about Good with three (of four) of the outer panels remain and are sewn together at the seams; the inner box retains two and a half of the original sides, also sewn together, with what looks like twentieth century metallic coated board glued to replace the missing edges. An area of abrasion on the lid has been in-colored to make for a trio of quirky vernacular repairs.

One of 4 varieties of conversation cards advertised in the 1880 McLoughlin Brothers' Catalogue of Games: "These Cards are among the oldest and most popular of amusements. Originally intended for people of small conversational powers, they are now used by pleasure-seekers of all classes. The variety of conversations resulting from a single pack is immense. Each set is devoted to special subjects of conversation, making the entire series very perfect and desirable to each purchaser. To bashful people, they are a great blessing, not only furnishing an hour's amusement, but sometimes leading them to the gates of matrimony."