Game of Nationalities No. 1116

Complete! 52 game cards printed in color and 3 monochrome publisher's cards in paper-covered box, 3.75 x 2.75 inches. Modest soil and scuffing to exterior; cards in Near Fine condition, very well preserved by their coated finish. 1 in OCLC (Canada).

A superior product to earlier Fireside offerings, which were typically printed with halftone illustrations in a single color, Game of Nationalities is comprised of 48 "character" cards and 4 "national" cards representing each continent, all printed in color with an enameled finish that has preserved the cards impeccably. Rules are mounted inside the lid, outlining 5 games. The first begins, "This game represents a struggle for supremacy, in which America and Europe are allied against Asia and Africa." The second is arranged without allies, and others are played like “Hoo-doo” and “Snap.” It also states the cards can be played like “Authors,” a game so popular that it required no explanation.

The 3 cards from the publisher include a publication list, a card with endorsements from Christian ministers attesting to Fireside Games’ educational value, and a card advertising the ”Game of In Dixie-Land, described as "Bright sketches of Southern child-life” with predictably racist imagery. The Nationalities cards are a visual index to period stereotypes, including the "Western Cowboy,” "Siberian Prisoner," "Spanish Dancing Girl," "Norwegian Fisherman," "Yankee," and "Southern Negress.” Fireside was a subsidiary of the U.S. Playing Card Company, introduced to market educational games to families, separate from religious objections based on the slippery slope from cards to gambling and irreparable moral decay. One of the rarer Fireside games.