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1840s - Learning Life's Lessons

 

The rare board game was usually full of moral lessons to teach young children. Parents were sure to be impressed by the way this Mansion of Happiness game promised to instill in children the values of thrift, honesty, and industry as they journeyed around the game board. Parents might also encourage or reward good behavior by giving their children a mug or a tin whistle inscribed "to a good child."

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"After Work Comes Play" from The Child's Pictorial Preceptor, 1841
 
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The Mansion of Happiness Game
W. & S. B. Ives, Publisher, Salem, MA; Thayer & Co., Lithographer, Boston, MA
Date: about 1845
ID: 41.214.1549
Gift of Mrs. E. G. Douglas

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Tin Rattle/Whistle
Made in United States
Date: 1840-1860
ID: 00.3.14977


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