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SPORTS AND PASTIMES OF ALL NATIONS
#36 - CHINA
Size: 3" x 5"
Copyrighted: 1893
Lithographer: Kaufmann & Strauss
  
| "COPYRIGHT" Text Variations |
| There are three varieties (that I know of) in the
"COPYRIGHT" text which appears on this
card, as shown below. In all three cases, the text
appears in the lower right corner of the card. |
Text reads: "PAINTING COPYRIGHTED 1893 ARBUCKLE BROS." and is 27mm long.
This is the more common wording that appears on
the cards in this series (and is shown on the
full-size card above). |
Text reads: "PAINTING COPYRIGHTED 1893 ARBUCKLE BROS." and is 30mm long. |
Text reads: "COPYRIGHT, 1893, BY ARBUCKLE BROS.N.Y." This
is a less common wording that's only known to
appear on a limited number of cards in this series. |
| (For an overview
of the copyright variations in Sports & Pastimes, click
here.) |
| Reverse - Text |
Left section:
GRIND
YOUR COFFEE AT HOME
Right section: |
| CHINA. |
| CHINA
has made less progress than any
nation of the world. Yet she
possesses a civilization
peculiarly her own. Her people
are a phlegmatic and meditative
race, but not given to
independent thought. They are
also very superstitious. |
| It
was more than 5,000 years ago,
that chess was invented. It has
always been the great chinese
pastime. The legend of its origin
is interesting. It was invented
by a courtier to please the
Emperor. His Royalty was so
delighted with the game that he
vouchsafed to the inventor
whatever he might desire.
"Sire," replied the
latter, "all I ask that you
give me is this. Place one grain
of corn on the first square of
the board, then double it
sixty-four time, the number of
squares there are."
"Ho-ho, modest man,"
chuckled the Emperor, "is
that all? 'Tis granted." But
behold long before the end, it
became apparent that the Empire
would be bankrupted, and so the
inventor was constrained to
accept something more within
reason. |
| The
Chinese New Year is a great
holiday, and celebrated as a
Feast of Lanterns. These lanterns
are made of many colored paper in
which red predominates, and are
sometimes larger than giant
pumpkins. Strung up and lighted,
they transform the darkness into
fairy-land. |
| The
Chinese are remarkably mild
mannered, but it is a peculiarity
of this strange race that they
are little given to play, and
that they discourage games,
sports, pastimes and play of all
kinds in their children.
Nevertheless they manufacture the
quaintest of dolls, and the most
grotesque of masks with which the
young Chinese mainly find their
pastimes. Their ideas of music,
according to our standard, are
very crude. But they play with
great skill on a stringed
instrument much resembling the
banjo. |
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NOTE: To see non-Arbuckle usage of this
supposedly copyrighted Arbuckle illustration,
click  here.
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