The Old Print Shop

Hunt the Slipper.

  • ARTIST:

  • PUBLISHER: Publish'd July 1, 1803, by Laurie & Whittle, 53 Fleet Street, London.

  • MEDIUM: Etching,

    DATE: 1803.

  • EDITION SIZE: Image size 6 13/16 x 9 1/16" (17.2 x 23 cm).

  • DESCRIPTION: This etching depicts the old bluffing game Hunt the Slipper. It is somewhat similar to duck-duck-goose, but instead of the standing player being in control, the sitters are.<br><br> Players sit in a circle with their knees up to create a bridge beneath them. If women were playing they would often sit alternate to men to keep the game fair, as the point of the game is to hide a slipper (or ball) from the hunter, the one player who walked around the circle in search of the object. Skirts made it easier to hide the slipper so alternating positions prevented a row of "covered bridges." Players pass the slipper between one another in attempt to keep it away from the hunter, whose primary goal was to catch the player who the slipper in their hands. The slipper can be thrown across the circle, or passed secretly beneath the bridges to elude the hunter.

  • ADDITIONAL INFO:

  • CONDITION: Good condition with period handcolor, small tear in the outer right margin.

  • REFERENCE:

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