Images(2)

Board Game

Object number2008.23.1

Manufacturer McLoughlin Brothers

Datec. 1890

MediumPaper; Ink; Paint

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

DescriptionFolding colorful gameboard with spiral of squares beginning in the top left corner, and ending in the center. In each of the four corners, there is an image. Text throughout gamboard.Dimensions15.75 in. (40 cm)
InscriptionsRed on outside with gold lettering, "GAME OF/ Round / the World ". On vertical left side, "A / NOVEL AND / FASCINATING / GAME". In center, image of Nellie Bly. On right, "WITH / PLENTY / OF / EXCITEMENT / BY / LAND AND / SEA". Under image, "With / THE WORLD'S GLOBE CIRCLER / Nellie Bly". Squares in a swirl are numbered by day (i.e. "1st DAY / THE START" ; "2nd DAY / CLEAR / GO AHEAD 3 DAYS" ; "3rd DAY / RAIN / GO BACK 1 DAY" ; "53rd DAY / YOKAHAMA / DELAY / GO BACK 5 DAYS" ; etc., ending with "FIRST PART OF 73RD DAY": image of a railroad track and train, labeled, "NELLIE BLY", leading to New York City, with "ALL RECORDS / BROKEN" and a flag atop the Empire States Building, "THE WORLD".
Historical NotesFolded board game called “Game of Round the World” featuring Pittsburgher Nellie Bly and her trip around the world was published by the McLoughlin Brothers in 1890, with subsequent versions produced throughout the 1920s. Elizabeth Jane Cochran, born May 5, 1864, in Armstrong County, became an early woman journalist for the “Pittsburgh Dispatch” newspaper and took the pen name Nellie Bly. Earning her fame by going undercover and outing the deplorable conditions at a women's mental health facility, Bly convinced her editor to allow her to travel around the world, a la Jules Verne's novel, "Around the World in 80 Days." On November 14, 1889, she left NYC, traveling just under 25,000 miles, and returning 72 days later on January 25, 1890. Her popularity was celebrated in a variety of promotional ways including this board game. Nellie became a role model for all women, for she completed her trek independently, without a male companion.

Related person Nellie Bly (1864 - 1922)

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