The donkey party game of putting the tail on the donkey. The funniest novelty of the age: History and Collection Facts

Catalogue description

Print shows a donkey facing left with 28 tails to be cut out of the bottom half of the print; includes wood engraved illustration of the game in progress with printed "directions", metal pins, and cardboard "medals" to be awarded to the males and females closest to and furthest from the correct position on the donkey.

Collection details

• Catalogue date: [1889]
• Original format: Photo, print, drawing
• Medium: 1 print on linen : woodcut and wood engraving with color letterpress ; sheet 124.7 x 88.2 cm.
• Genre: Wood engravings--1880-1890; Letterpress works--Color--1880-1890; Woodcuts--1880-1890
• Language: English
• Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print
• Call number: Unprocessed in PAGA 7, no. 4766 (E size) [P&P]
• Catalogue subjects: Pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey--1880-1890; Awards--1880-1890; Adults--Social life--1880-1890; Parties--1880-1890; Parlors--1880-1890; Donkeys--1880-1890
• Named contributors: Zimmerling, Charles — copyright claimant; Zimmerling, Charles, copyright claimant.

Catalogue notes

• Copyright stamp, date, and number appear on upper center of verso.
• Includes cut-out cardboard medals labeled "Gentlemen's Booby Prize", "Ladies' Booby Prize", "Gentlemen's First Prize", and "Ladies' First Prize"; with directions "Remove this card and cut out the medals for presentation to the lucky ones (over.)" The medals are dated 1887 in Roman numerals. The reverse side of the medal shows "Fortuna" holding a laurel crown and a trumpet, also shows a putti holding a sign labeled "Merit"; includes statement "When Fortune Smiles Upon You Be Prompt & Take Advantage".
• Printed at top and bottom of verso: Universally endorsed by the Press and Public as one of the funniest and most amusing home amusements of the age. Full of bristling fun and innocent pleasure for everybody. Overflowing fun and lots of it of the most enjoyable kind. A world of merriment for old and young.
• Printed at top of recto: Lots of Fun! Lots of Fun! Jolly Good Time at Home! The Liveliest Novelty of the Age! Fun for Everybody!
• Includes a wood engraved illustration "copyright 1887" attached to the left side of the print, titled "The Donkey Party" that shows the interior of a room where several well-dressed adults are playing pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey; printed below the illustration are the "Directions" for playing the game.
• Includes "Pins - For Tails"; 46 metal pins for pinning the tail on the donkey.

Sources and reuse

This guide reorganizes bibliographic facts and catalogue descriptions from the Library of Congress Free to Use and Reuse data package, a published snapshot documented in 2024. The original item record identifies the source material. Item-level image rights statement: No known restrictions on publication. Audio, films, scores and full-text works are linked through the original record rather than reproduced here.