Uncut French Board Game "Grande Kermesse" ("Large Fair")

Paris: Saussine, 1900. Very good to fine. Some chipping, paper toned and beginning to brittle. Delicate. Adhesive residue to one edge.. A fine example, still uncut, of a c.1900 French gaame by a Parisian publisher Saussine titled "Grande Kermesse" (Large Fair), number 690 in his series of games. A short paragraph at the head of the sheet explains how to assemble the game, and the rules. It relates that the carnival has opened, and that visitors are spoiled for choice with all of the wonderful attractions. The game itself is auction-like, where the players move figures through the doors, and the game ends when two thirds of the figures are used. It may have been accompanied with a separate sheet of figures to cut out and use for this purpose, though we have not been able to confirm. The following attractions are included in this "Fair": Grande Menagerie Gazon ("Great Lawn Menagerie", a zoo); L'Homme Sauvage ("The Wild/Savage Man"); Grandes Luttes ("Great Struggles", i.e. some kind of stage combat); Cinematographe; La Femme Geante ("The Giant Woman"); Cirque Corcyl (a rollicking circus); L'Enfer ("Hell"); Theatre Des Ombres Chinoises ("Chinese Shadow Theater"). Of particular note is the inclusion of the Cinematograph, an early movie projector which had only been invented in 1895, and the game's stereotypical depiction of "Sauvages" i.e. native peoples and people of color. Large polished sheet 16.75" by 21.25" Leon Saussine was a prolific publisher of puzzles and games with a variety of colorful and joyful themes such as carnivals and circuses, bicycling, and world travel. His widow and sons continued to run the business after his death in 1896. (Inventory #: 19018777)