One of the earliest
and favorite games played by children is the cup and ball
toy. This toy was popular in Europe with adults and children
alike. Cups and balls came
to England from France where it was called bilbocquet.
In 1767 America, Charles Shipman advertised cups and balls
in the New York Journal or General Advertiser. Cups
and balls range in size from about three inches in length
with a tiny bead ball, to 12 to 14 inches long with a ball
the size of a golf ball.
The object of the cup and ball game is to swing the wooden
ball into the cup that is attached to a stick. Directions
from an 1859 book describes the rule of the game as:
"A ball
of ivory or hard wood is attached to a stem of the
same substance, having a shallow cup at one end and
a point at the other. The player holds the
stem in his right hand and having caused the ball to
revolve, by twirling it in between finger and thumb
of his left hand, he jerks it up, and catches it,
either in the cup or upon the spike to receive by
which a hole is mad in the ball." [Children's
Toys Thoughout the Ages by L. Daiken]
came
to England from France where it was called bilbocquet.
In 1767 America, Charles Shipman advertised cups and balls
in the New York Journal or General Advertiser. Cups
and balls range in size from about three inches in length
with a tiny bead ball, to 12 to 14 inches long with a ball
the size of a golf ball.
Directions
from an 1859 book describes the rule of the game as:
