Consign Your Best Items with Lelands. We Also Pay Cash on the Spot! Learn More Here.
Japanese Menko Baseball Game
Menko cards were as entrenched in Japanese culture as baseball cards in American culture when this Menko baseball game appeared in the 1910s. Intricately painted wood cutout of a catcher has a rotating mitt on an axis so children could flip the Menko trading cards through to the net nailed to the back. On the other side of the mitt is a batter ready to strike. About 16 inches high when propped up by the wire stand in the back (which is tied around the catcher's head), marvelous artifact makes a great conversation piece. Menko is serious business in Japan, considered a "spiritual toy" for boys. Military figures dominated the cards and accessories for decades. With Western influence, baseball players and movie stars took over. Note the blue eyes of the catcher. Paint scheme of beiges, reds and greens has remarkable depth and has preserved well.
Past Sports Card, Memorabilia, Non-Sports Card and Collecitble Auction Items
Other past auction items that may be of interest to you.
1900's-30's Girls' Baseball Postcard Collection (7)
1910's Novelty Pin Collection of 76
The Great American Baseball Game
1919 World Series Badge
1917 World Series Ticket Stub
1880's Allen & Ginter Counter Sign (5.5x9")
1900's-30's Girls' Baseball Postcard Collection (7)