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USA - Classic editions

Presentation:
version 2000

Presentatie:
versie 2000

 

  Number of versions: 9

   Edition: June 4, 2010

The streets and train stations of the American game are those of ATLANTIC CITY, a town on the East coast of the U.S.A.. 

From GO onwards they are:

Mediterranean Avenue - Baltic Avenue - Reading Railroad - Oriental Avenue - Vermont Avenue - Connecticut Avenue - In Jail/Just visiting - St.Charles Place - Electric Company - States Avenue - Virginia Avenue - Pennsylvania Railroad - St.James Place - Tennessee Avenue - New York Avenue - Free Parking - Kentucky Avenue - Indiana Avenue - Illinois Avenue - B.& O. Railroad - Atlantic Avenue - Ventnor Avenue - Water Works - Marvin Gardens - Go to Jail - Pacific Avenue - North Carolina Avenue - Pennsylvania Avenue - Short Line - Park Place and Boardwalk.

                              With the support of Phil Orbanes Olivia Fraser & Emma Soucy from Mass.- USA made a 10 minutes 
                              documentary on Monopoly. It took them several months but  finally it has been completed in May 2010. 
                              It is really a great contribution to the insight on the inpact of Monopoly over decades! See:

                      "Rolling the Dice: Monopoly's Innovation, Impact, and Change in the Great Depression and American History"
                                                                           (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PGqtBx32fs)

More on very early editions:

Thomas Forsyth's site: http://history-of-monopoly.info/

Dan Fernandez' site: www.sundown-farm-and-ranch.com.

John F. Poland's site: http://monopoly-history.com/                           

See for early C.B.Darrow sets also my chapter USA - Self-made games.

 

 

Patent Pending edition.Edition: MONOPOLY, "Patent Pending"
Publisher: Parker Brothers Inc. - Salem - 1933
Dimensions of the box: 182 x 210 mm
                  of the board: 493 x 493 mm
The game:

This version is really one of the very first issued. From 1933 on already 6 slightly different versions came on the market. Before any patent number was mentioned the cover of the box and the gameboard just showed Trade Mark or Patent Pending. Besides these 2, four other versions of this period have Copyright 1933, Chas. B. Darrow printed in the JAIL field. They show one of the following patents:

U.S.Patent 1,509,312 (= Lizzie J. Magie's of 1924)

Same on inside of board but "Patent Pending" outside

and from 1935 untill 1943:

Same on inside of board but U.S.Patents 1,509,312 - 2,026,082 (= of 1935!) outside

U.S.Patents 1,509,312 - 2,026,082 inside and outside

(Just one patent number could mean the set is after 1943!)

Other features of these first issues are:

No property prices printed on the board

Income tax is $ 300 instead of $ 200

Chance and Community Chest cards have no illustrations

The set have but 4 tokens: hat, thimble, iron and shoe.
The green houses and red hotels are made of timber. The banknotes are very neutral and show the value only.
All of these versions do show already a "precursor of Uncle Pennybags" in a red square between 2 black locomotives and over a $-sign.


An ad of Parker Brothers, Inc. in the late 1930's shows all the editions available at that time. It says:

"The Prevailing Game Craze MONOPOLY is now spreading to all parts of the World. Its popularity in America is the greatest ever attained in games.
MONOPOLY is now made in the following editions, which are obtainable from your Dealer.

$ 2.00 MONOPOLY SET No. 6. Blue or Black-bound board. Complete outfit for from three to seven Players, in separate box.
                                                                                        Price , $ 2.00.
POPULAR EDITION No. 8.
Board bound in Pebbled Green. Separate box contains complete equipment for from three to eight Players. Special-slip Money, Metal Tokens, larger Hotels and larger Dice.

                                                                                       
Price, $ 2.50.
LIBRARY EDITION No. 850. Board and Box of Utensiles bound in rich Green Leatherette, both stamped in gold. Equipment is for Three to Eight Players; with "Grand" hotels, special slip money; extra quality dice …. fine equipment throughout. The best of the two-piece sets. 
                                                                                        Price, $ 3.00.
WHITE BOX EDITION No. 9.
This set is a great favorite. Entire equipment is contained in a large white box, with a removable "Bank", i.a., a compartment which greatly aids in the handling of money. Grand Hotels are stamped in gold and the set is equipped with for three to ten Players …. with a double supply of Special-slip Money. Being a medium priced set, many consider it the "best buy" in MONOPOLY sets, and it certainly gives great satisfaction.
                                                                                        Price, $ 3.50.
$ 5.00 EDITION No. 10.
Handsome Box and Board, each bound in Brown Pebbled Leatherette. Special-slip Money and removable Compartment Bank, which facilitates the Banking. With large size Tokens and gold stamped Grand Hotels. A very practical edition …. well worth the price.
                                                                                        Price, $ 5.00.
GOLD EDITION No. 12.
Houses and Hotels of beautiful Ivoroid. Removable Compartment Bank. New Money with high gloss finish which makes it a pleasure to handle. Board and Box in Gold Binding. Large size Tokens. A beautiful and practical set with which it is an added delight to play. Equipment for from three to ten Players.
 
                                                                                       
Price, $ 10.00.
No. 25. DE LUXE EDITION.
This is the finest set made. The board is made of handsome composition in beautiful lacquer colors and highly finished. The Houses and Hotels are made of Ivoroid. Removable compartment Bank, new slip finish money, also new metal money and large size Tokens in gold finish. Equipment for from three to ten players. A set that will do credit to the finest living room or to the most exclusive club.
                                                                                        Price, $ 25.00.

 

 

War Time edition 1943/45.Edition: Monopoly - Wartime Edition
Publisher: Parker Brothers - Salem - MA - 1943/45
Dimensions of the box: 16.2 x 19.2 cm
 of the separate board: 49.2 x 49.2 cm
The game:
This set consists of two parts: a small box an a heavy duty gameboard with blue back. There is only one patent number, so the no. 2,026,082, mentioned on the lid and the midfield of the gameboard.

Instead of the innerbox being wrapped with protective cellophane the attributes are now covered by a blue grey cardboard. In this cover an engine is cut-out, with under that the significant text "Owing to wartime restrictions we have replaced the familiar cellophane coverage with this temporary substitute." (On the picture a part of the Rules can be seen through the cut-out with the board with drawn houses and hotels.)

Because of those same wartime restrictions it was also not allowed to manufacture metal tokens, hence the 7 large, colored wood tokens (see picture).
The banknotes have already the well-known design of a central circle with a large figure inside, MONOPOLY above it and the copyright mention under. Outside this circle are 4 spaces: two with another value statement, one with a house and one with a locomotive. The dimentions are 43 x 95 mm.
The dimensions of the property cards are 45 x 78 mm.

This set was sold via ebay web site in November 1998 for US$ 160.-.

 

 

Parker signature.Edition: Standard, without ref. no.
              "Parker Brothers Real Estate Trading Game Equipment"
Publisher: Parker Brothers Inc. (signature) - Salem - 1961
Dimensions of the box: 25.5 x 51 cm
The game:
At the upper left part of the white cover a copy of the board is shown in a green and blue square. Underneath the red MONOPOLY bar is a picture of Uncle Pennybags in a red square, between 2 blue locomotives. Unlike the European issues here is a green $-sign underneath the red square.
At the bottom of the blue square is the "Parker spiral" with right above it the Parker Brothers Inc. "signature". Moreover this same logo appears on all 4 edges of the cover.
Inside the box is a white carton tray for the banknotes etc. as well as a red stuffing piece showing a.o.t. 3 of the 8 tokens, viz. car (with figure 3, for what reason?), cannon and boat. The backside of the gameboard is blue and contains a sticker (dim.: 9.2 x 17.8 cm) of the front side of the cover.
The hollow, plastic houses with overhanging roof and chimney are green, while the substantial hotels (red) have a substantial chimney as well! The banknotes do not contain any text. 
Besides the usual instructions a small additional note "Rules for a Short Game" is added to this set.

 

 

Standard edition ref.no.9 from 1961.Edition: Standard, ref. no. 9
             "Parker Brothers Real Estate Trading Game Equipment"
Publisher: Parker Brothers/General Mills - Salem - 1961
Dimensions of the box: 25.5 x 51 cm
The game:
The execution of this version is exactly the same as the previous one with the exception of 3 minor differences, viz.:

  1. This edition got ref. no. 9 (compare with the version of the set with ref. no. 0009 from 1985.)

  2. In the blue square of the cover is now next to the "Parker spiral" written: a Parker Game, without anything more. All 4 edges of this cover however show the logo of the previous version (so with "signature") with next to it, in a square, General Mills and their logo.

  3. There is no sticker on the blue back side of the board.

 

 

Blue plastic case, 1965.Edition: Monopoly, in blue plastic case
Publisher: Parker Brothers Inc.(signature) - Salem - 1965
Dimensions of the case: 28 x 53 cm
The game:
This is a "portable" version of the more than well known boardgame. The board, with white back, fits into the top part of this blue case. The other part contains a plastic insert with trays indented for as well the banknotes as the houses and hotels, the property deeds, the Chance- and Community Chest cards, the dice and tokens. Besides a clear plastic tray covers each of the banknotes.

The board states as latest copyright date 1961, but presumably this "special edition" was issued not until 1965 and did serve as one of the "30 year anniversary editions".
The 32 houses and 12 hotels are made of white wood with resp. a green and red roof! (This version of the houses and hotels was in this time also used in a.o. German and Dutch sets.)

White wooden houses and hotels with green and red roofs.There is no more mention of any copyright in the circle on the banknotes. There are 8 pewter tokens and 4 pairs of red & white dice. A remarkable quantity (presumably for each of 4 players their own pair) that is also applied in the "wooden case" (1965) and "leatherette case" (1975) issues.

This set was sold via ebay web site in May 1999 for US$ 300.-.

 

 

 

Brown wooden case, 1965.Edition: Monopoly Deluxe, in brown wooden case
Publisher: Parker Brothers Inc.(signature) - Salem -1965
Dimensions of the box: 27 x 52 cm
The game:
This is most probably also an issue by reason of the 30th anniversary of Parker Brothers, because the latest year of copyright mentioned on the board of this special edition is 1961.

The brass plaque on the lid of the wooden box says "MONOPOLY - registered in the U.S. patent office - Parker Brothers trademark for its real estate game and equipment". It also has the signature of Parker Brothers Inc.
The back of the heavy duty gameboard is red with Monopoly gold leafed. The top slides off so the bottom can be used as " banker's tray". There are 10 tokens of solid bronze. The houses and hotels are in this edition of white plastic with resp. green and red roofs. There is nothing written about a copyright in the circle of the banknotes. Now again 4 pairs of white & red dice are included.

This set was sold via ebay web site in Juli 1999 for US$ 560.-.

 

 

Standard white box, 1968.Edition: Standard, ref. no. 9
             "Parker Brothers Real Estate Trading Game Equipment"
Publisher: Parker Brothers/General Mills - Salem - 1968
Dimensions of the box: 25.5 x 51 cm
The game:
The absolute sole difference with both previous editions
is the name in the blue field on the cover. Next to the "Parker spiral" it now also shows General Mills with its logo in a white square. In this period apparently rather a number of changes of name had taken place, as well in America as f.e. in The Netherlands.
(Picture copied from the book: "BOARD GAMES with . price guide" by Desi Scarpone, 1995)

Similarities and differences between the American, Dutch and "Other Countries" versions:

America

The Netherlands

Other Countries

Parker Brothers Real Estate Trading Game Equipment

Licentie Parker Brothers U.S.A.

no name mention above the red bar whatsoever

no nr. in red square

nr. 77314® in red square

nr. 77314® in red square

$-teken under red square

no currency mention

no currency mention

name mention in blue field

name mention in blue field

no name mention in blue field

white tray + red insert

white tray + red insert

1 red tray

tray is of carton

tray is of plastic

tray is of plastic

on red insert mention of kind of tokens

on red insert mention of kind of tokens

only 1 kind, viz. the renowned 8 pewter tokens

back of the board always blue

back of the board always blue

back of the board red or blue

blank bottom of the box

blank bottom of the box

somethimes already with picture of Charles Darrow

 

 

Brown leatherette case, nr. 3, 1975.Edition: Deluxe Anniversary Edition, No.3, in brown leatherette case
Publisher: Parker Brothers - 1975
Dimensions of the case: 54.5 x 30.0 x 4.5 cm
The game:
This 40 year anniversary edition was designed and develloped by Bill Cooke in 1974, who was Product Designer for over 16 years at Parker Brothers/Hasbro in Beverly-MA and Pawtucket-RI - USA. 
The title deeds carousel for the storage of banker's title deeds is Bill's invention.

The circulation of this edition was around 10,000 sets and that may be the reason why a collector (?) was willing to pay such a high price on ebay for the set but 24 years later. 

Both parts of this leatherette case with MONOPOLY gold leafed can easily be taken apart. The inside of the compartments are black flocked styrene-vacuum formed. The back side of the gameboard is orange and MONOPOLY gold leafed as well.
The houses and hotels are of white wood with respectively green and red roofs, probably made in France, just like with the game of the blue plastic case. They are in a special brown box with overprint "Houses and Hotels".
The Chance and Community Chest cards as well as the banknotes are the standard ones.
The standard10 tokens are made of "gold filled or gold toned" die cast zinc. It is rather special that 3 Short Rules has been supplied with this set.
There are 4 pairs of dice, made of transparent acrylic plastic: 4 red ones and 4 green ones. 

This set was sold via ebay web site in August 1999 for US$ 685.-.

An ad from the Parker Brothers catalogue, edition 1975.

40th anniversary ed., nr. 11.Edition: Monopoly  40th Anniversary Edition, No.11
Publisher: Parker Brothers - 1975
Dimensions of the box: 50.5 x 34.5 x 4.0 cm
The game:
Because of the presence of Bill Cooke's title deeds carousel the sizes of the box of this edition are slightly larger than the standard "long boxes".  

There is an orange filling up cardboard in the innerbox with the carousel in white in the centre and a picture of an early small box at its left side.
A vacuum formed blue styrene plasic insert serving as the Banker's tray, contains 7 slots for the banknotes and 3 compartments for the accessories. This set came with a double supply of money and those 10 standard metallic silver-gray die cast zinc tokens
The Chance and Community Chest as well as the banknotes are the standard ones.
This version of the anniversary edition has but two white plastic dice with black drilled holes.

 

 

 

Your comments and/or additional informations will be highly appreciated! Only then this catalogue remains interesting! So please do send a message to:
Uw opmerkingen en/of aanvullingen worden zeer op prijs gesteld! Zo blijft deze catalogus actueel! Neemt u dan ook gaarne contact op met:

albert c. veldhuis
Zoetermeer - The Netherlands
e-mail: monopoly@muurkrant.nl
(Nederlands,,Deutsch,Français,Magyar)