Instructions for playing the game are included in the box.Įach card includes an illustration of a person with their name printed at the bottom of the card. This special deck includes 23 cards (7.5cm long x 5cm wide). The sketch illustrates the 'jolly' old maid drinking tea with her cats by a fireside!. The top is covered with a textured paper. The bottom (not shown) is 10.8cm long x 8.1cm wide x 2.2cm high. The box top is 11.2cm long x 8.5cm wide x 1.3cm high. The deck is contained in the box pictured above. It was produced by JAP, a British company, printed in Bavaria (Germany), and then distributed in North America by JWS & sons (New York) about 1900. The deck pictured on the right and titled The Jolly Game of Old Maid was donated to the Museum in 1983.
Nevertheless, here are two decks in the Museum collection that were designed especially for this game - one going back to the early days of the 20th century, and one produced and sold in the 1970s. In using a standard deck, the Queen of Spades (traditionally) is the Old Maid. A special deck is not required for this game. The game of Old Maid can be played with a standard deck of playing cards, as many people have done over the years.
