Three Early Edition c. 1843 Hand-colored, Wood Engraved Dr. Busby Cards, First Known American Card Game threaded 6 3/4" x 4 1/4"

6 3/4" x 4 1/4" x 1/2"

an etching I believe

and he is most famous for his “Hoperman” (“Hobbyman”) character

as if to say 'don't you dare try to take my lamb

("I have got some verses written out to you to put on your tomb stone if you die before I get back…I never forget thee not even beyond the grave

Three Early Edition c. 1843 Hand-colored, Wood Engraved Dr. Busby Cards, First Known American Card Game threaded 6 3/4" x 4 1/4"There are only three cards here, but they are special ones, from a very early edition of the first known American card game, The Game of Dr. Busby, a matching memory game designed by the Beverly, MA born writer Anne W. Abbott and published in Salem by W. & S. B. Ives in 1843 which is credited with having started the game craze in the U. S. The earliest editions of the game featured cards illustrated with hand colored wood engravings, as here, with 20