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Joy-Ball, anyone?

Posted by: Scott    Tags:  old newspapers    Posted date:  July 18, 2012  |  2 Comments


It’s “This Season’s New Game”—but what is it?

While flipping through my 1914 bound volume of The Graphic—the same newspaper with those intricate aviation infographics and that ad with endorsements from now-forgotten celebrities—I came across an ad in the December 5th issue for a game called Joy-Ball, an ad which gives no indication of how the heck the game is played.

Oh, sure, it sounds like fun, because it promises—

Strokes like billiards.
Play like Fives.
Speed like Ping-Pong.
Score like tennis.

—but what the heck does that mean?

Any of you have ideas for how one would play the game based on the image above?

No amount of Internet searching on “Joy-Ball” or “John Jaques & Son” or “The Graphic” or “1914” or any combination thereof yields an answer, so it all falls to you.

Can any of my UK pals help a Yank out?

Biff!





2 Comments for Joy-Ball, anyone?


James

Did you contact John Jaques directly? They’re still in business.

    Scott

    I contacted them the same day I wrote this post, but have yet to hear anything back.



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