An Improved Parlour Game, including Apparatus or Appliances Used in Playing the same.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application; 14th Mar., 1894-Accepted, 14th Apr., 1894
COMPLETE DIEUIFICATION,
An Improved Parlour Game, including Apparatus or Appliances
Used in Playing the same.
We WALTER KERSHAW of Kershaws' Bazaar, Blackpool, in the County of
Lancaster, Fancy Goods Dealer, and JOHN BENTLEY BRIERLEY of 103 Camp
Street, Broughton, Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Traveller, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to
be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement and
accompanying drawings :-
"
66
Our said invention relates to an improved parlour game of skill suitable for
playing within doors and upon a table or floor. The game is founded upon the
well known amusement so common in sea-side resorts and other places of recreation,
cocoa nut; or three shies a penny." In pursuance of
and popularly known as
this idea the appliances are shaped to represent in miniature the appliances used in
"three shies a penny
so as to invest the game with an interest based upon
reminiscences of open air recreations. We therefore provide a stop sheet, and a
number of supports arranged in ranks of unequal heights, and capable of supporting
loosely, balls or objects which represent cocoa nuts. We also provide balls which
are preferably of different colours so as to distinguish the players. In conjunction
with these balls we supply a spring catapult upon or in which the ball is placed,
and thrown by means of the spring so as to knock one or more of the miniature
cocoa nuts from the supports in front of the stop sheet.
The stop sheet is made with slips to receive uprights which have feet to allow
them to stand and support the sheet. The supports for the cocoa nuts are
preferably inserted into holes in a board which stands in front of the sheet.
To render our invention perfectly clear we will now proceed to describe the same
more particularly with reference to the annexed two sheets of drawings to which
we will herein refer.
Fig. 1 (Sheet 1.) shows the stop sheet rigged up in position and also the cocoa
nut balls arranged in front thereof.
The sheet a is made of calico and has slips a¹ sewn at each end and at the
The
points a x x. We also provide four standards bbbb having flat soles b'.
standards bbbb are inserted into the sewn slips in the sheet and stand upright so
as to support the sheet a.
The board c is placed in front of the sheet a. The board is pierced to
accommodate a number of supports d d d &c. which are stuck into the holes in the
board.
The heads of the supports d d d d &c. are formed of a ring shape to take the
balls e e e e &c. which imitate the cocoa nuts in the original game. These cocoa
nut balls e e e e &c. are poised on the supports dddd &c. so that it is possible to
knock them out by a blow from the ball which is jerked at them by the catapult.
It is composed of wire
This spring catapult fis shown in position at Fig. 2.
bent to the proper shape. The part facts as a base to be held on the table or
plane surface on which the game is being played. The arm projects upward from
a coil at the end of the base and terminates in an eye to receive the ball As
9.
shown in the drawing the player presses with one hand on the base of the catapult
and draws back the spring arm with a finger of the other hand. On releasing the
arm f, the ball is shot forward in the direction.of.the cocoa nut balls e e e e &c. and
if the player is sufficiently skilful and just in his aim, will strike down one of the
balls e and so win a point. Each cocoa nut ball struck down counts to the player.

page_text: The balls shot from the catapult are preferably of different colours so as to
distinguish the players.
In some cases when children are the players, caramels or nuts or chocolate creams
or other objects might be mounted in the supports dd dd &c. instead of the cocoa
nut balls e e e e &c.
As a modification of the spring catapult we might adopt the trap and bat shown
in Figs. 3 and 4 Sheet 2.
i
The trap may be cheaply made from wire twisted to form a base with pivot
sides. A frame j also made from bent wire is pivotted to the sides
and the
frame has an eye at each end or it might be at one end only which is intended
to receive the striking ball g.
In conjunction with this trap we use a flat' wooden bat k which is shown in
Fig. 4 Sheet 2, or as a substitute for the wooden bat we might employ the bat l
shown at Fig. 5 Sheet 2. This bat is made from wire twisted so as to form a
handle and a head . The wire forming the head might be corrugated as shown
so as to retain the finer cross wire l' which makes the face of the bat. When
using the appliance the player strikes the end of the frame j which is furthest from
the cocoa nut balls and sheet with the bat k or land as the ball flies into the air
the player strikes it with the bat and propels it towards the cocoa nut balls.
This appliance requires more skill than in the case of the spring catapult shown
in Fig. 2 Sheet`1.
In some cases we might dispense with the use of the bats k or 1 for striking
and simply catch the ball with the hand when it flies into the air and then
throw it at the cocoa nuts. We do not however confine ourselves to the precise
forms of spring catapult and trap and hat shown as these might be varied and
in some cases we might use a spring barrel to project the ball against the cocoa
nuts or equivalent objects.
The sheet a might be made with three standards instead of four and it might be
of any size and proportion.
The whole of the appliance used in playing the game can be easily stowed
away in a box made to contain them.
In packing them into the box the standards bbbb may be withdrawn from
the sheet and the supports d d d d &c. may be drawn out of the board c so
that the whole of the parts together with the catapult, trap, bat and balls go
into comparatively small space and are easily contained in a box of moderate size.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is.
1. The new or improved parlour game substantially as hereinbefore described
and as illustrated in the annexed drawings.
2. The new or improved parlour game played by means of the appliances
herein before described and consisting of the sheet a with its removable standards;
the board c with renovable supports d d d d &c. to carry the cocoa nut
balls e e e e &c.; and the spring catapult or trap and bat or other equivalent
means to project the balls g at the objects on the supports d d d d &c. substantially
as herein before described and shown.
3. As an adjunct to the herein before described game the bat 7 made from twisted
wire and having an elastic wire face substantially as described and shown.
Dated this 13th day of March 1801
E. K. DUTTON & Co.,
5, John Dalton Street, Manchester, Agents.