The Wide World

Uncommon board game prominently featuring a well-known children’s author.

This is a nice example of Hendrick Willem Van Loon’s Wide World Game, produced by Parker Brothers, Inc. in 1933. The object of the game, basically a stroll through America’s 20th-century empire, is to debark from San Francisco and be the first player to successfully travel to Manila by boat or plane. The accompanying rule book provides further details, but unfortunately, no game pieces are included. According to the Victoria & Albert Museum;

“Parker Brothers was one of the foremost American games manufacturers of the twentieth century. It is now a subsidiary of Hasbro. The company was founded by George Parker in the 1880s and he was later joined by his two brothers. Hendrik Willem Van Loon (1882-1944) wrote many books, illustrating them himself. One of the best known is The Story of Mankind, a history of the world for children, which won the first Newbery Medal in 1922.

George Parker met Van Loon at the Essex Institute in Salem Massachusetts and this resulted in Parker Brothers producing a travel game using Van Loon’s name. he also provided the illustration of the world used in the game.”

Source.