Everyone is a collector of something, and I’m willing to bet that you have a collection of some sort. It may not be a formal, organized collection, but I know you collect something. It might be shoes or golf clubs, or postcards or beer coasters. Maybe it’s a collection of Pink Floyd concert tickets that you inherited. Whatever your collection might be, you have more than one of something because you get a smile out of it. Let me introduce you to one of my design-inspired collections.
I have about 70 bagatelle games hanging in my home and office. “Bagatelle” in this instance is the original name that was used to describe laptop games that required a ball or marble to be rolled into a hole in a game board. The bagatelles in my collection evolved from a tabletop game that had wooden pegs set up to “defend” the holes. These wooden pegs later were replaced by metal nails, and eventually the boards included spinners, pockets, ramps and other elaborate obstacles. Over time, these games evolved into bar billiards, Pachinko games and pinball.
Today’s electronic games take the tactile contact out of playing the game which is why I enjoy collecting these works of art from the past century. The graphics that were created all over the world are a daily inspiration, and visitors to my office can’t help but try their hand at one of the many games hanging on my wall. My favorites are the wood models, some made up entirely of hand-driven nails and painted with a brush. I also have one that made the boat trip to America from Russia. The images of animals painted on the surface have that look from another land. See the image above with the woodland animals.
If you enjoy vintage comic books, folk art or anything retro-Americana, you will appreciate these games from years past. If you want a challenge, stop by and try your hand at "Frenzy." I have yet to solve this rolling marble game of hand-eye coordination and I've been trying for more than 25 years!
–Carl Mill, President, art270