A Brief Manual of Games for Organized Play. By Martha Travilla Speakman. First Revised Edition, First Printing. Government Printing Office. Washington DC, 1925.

Much like folklore, recipes, or any other cultural form of expression, children’s games are passed down most often through lived experience. In the 1920s, Martha Travilla Speakman and the U.S. federal government felt it incumbent to publish this pamphlet, documenting and standardizing common children’s games, to ensure children across the country would have the same experiences in their public schools. The pamphlet includes the descriptions and rules for games like tag, hot potato, and dodge ball. Lesser known examples include squirrel and nut, water sprite, or duck on rock. In the introduction, Speakman argues that “games, like arithmetic and reading, must be graded.” She notes how games are essential for developing children’s “sense of alertness” and “making them good citizens.” The work is intriguing as an artifact of the standardization of all parts of American education from the period as well as a record of what were (and remain) common children’s games in America.

This first edition, first printing is in poor condition. In the original wrappers, poor with spine taped, edges chipped with closed tears. Text block fine.

A scarce 1925 government-issued pamphlet on children’s games.