Pastime Collection

Little Miss Natty Fingers by Muriel Dawson
A little girl concentrates on a garment she is sewing, presumably for the doll which sits next to her. An interesting basket full of sewing paraphenalia spills over beside her

Silhouettes of the Chase by H. L. Oakley
Two silhouettes cut by H. L. Oakley showing scenes from a hunt. The first shows the hunt meeting at a village pub, while the second shows them at full stretch galloping across countryside

Battledore & shuttlecock by Susan Beatrice Pearse
Two little girls play battledore and shuttlecock, or badminton on a fine summers day

Polo - Its Social Aspect by Higgins
The best part of the game. Polo players at a club such as Hurlingham or Ranelagh unwind after (or in the middle) of a match to share pleasantries with some female companions while a band plays in

Surf riding at Muizenburg on the Cape Coast
A contrast to the grey days at home: surf-riding at Muizenburg, the Queen of Cape Coast Watering Places. A universal summer pastime of the South African coastal resorts, surf-riding

Walliss Hiking Kit Ad
Advertisement for Walliss hiking kit comprising rucksack, practical flannel shorts and mens pure wool stockings, all essential equipment for this pastime

Victorian Silhouettes by H. L. Oakley
A page of silhouettes showing various Victorian pastimes and games including archery, croquet, skating and chess

Rising floor for Bridge players / W H Robinson
A rising floor in the cars cabin which seconds as a Bridge table can allow those who are keen on both card games and motoring to engage in both pastimes simultaneously

A Very Cross Word Puzzle by William Heath Robinson
As a golfer manages to hit a passer by forcefully on the head with a ball, the illustrator invites the reader to fill in the crossword puzzle: " Across: A Forceful Exclamation!"

Balfour and Chesterfield play golf at Sandwich
Arthur James Balfour, Conservative MP and former Prime Minister (left), and the Earl of Chesterfield (right) photographed during a golf match at Sandwich, Kent

Model Boating Lake
Men and boys playing with model boats on the model boating pond in Duthie Park, Aberdeen, Scotland. Date: 1950s

Winter Pastime with children playing on a frozen pond. Date: 1855

Wheelbarrow Race. Artist: Louis Wain. A group of cats enjoy this popular pastime in the garden Date: 1904

A Game of Bezique / Photo
A man and two women play a game of bezique around a polished wood table in a comfortable drawing room

People playing Mahjong by swimming pool, USA
People playing the Chinese board game Mahjong (Mah Jong), by the swimming pool of the Ambassador Hotel, Atlantic City, USA, April 1924. 1924

Circus Parade Date: 1891

British Military Campaign to Tibet - golf at Gyantse
A game of golf at Gyantse, from a fascinating album which reveals new details on a little-known campaign in which a British military force brushed aside Tibetan defences to capture Lhasa, in 1904

Victorian women playing water polo
The Ravensbourne Ladies water polo cup, the teams that competed were Jersey and Swansea, playing at the Westminster Baths in Great Smith Street. The Swansea ladies won by four goals to two

They sit in a window-seat each playing his/her banjo - the instrument is the fashionable pastime of the day. Date: 1886

Comc postcard, Four people playing cards Date: 20th century

Lady Margaret Boat Club, Cambridge, rowing team, 1890s
19th century vintage photograph - Lady Margaret Boat Club, Cambridge, rowing team, 1890s

Two men and their bicycles. circa 1900

Exploring a cavern, comical Victorian pastime. 19th century

Little Women - Amys attempts at Art
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott - Amys attempts at Art. 1880

Man with lance tilting at a ring under a box, 17th century
Man on horseback with lance tilting at a ring under a box at a village fete, 17th century, from a painting by Philips Wouwerman

Boys firing arrows at a target in an archery game, after an illustration by Jean-Henri Marlet, 1826. Lithograph from Henry Rene Allemagnes Sports and Games of Skill (Sports et Jeux d Adresse)

The king of popinjay man enters the village with a bird on his lance. In the background, a crowd of archers fire arrows at a windmill, after an engraving from the 18th century

Villagers practising archery with long bows and a target on a Sunday. After a painting of the Dutch school, 17th century. Lithograph from Henry Rene Allemagnes Sports and Games of Skill

The game of Popinjay in Belgium, 19th century. Men with muskets shoot at a target in a park. Handcoloured lithograph from Henry Rene Allemagnes Sports and Games of Skill (Sports et Jeux d Adresse)

The game of Four Corners, 18th century
The game of Four Corners, a variant of tag, 18th century, after a painting by Nicolas Lancret. Lithograph from Henry Rene Allemagnes Sports and Games of Skill (Sports et Jeux d Adresse)

Villagers dancing around the bonfire for the feast of St. John the Baptist, midsummer. Lithograph from Henry Rene Allemagnes Sports and Games of Skill (Sports et Jeux d Adresse), Librairie Hachette

The fighting games of barres, or couppeteste
The fighting game of barres or Ostrachynda was played between teams of combatants in a defined area, 16th century. The players shouted couppeteste as they fought. Others can be seen playing leapfrog

Children sledding and skating on ice (traineaux), early 19th century. Lithograph from Henry Rene Allemagnes Sports and Games of Skill (Sports et Jeux d Adresse), Librairie Hachette, Paris, 1903

Ice skating and sledding on a glacier near Gentilly, 18th century. Handcoloured lithograph from Henry Rene Allemagnes Sports and Games of Skill (Sports et Jeux d Adresse), Librairie Hachette, Paris

Boys sliding on ice (glissoire) and sledding on ice (traisneau), after an engraving by Claudine Bouzonnet Stella, 17th century

A formal ball dance in the 17th century. Men and women dancing in a circle at right, and men lining up in front of women across the hall at left

Peasants dancing in a clearing to music from a recorder and bagpipes. After an engraving by Claudine Bouzonnet Stella, 17th century

A ballroom scene (top) and sailors and peasants dancing the fashionable waltz during the French Revolutionary era. Lithograph from Henry Rene Allemagnes Sports and Games of Skill

Boys playing tug-of-war with batons and dancing
Boys playing tug-of-war with batons (covet baston) and dancing to music (danse), after an engraving by Claudine Bouzonnet Stella, 17th century

Medieval children playing a war game called I m on your land (je suis sur ta terre, vilain), others playing croquet, and others trying to hit each other while tied back to back

Boys playing handstands (culbute) and boxing (lutte), after an engraving by Claudine Bouzonnet Stella, 17th century. Lithograph from Henry Rene Allemagnes Sports and Games of Skill

Boys playing handstands (culbute) and fart-in-the-face (pet-en-gueule), after an engraving by Claudine Bouzonnet Stella, 17th century

Boys playing the game of cheval fondu, leap-frog or horseplay. From an illustration by Jean-Henri Marlet from le Bon Genie, 1826

Peasant boys playing coupe-tete or leap-frog, 18th century
Peasant boys playing coupe-tete or leap-frog in front of a farmhouse. After an engraving by Augustin de Saint-Aubin, 18th century

Medieval men playing the game of franc-carreau, by throwing a coin onto a square, others playing a similar game with a round tile

Girls skipping rope in a garden, 19th century. Handcoloured lithograph from Henry Rene Allemagnes Sports and Games of Skill (Sports et Jeux d Adresse), Librairie Hachette, Paris, 1903

Acrobat performing a backward somersault on two trestles. From a woodcut by Arcangelo Tuccaro, 1599. Lithograph from Henry Rene Allemagnes Sports and Games of Skill (Sports et Jeux d Adresse)

Acrobat performing somersaults on a chair and bench. From a woodcut by Arcangelo Tuccaro, 1599. Lithograph from Henry Rene Allemagnes Sports and Games of Skill (Sports et Jeux d Adresse)

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