Summary

Game name (and type): 'Jacks' (knucklebones)
Alternative types: jacks use

Handwritten description of the knucklebones game 'Jacks' composed for Dr Dorothy Howard by Pat Wingrove, a twelve year old student at East Camberwell Girls Secondary School, in 1954-1955. Wingrove describes 'Jacks' as a game usually played by girls aged between seven and thirteen in any location all year round. She provides a detailed description of how the game is played. Essentially, players begin with five jacks in their palm which are thrown into the air and caught on the back of the hand. Wingrove notes that if a player fails to catch any of the jacks, they must allow another player to have a turn. If a player catches at least one of the jacks, they proceed to collect the fallen jacks in increasing number whilst throwing the captured jack(s) into the air. Wingrove lists other players of 'Jacks' including Helen Lucas, Judith Cuthbert, and Sandra Hacke.

One of a collection of letters describing a children's game written to children's Folklorist Dorothy Howard between 1954 and 1955. Dr. Howard came to Australia in 1954-55 as an American Fulbright scholar to study Australian children's folklore. She travelled across Australia for 10 months collecting children's playground rhymes, games, play artefacts, etc. This letter, together with the other original fieldwork collected by Dr. Howard during this period, is preserved in the Dorothy Howard Collection manuscript files, part of the Australian Children's Folklore Collection (ACFC), Archive Series 3. The ACFC is an extensive collection documenting children's folklore and related research.

Physical Description

Handwritten game description in green and blue ink on paper. Comprises two sheets. First page features a letterhead printed in black ink; second page feature borders ruled in red pencil.

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