SERIES: Pictorial History of the Sports and Pastimes of All Nations
SCENES: Charioteering; tug-of-war; bow hunting; leap-frog
SIZE: 3" x 5"
ARTIST: Not signed, but reportedly Frances Brundage
DATE: 1893
LITHOGRAPHER: Kaufman & Strauss
CONDITION: Good, I'd say. This card is only lightly soiled with slightly worn edges and corners. There are tiny creases at the upper and lower right corners and in the top margin. There are a couple tiny dings in the bottom margin. The card also has an overall "pebbled" feel, with small shallow bumps in numerous places. (Please see scans.)
MULTIPLE ITEM SHIPPING DISCOUNT: I will ship up to 4 cards for the single base shipping charge shown. For purchases of more than 4 cards, the shipping charge will increase by just a small increment for every 4 additional cards.
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REVERSE TEXT: ASSYRIA.
ALTHOUGH the early history of Assyria is obscure, the artistic genius and wonderful ingenuity of this people, developed a civilization second to no contemporary one. In architecture and as sculptors, engravers and designers they were especially pre-eminent. The ancient cities of Nineveh and Babylon also attest the luxury to which the wealthy of this people became accustomed To acquire and maintain such supremacy, the Assyrians must have been a brave and warlike people. They were endowed with many other virtues distinctive of a noble nation.
The chariot was both a vehicle of war and of hunting. It led the van of battle and through its aid only it became possible to follow the larger game of the Assyrian forests. The dextrous hand of the charioteer guided the noble steeds, and the unerring aim of the warrior or huntsman laid low the quarry which he pursued.
The Tug-of-War, so popular in our athletic games to-day, was often practised by the Assyrians. The opposing sides, evenly matched, took equal hold of the rope of contention, and the side which gained a length on the other and retained it, was pronounced the winner.
The bow and arrow was the especial weapon of the Assyrian soldier. These were no holiday playthings, but the bow was often nearly of the stature of the man who wielded it. Formidable indeed was the arrow which sped from the bow of one of these doughty warriors.
Leap-frog, still so popular to-day, was one of the primitive games Assyrian children indulged in.
