Collections : [College of William and Mary]

College of William and Mary

Special Collections Research Center
Earl Gregg Swem Library
College of William and Mary
400 Landrum Drive
PO 8795
Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795
Primary Collecting Areas:
Williamsburg and surrounding area Virginia; Southern United States; African American life and culture; Hip Hop History; Movies and film studies; Travel, exploration, and adventure; Veterans papers; Distinguished alumni papers; College of William & Mary; Dogs
Description:
The Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) houses one of the largest and most significant collections of rare and unique materials of any educational institution of comparable size in the United States. Focused on Virginia history but with nationally and internationally important collections, the Manuscripts Collection includes letters, diaries, journals, scrapbooks, business records, organizational minutes, and other items that provide evidence of events great and small and the daily lives of Americans of all backgrounds. The Rare Books Collection, with volumes dating from the 15th century to the present, is strong in dogs, Virginia-related items, early Virginia family libraries, gardening and natural history, religion, book arts, printing history, travel, science, and medicine. The University Archives documents the history of William & Mary from 1693 to the present, including a wide range of materials from administrative records, student organization records, and alumni papers to photographs, audio-visual materials, and artifacts.
Phone: (757) 221-3090
Fax: (757) 221-5440
Start Over Repository College of William and Mary Names Milton Bradley Co.
College of William and Mary

David Galt Greenwald games and puzzles collection, 1850/2005

8 Boxes Five oversize boxes, one half Hollinger box, and two rectangle artifact boxes

The David Galt Greenwald board games and puzzles collection consists of black Americana board games, puzzles, card games, and ephemera. Series 1 consists of boxed games, puzzles, and toys, largely depicting racist caricatures, including minstrel/blackface imagery, stereotypes, propaganda, and sometimes anti-black violence. Other items in Series 1 depict black empowerment, history, heritage, culture, and collaboration. Series 2 consists of entertainment-related or associated ephemera, including paper board games and puzzles, toys, a stereoview, a watercolor booklet, Court Whist scorecards, promotional material, and pages of a 1883 almanac. The majority, but not all, of these materials likewise feature minstrel/blackface imagery and racist caricatures and stereotypes. These materials offer insight into the cohesive use and promotion of racist imagery, stereotypes, and rhetoric through entertainment media in the 19th and 20th centuries in the United States and Europe. These materials also offer insight into the use of physical entertainment media during the 20th century to educate the public about the Black Power movement, and black community, history, heritage, and empowerment. Additionally, the collection may offer insights into the sale and popularity of black Americana materials between the 19th and early 21st centuries, with at least one board game likely being a 21st century "hoax" using historical anti-black imagery to feign its true age.

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David Galt Greenwald games and puzzles collection, 1850/2005 8 Boxes Five oversize boxes, one half Hollinger box, and two rectangle artifact boxes

The David Galt Greenwald board games and puzzles collection consists of black Americana board games, puzzles, card games, and ephemera. Series 1 consists of boxed games, puzzles, and toys, largely depicting racist caricatures, including minstrel/blackface imagery, stereotypes, propaganda, and sometimes anti-black violence. Other items in Series 1 depict black empowerment, history, heritage, culture, and collaboration. Series 2 consists of entertainment-related or associated ephemera, including paper board games and puzzles, toys, a stereoview, a watercolor booklet, Court Whist scorecards, promotional material, and pages of a 1883 almanac. The majority, but not all, of these materials likewise feature minstrel/blackface imagery and racist caricatures and stereotypes. These materials offer insight into the cohesive use and promotion of racist imagery, stereotypes, and rhetoric through entertainment media in the 19th and 20th centuries in the United States and Europe. These materials also offer insight into the use of physical entertainment media during the 20th century to educate the public about the Black Power movement, and black community, history, heritage, and empowerment. Additionally, the collection may offer insights into the sale and popularity of black Americana materials between the 19th and early 21st centuries, with at least one board game likely being a 21st century "hoax" using historical anti-black imagery to feign its true age.

Series 1: Board games and card games, 1850/2005 7 Box

Twenty-seven boxed board games, card games, puzzles, and toys of black americana material culture. Many of these games use racist terms, imagery, caricatures, and stereotypes of black people, some associated with blackface and minstrel performances, with two games explicitly featuring anti-black racial violence in gameplay. Other games educate about systemic racism and oppression, black history and culture, prominent black figures in American history, and the Black Power politcal movement, often having a collaborative element.

Skillets and Cakes, 1946 Box 3

Skillets and Cakes is a token flipping game with the goal of flipping all of your "cakes" over first. The front of the box depicts an adult man flipping pancakes in a skillet while two children watch. It is unclear whether the adult man is supposed to be black or if there was just a darker printing for his skin, as the children are depicted with the same tone.

  1. Series 1: Board games and card games, 1850/2005

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