Early Version of Monopoly Board Game Patent
by Edward Fielding
Title
Early Version of Monopoly Board Game Patent
Artist
Edward Fielding
Medium
Digital Art - Photography
Description
If one were to believe the instruction book that came with the board game Monopoly, you'd believe that the popular board game was the sole invention of one man, who toiled away at it during the depression. A good myth but like most inventions they are derivative works based on many creative minds.
The origins of the game can be traced back to 1903, when an American woman named Elizabeth (Lizzie) J. Magie Phillips created a game through which she hoped to be able to explain the single tax theory of Henry George (it was intended to illustrate the negative aspects of concentrating land in private monopolies). Her game, The Landlord's Game, was self-published, beginning in 1906.
A series of variant board games based on her concept were developed from 1906 through the 1930s that involved the buying and selling of land and the development of that land. By 1934, a board game called Monopoly had been created which formed the basis of the game sold by Parker Brothers, beginning in 1935.
Notice how similar it is to the modern day Monopoly board. Many of the same elements exist including free parking, the railroads, water works and luxury taxes - lots of luxury tax spots!
Uploaded
May 14th, 2014
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