Spear’s Comical Tivoli Game with Movable Clowns
Manufactured by J. W. Spear & Sons, Bavaria. Circa 1880s.
Box dimensions: 11½ × 7¾ in. (29 × 19.7 cm). Complete with three original balls and printed instruction sheet.
Condition: Fine and fully functional. Complete with all 3 original balls and instruction sheet. Fine and in working order. Edge-wear to upper edge of box. See photos.
A charming and rare example of late 19th-century German toy design, this mechanical game challenges players to drop a small ball through a clown’s mouth and tilt the box to guide it into scoring holes ranging from 5 to 100 points. The game board includes a raised slide with movable clown figures and punch-score zones, making both chance and dexterity part of the entertainment. The English-language instructions—seldom found intact—describe each player receiving three turns to accumulate the highest total score.
Collector’s Corner:
J. W. Spear & Sons was founded in 1879 in Fürth, near Nuremberg, Germany, and quickly gained renown for their high-quality games and puzzles. The company’s early operations were entirely German-based, making this example of an English-language game bearing the Bavarian imprint especially noteworthy. Spear began expanding to England in 1932, eventually transferring production to British facilities before World War II. The German branch of the company was forcibly sold during the war and renamed Porst-Spiel under its new ownership. After the war, the remains of the German factory were returned to the Spear family and operated as a subsidiary of the English branch. In 1994, the brand was acquired by Mattel, which absorbed Spear’s product lines, including their enduring board games.
References:
BoardGameGeek. “Comical Tivoli Game.” Accessed June 30, 2025. https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/120271/comical-tivoli-game.
Google Arts & Culture. “Spear’s Games – Deutsches Spielarchiv Nürnberg.” Accessed June 30, 2025. https://artsandculture.google.com/story/spear-s-games-deutsches-spielarchiv-nuernberg/9gUBlzALQsB7Ig?hl=en.
Miscellaneous Game Book. Historical overview of Spear’s Games, including early German production and wartime transitions.
Wikipedia contributors. “J. W. Spear & Sons.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Accessed June 2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._W._Spear_%26_Sons.
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