Luke Honey Ltd has dated this piece to the 19th Century.
the mahogany rectangular box with white metal handles in the Art Nouveau style, a bone turning handle, and eight bone mounted ringlets to the front; inside: a brass turning spindle, eight painted lead racehorses, two (original) wooden spools for the cotton threads, and a large quantity of stained bone gaming counters, the chromolithographic label to the lid: "Ascot" The New Racing Game...By Letters Patent, Makers, JAQUES & SON, LONDON, with the original key.
The game is contained in a mahogany box, with eight cast-lead racehorses attached to a brass spindle inside the box with threads. A hand crank on the side of the box winds the spindle, allowing the horses to 'race' down the table in a random fashion. Players bet on which horse would win the race.
"Jaques & Son" become "Jaques & Son Ltd" around 1900. A patent for Ascot was taken out by Francis Joseph Secker and William George Milburn on 3rd July 1891, with a further United States patent taken out by Francis Secker on May 30th 1893. Advertisements for the game first seem to appear in 1893.
Luke Honey Ltd has dated this piece to the 19th Century.
You can view the stock and full dealer information on the Luke Honey Ltd Profile Page
Jaques Ascot Racing Game, 1891-99
