Bagatelle game

Hello,
I ran across this interesting find at a yard sale. It looks like it might not be worth much (let me know if it is) but can anyone tell me any more info about it?
The yard sale was in Dunellon, Florida so that is the most I know about its origin. It sounds like she might have had it for awhile and it's possible it might have belonged to relatives although she wasn't really sure.
I can picture shady characters gambling in their basement with this and drinking whiskey made from a still and smoking cigars.

Also, I have a couple more items but will post them in their own threads.

 

Welcome to the site KS555, you paint a very vivid "word picture".
The board appears to have been homemade, maybe for the whole family's enjoyment.

 

Thanks. lol It appears to be well-used, as there are ridges in the area where you hit the ball.
So it's not worth anything? Darn. How much then do you think?

 

Would not say it's not worth anything, there are collectors who may buy it for the folksy, rustic charm. I somehow know that you will be able to write a very appealing description when you go to sell.

 

Oh wow that's really cool =) Creative use!
Looks like it could have been made by the same person, except for the skull and bones. Maybe the same characters that played on mine ran from the law to Switzerland, left mine in the basement in the US (no basements in Florida, but artistic license, y'know) , but took the skull and bones one with them. Just to send a message in case any new friends wanted to skip out on their gambling debt. Don't want to get your ball in the red hole! Haha

 

Hello KS. Had heard of bagatelle but always assumed it was a card game. Cross between pool & pinball, huh? The description of the one INH links to says:

Unfortunately it doesn't come with balls or a pusher device.

While you can say yours comes with the shooter & has balls. (Helping with your attention grabbing listing language.) Suspect complete sets are somewhat rare because the other bits are so easily lost/separated.

 

Oh! lol Not sure I can top that one!
Although given the jewelry holder listing, I suppose you could say it was used to hang the family jewels.
Oh lordy. Where to go from here.

 

Hi KS, we wish we could tell you something definitive about your game -- we can't, but that won't prevent us from adding some guesswork (thanks for the recommendation, ineed).

We don't have this game catalogued -- we agree with Sandra, it's very likely a homemade, one-off item -- but many 1920s-1930s bagatelles mass-produced by identifiable manufacturers are not one bit more sophisticated in construction or appearance. It's really only the lack of any name or title for your game, the absence of any manufacturer ID, and the handwritten point values that suggest a homemade nature -- any one of those, alone, wouldn't rule out mass production.

The one really unusual feature in your game is what appears to be a pool-cue-like device for launching the ball onto the gameboard. Most commonly, of course, bagatelles like this employ a spring-loaded pull-back to shoot a ball into motion. The cue here suggests that either the game is indeed home-made -- the normal spring mechanism being a bit more complicated and expensive -- or that the game is considerably older than the 1920s-'30s timeframe its overall appearance otherwise suggests.

We'd say your game has collector value -- not a ton, but some -- both as a unique bagatelle, for game/toy collectors, and as folk-art, for that crowd. Ooh! "Crossover appeal." Good luck, whatever you decide to do with it!

 

Here is the underside. It props up on a slight angle.

 

Thanks for your responses. I wish I could tell definitively how old it is but there doesn't appear to be anything identifying on it. It sure is an intriguing piece!
The pool cue thing fits neatly into the slanted slot when turned around.


I will be posting a number of items, and any guidance is helpful since I have zero knowledge about antiques. Would like to learn though.

 

What?

 

Just laughing about the direction the jokes were going! I'm still laughing about your joke btw. Needed a little levity this afternoon.

 

Unless you're making matzoh, a little leavening never hurts.