Question about "Rococo", a game by Sophus Tromholt, published by Otto Maier, Ravensburg, in 1894
Peter Michaelsen
Dear all
Together with two other Danish researchers, Kira Moss and Bjarne Toft, I have recently written an article about the games invented by the Danish mathematician Sophus Tromholt (1851-1896).
His games “Mona”/”Vogelspiel”, “Samson”, and “Yum-Yum” were published by Otto Maier in Ravensburg in 1892, and a fourth game “Rocco”, appeared in the same box as the English “Reversi” as “Reversi & Rocco” in 1893.
A few weeks ago I discovered, in an Austrian newspaper advertisement from 1894, that a fifth game by Tromholt named “Rococo”, was published in 1894, probably also by Otto Maier.
Unfortunately, it seems that they have no information about this game in the Ravensburger Spiele Archiv.
Therefore I ask you, if any of you have come across any information about this rare game, which also appears in three German newspaper advertisements from 1894, 1897 and 1901, together with a lot of other games by Otto Maier Verlag Ravensburg.
At the BGS Colloquium 27 in Chemnitz in April this year I gave a lecture about the possible origin of the star-shaped Halma, from 1928 and onwards known as “Chinese Checkers” in several countries.
Should any of you have found reliable information about this star-shaped variant of Halma dating from before c.1910, I would also very much like to know about it.
Best wishes,
Peter Michaelsen
ulrich schädler
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Richter, Jonas
Dear Peter,
are the ads for Rococo graphical, or just type-set letters? In the latter case, a spelling mistake (like Ulrich speculated) might be more likely.
I can also imagine that the publisher tried to re-release Rocco (without Reversi) and wanted to use a name that was new, but similar to the old name.
In an ad in the Jugend-Gartenlaube vol. 10, p. 262, Rococo is described as coming from America, but I assume that might be unreliable like many advertisement claims. https://books.google.de/books?id=hTl7UESkRegC&pg=PA262&dq=rococo&hl=de&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwikno7Bj-eNAxXahP0HHaKnMkkQ6AF6BAgLEAM#v=onepage&q=rococo&f=false
However, wasn't Sophus Tromholt reasonably well known in Germany in the early 1890s, both for his astronomical talks and his two books ("Streichholzspiele", and "Hundert Schnurrpfeifereien")? I think I saw some other ad (maybe for Yum-Yum) that mentioned him by name. So naming the designer was at least a possibility, even if it was an exception.
It sounds like you've only found evidence for "Rococo" from German-language sources? Did Tromholt publish his games first in Denmark, then in Germany, or was it more complex than that?
Yours
Jonas
Peter Michaelsen
Dear Jonas and Ulrich
Thank you very much for your suggestions.
I do not think that a spelling mistake is likely. It would probably not have happened so many times from 1894 to 1901.
In several newspaper advertisements, see attached files, “Reversi & Rocco” and “Rococo” are mentioned on the same page.
But the proof that “Rococo” was not simply a new name for “Rocco” is that both names are mentioned in the Beilage Zur Cannstadter Zeitung December 15, 1897 (attached) under the heading SPIELKASTEN in the Ravensburger game box which also contained a dozen other games, e.g. Sophus Tromholt’s “Samson” and “Yum-Yum”. “Rocco” and “Reversi” were also published separately in DER GROSSE SPIELKASTEN in 1894, according to advertisements in Märkisches Tageblatt, December 9, 1894. “Rococo”, however, had not yet been included in the game box collection.
Thank you, Jonas, for sending this interesting link, in which it is clearly expressed that “Rococo” was published by Otto Maier, Ravensburg.
It is only in the Austrian Linzer Tages-Post, December 21, 1894, that Tromholt is mentioned as the inventor of “Rococo”, but I do not see any reason to doubt this piece of information.
Like the source you refer to, the Beilage zur Cannstadter Zeitung also mentions an American origin of “Rococo”.
This is not necessarily “fake news”, but might perhaps be explained in the way, that Sophus Tromholt invented this game, possibly a modification of his “Rocco”, during his long stay in the United States during the second half of the year 1893.
Tromholt’s “Mona” was published in Denmark and Norway in 1891 by Julius Schlichtkrull, Copenhagen, and Fredrik Nygaard, Bergen. Otto Maier published “Mona” in 1892.
His “Rocco” and “Yum-Yum” were published by Schlichtkrull in 1892, and by Nygaard in 1893. “Rocco” was published by Otto Maier together with “Reversi” in 1893, and he published “Yum-Yum” in 1892.
“Samson” was published by Otto Maier in 1892, but never in Scandinavia.
“Rococo” was probably only published by Otto Maier – in 1894 and the following years, and I have not found it in any other sources than those attached.
It would be interesting to know if any “Spielkasten” by Otto Maier from c.1897 has been preserved. If complete, it would have contained both “Rocco” and “Rococo”.
Yours,
Peter
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