Animal Grab
Animal Grab card game by Thomas De La Rue & Co., 110 Bunhill Row, London..
An Interesting and Amusing Round Game published by Thos De La Rue & Co., early 1900s
“Animal Grab” is a variant of “Snap” which involves calling animal or bird cries instead of the word “Snap!” making it a fast & noisy game. This Victorian edition by Thomas De La Rue contains 52 full-colour cards + rules leaflet inside a telescopic box. The winner is the player who wins - or grabs - all the cards.
Right: box from Animal Grab card game by Thomas De La Rue & Co, London, c.1900.
Long before our awareness of endangered species or environmental activism became topical issues, these Victorian playing cards for children foster awareness of farmyard and countryside animals, inviting players to mimic the animals' characteristic calls. See the rules►
Above: cards from Animal Grab game by Thomas De La Rue & Co., 110 Bunhill Row, London. The game was registered in 1893. It was later distributed by HP Gibson & Sons.
By Simon Wintle
Member since February 01, 1996
Founder and editor of the World of Playing Cards since 1996. He is a former committee member of the IPCS and was graphics editor of The Playing-Card journal for many years. He has lived at various times in Chile, England and Wales and is currently living in Extremadura, Spain. Simon's first limited edition pack of playing cards was a replica of a seventeenth century traditional English pack, which he produced from woodblocks and stencils.
Related Articles
The European Interchanges Quartets
A card game based around motorway intersections from European countries.
Songs with Flute accompaniment
Eighteenth century English engraved cards with music for voice and flute.
Love Tests
Vintage novelty “Love Test” cards of a slightly saucy nature but all in good fun!
Briefmarken-Quartett
Quartet game featuring postage stamps from the Zones of Occupation in post-WWII Germany.
Ben 10 playing cards
Characters from the American animated television science fantasy series Ben 10.
Doctor Who Trump Card Game
Game for two players in which Doctor Who and the Legendary Legion join battle with the Alien Hordes....
Disney’s Aladdin playing cards
Characters from the 1992 Disney film Aladdin.
La Réussite (Sébastien Féraut)
Sébastien Féraut’s designs inspired by the animal kingdom for a set promoting patience games.
2011 Worshipful Company Pack
Celebrating the bicentenary of the birth of Charles Dickens, with characters adapted from drawings b...
Jockey Club de Buenos Aires
Spanish-suited pack by Chas Goodall & Son Ltd for the Jockey Club, Buenos Aires.
New interest in old games
Games once fashionable are now eclipsed by quicker gratifications.
Polygo™
Cards of irregular, four-sided shape for playing word and colour games as well as more traditional o...
Treasures from the Bodleian Library
Rare books, manuscripts, music scores, portraits, maps, gospels, chronicles and other valuable artef...
Victorian grocer’s scale plate
Large flat plate decorated with highly coloured English cards and royal arms.
Queen of Arts
A wide variety of women artists celebrated on cards with illustrations by Laura Callaghan.
The Glasgow Pack
Issued to celebrate Glasgow’s reign as European City of Culture in 1990, with city views and works o...
Most Popular
Our top articles from the past 28 days
