Trampulínek

The company “Josef Chroust / Nakladatelství dětských her” (Josef Chroust / Children’s Game Publisher) produced paper models for children, as well as small card games for children. Records of Josef Chroust’s production date back to the 1930s and 1940s. It ceased operations no later than 1948 in connection with the communist coup in Czechoslovakia. The official dissolution of the company is documented as late as 1955. The exact name of the company was not consistent during its production period; Petr Kruml also recorded the form of the name “Samouk - Chroust a Oettl, nakladatelství dětských her ” with the mention of a silent partner.

A wide range of simple card games shares several common features and manufacturing techniques. A deck typically contains 18–24 cards measuring approximately 80 x 55 mm. The paper used does not meet standard card production specifications; it is single-ply and coarser. The rules of the game are printed on the back of the packaging. The manufacturer’s name is not listed on the cards, but the products can always be identified by the distinctive logo featuring a beetle, usually on the packaging with the text “ZÁKONEM CHRÁNĚNO” (protected by law ). The logo depicts an insect of the genus Melolontha, which shares its name with the manufacturer (Chroust = English: Cockchafer / Maybug). It is also typically incorporated into the reverse side of the cards .

One such product is the game Trampulínek. It contains 12 pairs of cards depicting a little boy enjoying the outdoors and various sports activities. Although the cards form pairs, each one has a unique design. The pairs are identified by the number in the circle in the upper left corner of the card. The set also includes a single card without a number, on which the boy is holding a trophy and a winner’s wreath.

Above: Trampulínek card game produced by Josef Chroust (Children’s Game Publisher), Prague, Czechoslovakia, 1940. 25 cards in box + rules.

The rules describe a game similar to Old Maid / Black Peter, but in reverse. Whoever is left with the odd card at the end is the winner. Chroust also published the game Black Peter . The popularity of the Trampulínek game is evidenced by a small note on the front of the packaging, “v.vyd.”, which can be translated as “fifth edition.”

The title of the game, “Trampulínek,” is commonly understood in the Czech context and explains the theme of the illustrations. It can be interpreted simply as a diminutive of the word “tramp”, but more likely as a combination of “tramp” and the name “Budulínek”. Budulínek is a traditional Czech fairy-tale character. He is a little boy who ignores the warnings of his grandparents, who take care of him. He allows himself to be deceived by a fox, who carries him off to her den. Colloquially, the older generation today uses the name as a synonym for a toddler. (Josef Chroust also produced a game with this title .

The “tramp” is a representative of the mass movement of the proletariat and part of the middle class that emerged after World War I. It is a Czech-Slovak phenomenon and a subculture that remains alive to this day (albeit in decline), with its own aesthetic, moral code, and folk music. Urban youth escape to spend the weekend outside the city in the “wilderness” and style themselves after the heroes of American Westerns, as popularized by pulp literature and films.

References

• Detailed information about the manufacturer can be found in Petr Kruml’s article “Josef Šváb - Josef Chroust” in the 2016 Yearbook of the Czech Playing Card Collectors’ Club. The examples of boxes from other games used in this article also come from this source
• Sample paper cutouts from Josef Chroust’s production (in Czech) ►
• Wikipedia : An introductory overview of Czechoslovak Tramping ►