Spelka

Spelka is a word game published by John Jaques & Son Ltd in c.1908, founded on the older game of Spelling Bee. The pack contains 52 cards, each card showing a letter of the alphabet and a number in the corner indicating how many cards with that letter are in the pack and also how many points the loser has to pay. See the Rules►

Above: cards from Spelka, a word game published by John Jaques & Son Ltd, c.1908. 52 cards + score card + rule booklet + leaflet in box.

Above: click the box to zoom. We note that John Jaques & Son is now a limited company by this time and had been since 1904 or just before.

Above: the leaflet enclosed with the game has a photo of actors playing Spelka which also appeared in press releases at the time, suggesting that the game was popular amongst celebrities. The actors include: Eille Norwood (1861–1948); Oscar Asche (1887–1936); Alfred Bishop (1848–1928); Albert Chevalier (1861–1923) and James Welch (1865–1917).

See Press Photo►

Above: the back design of the cards.

Above: the back score card.