Skip to content
Pitt Rivers Museum
AboutHire the MuseumNewsletterUniversity of Oxford

1904.52.3.1

Stick and tip-cat for playing the game of "stick and bail". Long stick [.1] and shorter stick [.2] pointed at both ends. [E.S-R 'DCF 2004-2006 What's Upstairs?' 25/1/2005]

1904.52.3.1

Digital asset copyright: Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford

Terms and Conditions

If you wish to order a high-resolution image and/or licence its use for print or web publication, exhibition, film, promotional product or any other use, whether in the academic or commercial sector of any print run, then please visit photographic services.

Collection type
Object
Description
Stick and tip-cat for playing the game of "stick and bail". Long stick [.1] and shorter stick [.2] pointed at both ends. [E.S-R 'DCF 2004-2006 What's Upstairs?' 25/1/2005]
Cultural groups
English
Person
Maker W. Carter
Field collector Thomas James Carter
PRM source Thomas James Carter
Date / Period
Date made: Before 1904
Date collected
Before 1904
Acquisition information
Purchased: 1904
Materials and processes
Material Wood Plant, Process Carved
Dimensions
Length: max 737 mm, Length: max 131 mm
Object numbers
Accession number: 1904.52.3.1 Accession number: 1904.52.3.2
Research and responses

OED online: Tip-cat: 2. A game in which the wooden cat or tip-cat (see 1) is struck or ‘tipped’ at one end with a stick so as to spring up, and then knocked to a distance by the same player ...

http://www.1771.org/cd_tipcat.htm: Tip cat, also called ONE-A-CAT, is an outdoor game dating back at least to the 17th Century. It was introduced to North America and elsewhere by English colonists. The game was widely popular in 19th-century Great Britain and in early 20th-century North America. Although there are many varieties of the game, all involve a stick about 3 ft (1 m) long used as a bat, and a piece of wood (the cat) about 4 in. (10 cm) long, 1 to 2 in. (2.5 to 5 cm) thick, and tapered at the ends. The cat is placed on the ground, struck at one end to propel it upward (tipping the cat), and then slammed with the stick as far as possible. In one version, the batter tries to round the bases, as in baseball, before the fielder retrieves the cat and throws it back to home base. If a batter misses the cat three times or if a fielder catches it on a fly, the batter is out. Earlier versions of the game are based on guessing the distance that the cat is hit, scoring points according to the number that comes up on a four-sided cat, and running from base to base on a large circle while the cat is being retrieved. Some authorities consider tip-cat a forerunner of baseball and cricket.

http://museums.leics.gov.uk/collections-on-line/GetObjectAction.do?objectKey=273976

Tipcat is a game played with two sticks. The smaller stick (the "cat") is hit at the end with the larger stick so that the cat flies into the air. The larger stick is then used a second time to drive the cat forward. To facilitate hitting the cat into the air, it is often pointed at one or both ends. [AP 22/01/2008]

It is possible that the W. Carter said to have made this, might actually be 'Mr Carter' [this is a common mistranscription], ie T.J. Carter [AP 22/01/2008]

Search terms: Toy and Game, Toy

Further items to explore