Click HERE to see Barny's Monopoly collection
History of Monopoly
Monopoly
was created by a man called Charles Darrow. A victim of the Great Depression, he
made use of his extra leisure time by inventing things. His early ideas were not
big successes, but when he created Monopoly, Darrow
hit the jackpot.
The first board was drawn on his oilskin tablecloth. For place names, he named the squares on the boards after his favorite seaside resorts, Atlantic City. Darrow hand-crafted the houses and hotels in wood, hand-wrote the title deeds and cards, and, for the playing pieces, used charms from his wife’s bracelet.
In 1934, Charles B. Darrow of Germantown, Pennsylvania, showed a game he called Monopoly to the executives at Parker Brothers. The game was rejected due to "52 fundamental errors"! The unemployed Darrow decided to produce it on his own.
With a friend, Darrow sold 5,000 handmade sets of the game to a Philadelphia department store. People loved it! But as demand grew, he couldn't keep up with all the orders and went back to talk to Parker Brothers. This time Parker Brothers decided to buy the game! Its first year, 1935, Monopoly was the best-selling game in America.
Monopoly crossed the
Atlantic, arriving in England in 1935, where it was manufactured by Waddingtons.
It was Victor Watson senior, the head of Waddingtons at the time, and his
secretary Marjory Phillips, who chose the London place names for the British
version — Ms
Phillips apparently going for a walk round London to choose suitable sites.
Monopoly is so much a part of today's popular culture that lawyers have trademarked many of its graphic elements. The tokens, Railroad, Community Chest, Chance, and Title Deed designs, as well as Boardwalk and all four game board corners are legally protected.
Some Monopoly Facts:
- Monopoly is licensed or sold in 80 countries and produced in 26 languages.
- Over 200 million games have been sold worldwide.
- More than five billion little green houses have been "built" since 1935.
- A set made by my friends at Alfred Dunhill, with gold houses and silver hotels, sold for $25,000.
- The longest game in history lasted 1680 hours (70 Days).
- The longest game in a bathtub lasted 99 hours!
- Longest game underwater: 45 days
- Longest game played upside-down: 36 hours
- Escape maps, compasses, and files were inserted into Monopoly game boards and smuggled into POW camps inside Germany during World War II. Real money for escapees was slipped into the packs of Monopoly money.
- The largest outdoor game ever played used a game board 938 feet wide by 765 feet long.
- The largest indoor game ever played used a game board 122 feet by 122 feet in size.
- 15,140 (standard currency) Monopoly money comes with a standard set? The
total is $15,140.
The most expensive property on the original board was Boardwalk, costing $400.
Similar properties on subsequent boards used:
The United Kingdom - Mayfair (£400)
Australia - Kings Avenue ($400)
Brussels Edition - Rue Neuve (400 €)
Belgium - Rue Neuve, Brussels (400 €)
Chester & Cheshire - Chester Cathedral (400 GBP)
Denmark - Norrmalmstorg (KR 8.000)
France - Rue de la Paix (4000F)
Germany - Schlossallee (DM 8000)
Hong Kong - Shatin ($120)
Hungary - Dunakorzo (40,000FT)
Ireland - Shrewsbury Road (£400)
Italy - Piazza Giulio Cesare (L28000)
Lancashire - Lancaster Castle (£400)
Manchester - St Anne's Square (£400)
Manchester United F.C. - Alex Ferguson (£400)
Netherlands - Kalverstraat (Amsterdam) (F40000)
Norway - Radhus Plassen (8000 KR.)
Portugal - Rossio (lisboa) (40.000$00)
Russia - (400 pyб)
South Africa - Eloff Street (R400)
Spain - Paseo Del Prado (40,000 ESP)
Venezuela - Paseo Tablado ($400)
Wales - Caernarvon Castle (£400)
Yorkshire - York Minster (£400)
Batman & Robin - Wayne Manor ($400)
Coronation Street - Rovers Return (£400)
Disney - 101 Dalmations (400)
France 98 - Brazil (£400)
National Parks - Yellowstone $400)
Pokemon - Giovanni's Gym (400)
Star Wars - Coruscant (400)
The Simpsons - The Gilded Truffle ($280)
Wizard of OZ - Home Sweet Home ($400)
