Indiana of the 1890’s seemed abound with crokinole. Many early American references to the game come from the Hooiser State. From the many newspaper excerpts it was clear that it had become a social phenomenon; Crokinole clubs formed, YMCAs purchased them for their clientele, cities decreed champions, and many social gatherings made this the centerpiece of their entertainment. This was true for those who were married and it was especially popular among mixed gatherings of young people who used it as an opportunity to fraternize with the opposite sex.
As we found from the last post, not all who played crokinole were enamored by it. Here is a take in the same vein, but this time in jest, by someone called ‘The Owl.’ The anonymous writer had a column called Our Own Owl’s Olio. Olio referring to a miscellaneous collection of things. The column included takes on various subjects, done humorously with a drop of feigned irritability and subtle jabs that locals would understand. This series appeared in the newspaper, TheCharlestown Hooiser Democrat. Located in southern Indiana, the paper’s namesake had about 900 citizens at this time.
This segment was taken from the Olio, October 6, 1899.
Burlington, Indiana thought they were in for a treat when they hosted the famous poet James Whitcomb Riley. A hugely popular writer, he penned countless poems, and toured the country on the lecture circuit which increased his fame. His works were the inspiration for Little Orphan Annie and he gave us the adage, “If it looks like a duck…” and many children’s poems as well.
The ‘little hamlet’ of 300 souls wanted to give their fellow Indianan, the ‘Hooiser Poet,’ an unforgettable time. Here is the account of that visit in the Delphi Times of February 12, 1892.
You may have had a similar experience. I know I have where I invite someone over, wine and dine, and top off the night with an introduction to crokinole. Usually it ends favorably and the guest knows that this is good stuff. But sometimes, just like in crokinole, you inexplicably miss the mark and you want your unappreciative guest, just like your errant disk, to end up in a ditch. Now the good people of Burlington did not quite say that, they probably had too much mid-western manner to say that out loud. But I’m sure that they thought they and crokinole would be the next subject of one of his popular poems. Luckily, their good-nature prevailed and they were not as sore as Mr. Riley’s finger.
Advertisement published in Everybody’s Magazine 1902.
Edward Mikkelsen learned a valuable lesson from his former business associate. Mikkelsen, an immigrant from Denmark, moved to Chicago in 1879 to take care of his sick brother, and made a comfortable living as a cabinet maker. He started his business, Edw. Mikkelsen & Co. in 1882. By the 1890’s, a well-established Mikkelsen, partnered with John Gabel, a young inventive and ambitious Hungarian immigrant. They formed the Automatic Machine Tool Company in 1898. Gabel was an early developer of slot machines and music boxes, think ‘juke’ variety (possession of a Gabel model today, slot or musical, would gain you a small fortune). Mikkelsen provided the capital and cabinetry to house the machinery for each unit. Within a year, the two decided to part ways over, among other things, the importance of advertising. Mikkelsen espoused that the machines should sell themselves while Gabel believed people can’t buy what they don’t know exists. Mikkelsen wanted out and sold his interest to Gabel but he kept the right to provide cabinets. It seemed like a smart move for both parties.
Mikkelsen certainly realized his mistake as he watched Gabel find success. Although, he still supplied the cabinetry, he knew he erred in his business strategy. He acknowledged the need to advertise. When he applied this strategy to his new game making venture, he unwittingly established a legacy of producing the most visually pleasing crokinole advertisements and boards ever created.
Ad from Cosmopolitan (1901) for the Owl Board No. 2
‘The Owl’ takes flight
Edw. Mikkelsen & Co. offered two styles of board referred to as No.1 and No. 2. No. 1, the top model, offered 100 games of play and was adorned with beautiful graphics, specifically owls that gave the board its less generic namesake, The Owl Combination Game Board. In 1903, The American Stationer (Vol. 54), a marketing publication, described the board as “one of the most artistically designed and popular boards on the market” and “handsome, decorated in bright colored marquetry transfer work…”. No. 2 had less frills graphically and less games (75) and was the more economical alternative. No. 1 had more pieces (109 vs 60). The most notable additions were table legs, dice and pawns. Both came with a revolving stand.
Booklet that came with a Board No. 2 when I purchased it.
Each board included The Owl Game, a carroms-style game, whose rules deliberately avoided using that term. The year 1902 marked the publishing date of the Owl rule pamphlet, it was also the year that Ludington Novelty Company (eventually the Carrom Company) sued the Leonard Game Company over the use of the term ‘carroms’ (Ludington Novelty Co. v. Leonard, 119 F. 937, 1902). The case centered on whether ‘carroms’ was a generic term or one that could be protected by trademark. It looked like Mikkelsen decided to stay clear of the conflict by creating an alternative to the title carroms.
It was typical of combination board manufacturers to one-up their competitors by stretching out the number of games offered by counting slight rule variations as separate entities. For example, The Owl Game accounted for five games based on tweaks to the basic rules. Other games of note included Old Mill (Nine Men’s Morris), pool, several pin oriented games and an interesting fortune telling game loosely based on the way that runes are used for prognostication. Entries 75-100, unique to Board No. 1, included games like the Star Game (similar to Sorry or Pachisi), point-centered games, most notable Backgammon, and Fox and Geese. Again, variations helped stretch the count to the century mark.
Rule Booklet for both No. 1 and No. 2 Boards.
A somewhat unique feature of the Mikkelsen boards, is the use of wooden posts. Each is hollow with a screw placed in the middle to secure it to the board. Contemporary manufacturers like M.B. Ross, Archarena, and Carrom used rubber. Mikkelsen went so far as to protect this improvement by patenting it in 1906, but had applied for it as early as 1903. He cited that rubber ‘pins’ were costly, did not last as long nor produced any sound when hit by rings. Where’s the fun in that? Some contemporaries like the Leonard Company used wooden pegs and eventually the Carrom Company transitioned over as well.
Why the owl moniker? Other companies used interesting graphics, but they were usually associated with game play; the Carrom Company incorporated designs on their crokinole boards to designate quadrants and scoring rings. The owls on the No. 1 board played no such role and were soley there to enhance the beauty of the board and to demark it from its competitors. It was only fitting that the remarkable owls surround the crokinole playing surface since the game was the main feature of these boards. When viewing the No. 1, the owls and crokinole center command your attention and makes it one of the most striking models ever produced.
Interestingly, the owl name and imagery were used by gambling machine maker, the Mills Novelty Company, who Gabel worked for, and by Gabel himself, when he began making machines, when he set out with Mikkelsen. Mikkelsen who built the cabinets, knew the machine names and saw the graphics being used, and must have liked the images too and used them for his games. Since there wasn’t any direct competition between a slot machine designed for saloons and a family oriented parlor game, there was probably no issue in its use. Mikkelsen’s versions include cues and rings, acting as a perch for the owl.
Owl image on crokinole side of No. 1 Board, very similar to images found on Mills and Gabel gambling machines.Crokinole side of the No. 1 board. This side was used for Crokinole, the Owl Game and Fox and Geese. Stencil detail of crokinole side of the No. 1 board.Well used crokinole twenty hole, the patented wooden pegs and section for Fox and Geese. Backside of No. 1, compared to No. 2 (see below), you can see the addition of backgammon and other graphics with multi-color design.
He gets a lot of mileage out of the owl. There are four located on the crokinole side of the No. 1 board, and a more crudely designed owl is stenciled on both styles of boards. Owls appear on the rule books and in many of the ads. Although he changed his ways and adopted advertising, he did hold unto his belief by making the boards aesthetically pleasing, so they could sell themselves as well.
Close Up (Good Housekeeping 1903) , ad for Owl Board No. 1Elaborate piece from Everybody’s Magazine 1902. How many owls do you see?A closer look at the action.Stenciled owl brand stamp from Board No. 2.Patent date noted on both styles. Checker board side of Board No. 2, note Nine Men’s Morris (Old Mill ), this side would have provided the real estate for pin orientated and carrom style games. The star stenciled crokinole center of Board No. 2, note the wooded style pegs. Owl Board No. 2, crokinole side. Simple design, but the stencils still command attention.
What happened to the Owl Board and Edward Mikkelsen? He produced other games, most notably the Owl Hockey Game (I would love to discover one). I did not find any other crokinole variations beyond the No. 1 & 2 boards. He advertised in several papers in the early 1900’s. I found examples ranging from 1901-1907 in newspapers in cities like New York and Boston and states like Kansas, Iowa, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Nevada. Being centered in Chicago gave him great reach to market and ship his games, and the city itself offered plenty of customers.
Soaring withSears Catalogs and Games
Then there is the Sears conundrum. The massive retail giant and catalog king seemed like the ideal means to sell product…if you could secure a place in the book. They offered vast exposure through their catalogs while receiving favorable shipping rates due to their volume. Securing space would be a manufacturer’s golden ticket The fact that both Sears and Mikkelsen were located in Chicago made the opportunity to deal more realistic.
Seroco Board from Sears catalog 1909.
Sears had reason to be interested. There was a crokinole boom in the 1890’s in the US. Sears started offering boards in 1899, a combination board called Bombardo and a basic crokinole-style board (MB Ross board?). Starting in 1901, Sears had their own brand of combination crokinole board under the name Seroco (Sears Roebuck and Company). This selection of boards lasted until 1903. From 1904 through the Spring of 1910, the Seroco was the only game in town. This changed in the fall of 1910 when the Owl Boards appeared by name in the catalog and then again in the spring of 1911. Mikkelsen struck a deal.
Official Owl Board No. 1, Sears Catalog Fall of 1910.Owl No. 2, Sears Catalog Fall of 1910.
However, it was short-lived. By the fall catalog of 1911 and through the spring catalog of 1913, the Owl Boards suddenly changed their names. There were two boards for sale called the Perfection Reversible Combination Game Board and the Monarch Combination Game Board. Based on the images, these were clearly Owl Boards No. 1 and No. 2. The write-ups were essentially the same and the owl imagery was noticeable in the illustrations. On a positive note, the boards were cheaper.
From the Sears Catalog 1912, this is the No. 1 Owl Board.Sears Catalog 1912, this is Mikkelsen’s No. 2 Board.
What happened? Did Mikkelsen sell the rights? His factory suffered a fire with a total loss in May of 1911. A devastating fire, it caused $100,000 in damage, destroying a piano manufacturer who shared the building and killed a fireman. By June he and the piano company found a new building with 30,000 square feet of space and leased it for 5 years at $35,000.
Did he decide to sell rights to Sears and his remaining stock and focus on his cabinetry production? This part of the story is not clear. Mikkelsen boards last appear in the Sears Catalog spring 1913, the last owl-style board, under its new name, is advertised. The fall of 1913,introduces Carrom Company boards, the illustrations clearly show the classic board line. Once again the company and board names are not mentioned specifically. Owl flew the coop.
The end of the owl trail is not the end of Mikkelsen. He continues with cabinetry making with such items like a cabinet for soiled towels which appears in an ad from 1915. He takes out a patent in 1918 for a door catch. There may be more examples of his endeavors. Edward died in 1926 in Chicago and is buried in the Mount Olive Cemetery of that city.
Loose End
I found online an old auction for a Seroco box that contained the pieces for the board. The box had a picture of a family playing games which is the exact scene used by Mikkelsen in his rule book and ads, going back to 1902. The Seroco board itself is also very similar in style, construction and graphics (minus the owls) to the Mikkelsen boards. Did Sears copy his board and imagery prior to selling the Owl Board? Did Mikkelsen use this to his advantage, threaten a lawsuit, and this being the reason for Seroco’s disappearance and the Owl substitution in the catalog in 1911 ? Did Mikkelsen produce boards for Sears to sell under their own branding? Regardless, it is peculiar that the Owl Board is sold by Sears after it discontinued its own board, a board so similar. Hopefully answers will present themselves one day.
Ad from The Democrat, Wichita, Kansas, December 19, 1903. This is the same image used on the Seroco pieces box of unknown date. This image is also on the back page of the Owl rules booklet from 1902. Seroco pieces box with same picture. See the owl? Why would Seroco use the owl related image?
Legacy
As a crokinole fanatic, I find that most boards, even the most utilitarian examples offer something in craftsmanship or artistry. While many mass produced boards started losing artistic touches to maximize game choice and probably profits, Mikkelsen created a board that commanded attention while offering variety. Mikkelsen did learn from his prior partner that advertising is important and was able to hitch his star to the Amazon-like Sears, but he also created a board that could truly sell itself. When crokinole board makers today use striking graphics and consider the artistry of their craft, they are following in the steps of Mikkelsen.
*A special thanks goes out to Rick Crandall whose research on John Gabel allowed me to see a glimpse of Edward Mikkelsen. Check out his work on slot and music machines at https://www.rickcrandall.net/ Sources for other information in this article will be shared upon request. Boards and rule books in images are my own.
