Leisure activities in early modern England ranged from reading aloud to playing games and music. Players of emblem games, like the example seen here, would spin the wheel (with the arrow pinned in) until it falls upon a random number. This number directs you to a particular emblem (symbol) within a book. Everyone present is then expected to read and interpret the emblem. This sort of activity would take place in a principal room like the parlour or great chamber. Playing these games combined education, reading, leisure and hosting, all important markers of status for members of the middling sort. But leisure was not always viewed positively, especially if it involved gambling or drinking.<br /> <br /> This book frames this particular form of game as ‘moral’ and healthy rather than wasteful, noting on its title page that “instruction, and Good Counsel, may be furthered by an Honest and Pleasant Recreation”: it is short, everybody is a winner (as all the emblems are designed to be spiritually educational), and the game does not encourage swearing, gambling, or wasted time.
Emblem Game (Emblem game), 1635

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Emblem Game

Emblem Game (Emblem game), 1635

Leisure activities in early modern England ranged from reading aloud to playing games and music. Players of emblem games, like the example seen here, would spin the wheel (with the arrow pinned in) until it falls upon a random number. This number directs you to a particular emblem (symbol) within a book. Everyone present is then expected to read and interpret the emblem. This sort of activity would take place in a principal room like the parlour or great chamber. Playing these games combined education, reading, leisure and hosting, all important markers of status for members of the middling sort. But leisure was not always viewed positively, especially if it involved gambling or drinking.

This book frames this particular form of game as ‘moral’ and healthy rather than wasteful, noting on its title page that “instruction, and Good Counsel, may be furthered by an Honest and Pleasant Recreation”: it is short, everybody is a winner (as all the emblems are designed to be spiritually educational), and the game does not encourage swearing, gambling, or wasted time.

Object Type Emblem game
Year 1635
Material Print
Owned By Folger Shakespeare Library STC 25900c
Keywords playing; socialising; reading; hearing; consumption; hosting; dining; literacy; leisure; performance; reputation; visual culture; print
Image Credit Image from A Collection of Emblemes, Ancient and Modern by George Wither. Folger Shakespeare Library STC 25900c, fo. 204r. Used by permission of the Folger Shakespeare Library under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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