Wonders of Nature hand coloured game sheet by Edward Wallis 1818

WALLIS, Edward (1787-1868). Wonders of Nature, in Each Quarter of the World.
 
London: E. Wallis, 42 Skinner Street, and 12 High Street, Islington, [1818]
 
Folding engraved and hand-coloured game sheet, dissected and mounted on linen as issued, c. 620 x 470 mm, folding into twelve sections. With accompanying booklet: 8vo, [20] pp., titled Explanation to Wallis’s Elegant and Instructive Game.
 
Lacking the original slipcase. Game sheet complete, colours bright and well-preserved, some light surface wear and a few minor marks at folds, some edges curled, as expected. Linen backing sound with a couple of repairs to the reverse. Booklet worn and creased with some browning and edge wear; a contemporary hand has added manuscript rule amendments in several places. An about very good example.  
 
Edward Wallis, successor to the prolific publisher John Wallis, was among the leading producers of juvenile and instructional games in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. He produced here a popular and educational board game in the form of a game of the goose, guiding players through a sequence of natural wonders across the globe. 
 
The engraved vignettes depict sites including Niagara Falls, Mount Etna, the Geysers of Iceland, and the basalt formations of Staffa, combining entertainment with didactic geographical and scientific content. The accompanying booklet provides both rules and descriptive accounts of each location.  The linen backed game sheet and instructions found together in presentable condition is a rarity.