Rare c. 1880s Palmer Cox Brownies Matching Game Cards (Partial Set) wooden captains This is the second of

This is the second of these wonderful old push button boxing toys I've found--how to resist

The thumb press is surrounded by a sort of gray canvas material that is still both pliable and completely sound without holes or cracks

4 1/2" across where handle meets brush

I didn't realize quite how great this box was until I went to pack up a whole bunch of odds and ends of a variety of shapes and sizes---they all  wound up fitting neatly and safely inside of it

A little dirty

Rare c. 1880s Palmer Cox Brownies Matching Game Cards (Partial Set) wooden captains This is the second ofThese seem to be quite the rare cards; I have only found one reference to them out there, from a baseball card afficionado relative to the two baseball player depictions included! Certainly there is a fair amount of material out there featuring the Brownies imaginary sprites invented by Canadian author and illustrator Palmer Cox, apparently based on Celtic mythology and highland Scottish tales told to Cox by his grandmother but these I believe are