Pewter Towle Shell Game in Original Box fabric-lined This little cast-iron snail sculpture

This little cast-iron snail sculpture is a wonderful thing to hold in your hand: weighty and substantial

hanging upside down

and date from the 1960s-80s

finely hand-embroidered pouch

and seeing the design and illustrations in this old copy reminds me of both their strangeness and their magic

Pewter Towle Shell Game in Original Box fabric-lined This little cast-iron snail sculptureThis is the second of these c. 1970s Towle Walnut Shell Games I've had in the shop, which I think are great for all sorts of situations, from cocktail parties to serving as a fun alternative to coin tosses or Rock Paper Scissors for settling all sorts of matters. The pewter walnuts themselves are terrific objects, useful as paper weights or just sitting around. The set of three fit in neat little cutouts in the cardboard base of the original blue box,