PATENT PENDING
Monopoly Game
c.1935


This is one of the earliest of the Parker Brothers versions of Monopoly. These were produced in mid-1935 before Parker Brothers had acquired any patents for the game. List of pieces include:

  • PATENT PENDING Game Box
  • TRADEMARK Version Rules Sheet
  • 16 Plain Text Chance Cards
  • 16 Plain Text Community Chest Cards
  • Full Set (28 Pcs) Title Deeds-Blank Backs
  • 10 Wooden Play Tokens
  • Darrow Style Monopoly Money-Includes
    • 3-$500 Bills
    • 23-$100 Bills
    • 28-$50 Bills
    • 8-$20 Bills
    • 55-$10 Bills
    • 36-$5 Bills
    • 55-$1 Bills
  • One Red Wooden Die
  • 12 Small Sized Wooden Hotels
  • 32 Green Wooden Houses

The game box is in pretty good condition, all the corners are intact, but the seam along the right side has come apart. Shows normal wear otherwise. The top shows some water stains and is a bit dirty, as shown in the photos.

The set of money is only partially complete, but there is enough to play the game. One of the original red wooden dice is missing.

This game comes with the TRADEMARK rule sheet, which is the version even earlier than the PATENT PENDING version, so I’m thinking this was one of the first PATENT PENDING sets produced, before the newer PATENT PENDING rule sheets were printed. The TRADEMARK rule sheet shows it’s age. It is in 3 pieces, top quarter, second quarter, and bottom half. It is all still there, but pretty delicate.

The Title Deeds are the Darrow style title deeds. The top section does not say Title Deed, like the later versions, and the rent for the unimproved lot is in the same list as the rents with houses, not a seperate title line like the later Parker Brothers deeds. The backs are all blank. The traditionally orange group, New York, etc, is more of a brown color.

The hotels are the earlier Darrow style, being shorter than the later Parker Brothers style. They are the same height as the houses, only longer. One of the hotels is shorter than the rest.

The money is also the earlier Darrow style and shows signs of use.