A boxed Parlour tennis set (incomplete) with a long-handled bat, two short-handled bats, two membranes for bats, table net with poles and vice for fixng to table top. The rules are printed on the lid of box.

The rules include: underhand serves only and one serve only is allowed, no volleying. There are also directions for fixing the posts and net to the table including suggested height for a seven-foot table. Advice is also given for tightening the battledores, and for uncrushing the ball. Games manufacturers experimented with various materials for the ball, including rubber and cork, before settling on celluloid.

Parlour tennis, variously called ping-pong, gossima, indoor tennis, pom-pom or table tennis among many names, was a development of the late 19th century. A number of companies produced versions of the game. It was the precursor of the modern and highly competitive game of table tennis.

This version was produced by the Adelaide based company E. S. Wigg & Son's, best known as manufacturing stationers. They began business in 1849, and during the 1850s expanded into other areas including sportsgoods.

Daily Telegraph:Quite interesting. Table tennis

E S Wigg and Son. History

International table tennis federation: A comprehensive history of table tennis