The popular party game Pin the tail on the donkey marketed here as The Game of the tail-less donkey. The box lid contains the rules on the inside, as well as advertisements for other Spear games. There are six donkey tails, with the evidence of heavy use. The illustration on the box lid shows a happy party scene with a blindfolded child attempting to pin the tail. The large donkey poster also reveals, on close examination, the pin holes accumulated over years of use.

The J W Spear Company was founded in 1878 and, at one time, had its printing works in Bavaria, Germany. The Standard Games Box was also made by Spear.

This game was owned by the Lucy family who lived at Modbury, north east of Adelaide, from 1873 until 1938. Ivy, born in 1893, recalls 'We lived far away from any shops and as it took several hours to get to Adelaide by horse and sulky we rarely went there, but sometimes Father brought home as a treat a mechanical toy or a special game.' (Bayfield, p. 3)

Arnold, Arnold. The world book of children's games, London: MacMillan, 1975 see: Chapter 8: Party games

Bayfield, Juliana. The Lucy Collection children's books and games of the nineteenth century / The State Library of South Australia Children's Literature Research Collection, [Adelaide: The Library], 1984

State Library of South Australia: Children's Literature Research Collection. The Lucy Collection

Leicestershire County Council: Heritage Collections: Table game 1920-1929

State Library of Victoria: Your treasures. Pin the tail on the donkey

Victoria and Albert Museum: Museum of Childhood. Collections. Toy manufacturers. J W Spear and Sons

State Library of South Australia: Mortlock Wing exhibitions. To be a child August 2004-