Parker Brothers
143+ years and still operating (founded 1883)
About Parker Brothers
George Parker founded his game company at age 16 convinced that games should be entertaining rather than moralistic. Parker Brothers famously rejected Monopoly before acquiring it in 1935 — a decision that made them a household name. Now a Hasbro brand.
Founding
George S. Parker, who at sixteen published a card game called Banking after being told that games should teach moral lessons and deciding that they should simply be fun; his brothers Charles and Edward joined later.
History of Parker Brothers
Parker Brothers built the American games industry on a premise directly opposed to Milton Bradley's founding moralism: games exist to be enjoyed. George Parker published hundreds of titles across sixty years and had an exceptional instinct for what would sell.
Monopoly is the company's defining and most complicated story. Parker Brothers bought it in 1935 from Charles Darrow, who presented it as his own invention; it was in fact a development of Elizabeth Magie's 1904 Landlord's Game, a Georgist teaching tool designed to demonstrate the injustice of land monopoly, which had circulated in folk versions for thirty years. Parker Brothers acquired Magie's patent too, for a small sum, and marketed Darrow's version. The game became the best-selling board game in history, promoting exactly what its originator intended to critique.
Clue, Sorry!, Risk, Payday, Boggle and Trivial Pursuit followed. General Mills bought the company in 1968, Tonka in 1987, and Hasbro in 1991 — which means Parker Brothers and Milton Bradley, rivals for a century, now sit in the same division of the same company.
Timeline
- 1883George S. Parker publishes his first game, Banking, in Salem, Massachusetts
- 1888The company becomes Parker Brothers as his brothers join
- 1904Elizabeth Magie patents The Landlord's Game, the ancestor of Monopoly
- 1935Parker Brothers acquires and publishes Monopoly
- 1949Cluedo is licensed from Britain and published as Clue
- 1959Risk is published in the United States
- 1991Hasbro acquires the company via Tonka
Notable & Best-Selling Toys
- Monopoly (1935)
- Clue/Cluedo (1949)
- Sorry! (1934)
- Risk (1959)
- Boggle
- Payday
- Trivial Pursuit (acquired 1988)
- Masterpiece
Identifying & Dating Parker Brothers Toys
- Look for "Parker Brothers, Inc." with "Salem, Mass." and a copyright date on the box lid, board and rules sheet.
- Monopoly editions are dated by board design, token material, box style and the copyright text, all of which are catalogued in detail by collectors.
- Post-1968 issues may carry General Mills, Tonka or Hasbro attribution, which brackets them.
Collector's Notes
- Early Monopoly — the 1935 and 1936 issues, the black-box and white-box sets, and the wooden-token and long-box variants — is the collected area, and provenance and completeness are everything.
- For all games, completeness against the rules sheet and box condition decide value. Mid-century mass editions are plentiful and worth little.
- Pre-Monopoly Parker games from the 1890s and 1900s are collected for their lithographed boxes and are often more interesting than the games inside them.
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Frequently Asked Questions
When was Parker Brothers founded?
Parker Brothers was founded in 1883, based in Salem, MA.
Is Parker Brothers still in business?
Yes. Parker Brothers is still operating today, 143+ years after it was founded.
What is Parker Brothers best known for?
Parker Brothers is best known for Monopoly (1935), Clue/Cluedo (1949), Sorry! (1934), among other toys.
Where was Parker Brothers located?
Parker Brothers was based in Salem, MA.
What kinds of toys did Parker Brothers make?
Parker Brothers is categorized under games, board games, card games.
Who founded Parker Brothers?
George S. Parker, who at sixteen published a card game called Banking after being told that games should teach moral lessons and deciding that they should simply be fun; his brothers Charles and Edward joined later.
How can you identify genuine Parker Brothers toys?
Look for "Parker Brothers, Inc." with "Salem, Mass." and a copyright date on the box lid, board and rules sheet. Monopoly editions are dated by board design, token material, box style and the copyright text, all of which are catalogued in detail by collectors. Post-1968 issues may carry General Mills, Tonka or Hasbro attribution, which brackets them.
Are Parker Brothers toys valuable?
Early Monopoly — the 1935 and 1936 issues, the black-box and white-box sets, and the wooden-token and long-box variants — is the collected area, and provenance and completeness are everything. For all games, completeness against the rules sheet and box condition decide value. Mid-century mass editions are plentiful and worth little. Pre-Monopoly Parker games from the 1890s and 1900s are collected for their lithographed boxes and are often more interesting than the games inside them.