Under this heading I have grouped together some unusual games involving shuttlecocks whose existence is known only from one or two contemporary illustrations.

Catch the Shuttlecock:

From the two known illustrations of this game it can be deduced that the object is for one player to hit the shuttlecock into the air using a bat of some sort and for the other player to catch the shuttlecock with their hands before it can land. The descriptive name given to the game is mine. I have no idea of it's offical title.

The two known pieces of contemporary evidence of the existence of the game are as follows:

• The first is a colourfully engraved "Reward of Merit" card given by a teacher to a pupil, circa 1850's. On the left of the card is a boy in the costume of the period with a strung racket in his hand, whilst on the right a young girl in a long dress and wearing a bonnet, is about to catch the airborne shuttlecock.

• The second picture is on a Leibig Trade card issued in 1904 in a series featuring dances. It shows a man on the right holding a bat which resembles a cricket bat. On the left is a lady who is also about to catch the airborne shuttlecock.

Drum Shuttlecock:

This game is very similar to Battledore and Shuttlecock in it's execution but instead of the normal bat, players use an instrument reminiscent of a tambourine [without the bells] to hit the shuttlecock to each other. Another way of describing the bats would be to liken them to the circular early drum rackets used in Badminton and Table Tennis, but without the handle. From the known illustrations it cannot be deduced whether the frames had a skin or parchment on one side or on both. I have given the game it's descriptive title but there is a similar surviving game from around the 1930's, called "BING-IT" which has a loop attached attached to the drum into which the player's hand can be inserted.

• Contemporary evidence for the early existence of this game can be found on an artist drawn trade card and on a few postcards. From these it can also be seen that the game could be played with either a ball or a shuttlecock.

Jeu de la Comete:

The only evidence for this game is a line drawn illustration which appears in a 19th Century French toymaker's catalogue. It depicts two player's hands opposite each other, each holding a two pronged forked rod. Between them is another rod which has an arrow head at one end and a feather shuttlecock-like tail at the other. From the illustration it can be seen that object of the game is for one player to engage the arrow head in the fork of the rod and propel it to the other player who must catch it in the fork of his or her rod.

Ndi:

is the shuttlecock game which the Meau tribe in the north western corner of Thailand are known to have played in the 1940's. They used a primitively carved wooden bat as a battledore whilst the shuttlecock was made from a two inch long piece of bamboo with three feathers wedged into one end. Evidence for this is contained in a book published in 1947, called "Akha and Meau" by the anthropologist, Hugo Adolf Bernatzik.

In addition to a meticulous description of the game the book also contains a black and white photograph of a Meau maiden hitting a shuttlecock. I do not know whether the game is still played today.