board, spirit

Object

Accession Number
992.024.006.003
Alternate Name
Ouiji-board; talking board
Description
A plywood spirit board commonly named a Ouija-board (pronounced /ˈwiːdʒə/ WEE-jə, /-dʒi/ jee) with a maple top and back, the top with black block lettering and numbers, accompanying it the heart-shaped wooden playing piece called a planchette (992.024.006.002).
Narrative
Spiritualism was a popular interest in the 19th Century. The Ouija Board was patented in 1891 and was mass-produced thereafter. This one was made in the early 20th Century. Participants place their fingers on the planchette and it is moved about the board to spell words. Spiritualists thought that the dead could communicate with the living in this way. 

Spirit boards have been controversial for many years. The following passage is excerpted from the Wikipedia entry (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouija) accessed on April 3, 2020:


"Paranormal and supernatural beliefs associated with Ouija have been harshly criticized by the scientific community, since they are characterized as pseudoscience. The action of the board can be parsimoniously explained by unconscious movements of those controlling the pointer, a psychophysiological phenomenon known as the ideomotor effect.

Some Christian denominations have warned against using Ouija boards, holding that they can lead to demonic possession. Occultists, on the other hand, are divided on the issue, with some saying that it can be a tool for positive transformation; others reiterate the warnings of many Christians and caution inexperienced users against it."

History of Use
This Ouija-board was bought by the Bossi family of Victoria, B.C. in about 1914 and stayed in the family until it was donated to Craigdarroch by long-term Castle Society member Anita Mary Amelia Bossi (1903-1998). Her father, Calvin Andrew Bossi (1866-1951), arrived in Victoria from northern Italy in 1889 to manage the general store owned by his brother, Carlo Bossi.

In 1894, Calvin Bossi married Louise Caroline Schnek and they had three children: Olga Julia Louise (1895-1984); Alfred Louis (1901-1978); Anita Mary Amelia (1903-1998). None of the children married. As children, the two sisters and their brother played with this Ouija-board. The sisters later kept it at their Saanich, B.C. home at the corner of Quadra Street and Inverness Road, which their father and brother had built for them. The Misses Bossi both taught at nearby Cloverdale Elementary School. They were also former students of Victoria College at Craigdarroch Castle. 

Their father's cousin, Vincent Louis Bossi, was one of the 55 men, women, and children killed in the famed Point Ellice Bridge disaster of May 26, 1896. The poorly-maintained bridge collapsed on Victoria Day under the weight of a heavily-loaded streetcar.

The Italianate-styled brick house built in 1884 by Bossi family patriarch Gianfranco Bossi still stands at 1007 Johnson Street.
 
Date
circa 1914
Dimensions
30.2 x 0.8 x 45.3 cm
Material
Wood; Paint; Varnish
Brand Name
Ouija
Technique
Machined; Painted; Varnished
Country of Origin
Canada