Anne Gunn nee Young (1756-1813) was a Scottish music teacher and inventor of a set of board games, Musical Games, created to teach children musical theory. She holds the first ever British patent for a board game, granted in 1801, and was the only female inventor to receive a patent in 1801.
Anne came from a musical family in East Lothian, following in her father’s footsteps. He was a vocal and instrumental instructor at the Haddington Grammar School. Anne would work as a music teacher in Edinburgh, tutoring young ladies in a variety of the musical arts.
Chawton House’s 2017 acquisition of her book Instructions for playing the musical game helped unlock the game for modern scholars as only two copies have survived. Read an article about this discovery here: A rare find at Chawton House Library – Chawton House
The game set consists of six different games or levels, and includes dice, pins, counters, and board. The game was intended for players with either some rudimentary knowledge or to be accompanied by the assistance of an instructor. Each of the games instructed players on how to identify clefs, intervals, cadences, scales, chords, and modulations.
Anne retired after marrying in 1802, and then nine years later was placed in an asylum until her death in 1813.
Her book was reissued posthumously in 1820. It included an additional six games.
