<p>Factory staff at Pung Wo Co. Factory No. 1, 1923<br /> Shanghai<br /> Courtesy of the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, PR 02 CN 1 (F)</p>

Factory staff at Pung Wo Co. Factory No. 1, 1923
Shanghai
Courtesy of the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, PR 02 CN 1 (F)

<p>American women playing a floating game of Mah-Jongg, c. 1924<br /> Location in the U.S. unknown<br /> Courtesy of the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, LC-DIG-npcc-11609</p>

American women playing a floating game of Mah-Jongg, c. 1924
Location in the U.S. unknown
Courtesy of the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, LC-DIG-npcc-11609

American expatriate Joseph Park Babcock, who is known for bringing Mah-Jongg to the United States, developed a love for the original game while working for the Standard Oil Company in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. By the early 1920s, he created a version with simplified rules and began exporting Mah-Jongg sets – setting off a craze back home. The Pung Wo Co., also known as the Mei Ren Company, was another major exporter of the game.

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