{"product_id":"heritage-mah-jongg-market-tote-big-joker","title":"Heritage Mah Jongg Market Tote - The Big Joker","description":"\u003c!--\nMERLIN CLASSICS R4.3SP PRODUCT MINI HUB - HERITAGE SERIES - Heritage Mah Jongg Market Tote - The Big Joker\nWhat changed: v001 NEW build Mon Nov 2 2026: five paragraphs (hook, sell, story, story, product details with care); keywords meta, article tags, BreadcrumbList and FAQPage added; top button to The Mah Jongg Collection, tail button to Mah Jongg Ornaments\nGKP 466: shared ladder R1 166\/1338 = 12.4% | R2 333\/607 = 54.9% | two-run 499\/1945 = 25.7% - CLOSED Mon Nov 2 2026 | GKP number penciled, confirm against workbook\nKeywords: 10 published (tier-ordered) | Tags: 10\nIP Clean: no league, card, tile maker, app, title or living person named\nContent audit: PASS - facts checked Mon Nov 2 2026; hook 19 words\n--\u003e\n\u003cmeta name=\"keywords\" content=\"mahjong tote bag, mahjong tote, mah jong tote, mah jong tote bag, mahj tote, antique mahjong set, vintage mahjong set, mahj tote bag, history of mahjong in america, when did mahjong come to america\"\u003e\n\u003cmeta property=\"article:tag\" content=\"mahjong tote bag\"\u003e\u003cmeta property=\"article:tag\" content=\"mahjong tote\"\u003e\u003cmeta property=\"article:tag\" content=\"mah jong tote\"\u003e\u003cmeta property=\"article:tag\" content=\"mah jong tote bag\"\u003e\u003cmeta property=\"article:tag\" content=\"mahj tote\"\u003e\u003cmeta property=\"article:tag\" content=\"antique mahjong set\"\u003e\u003cmeta property=\"article:tag\" content=\"vintage mahjong set\"\u003e\u003cmeta property=\"article:tag\" content=\"mahj tote bag\"\u003e\u003cmeta property=\"article:tag\" content=\"history of mahjong in america\"\u003e\u003cmeta property=\"article:tag\" content=\"when did mahjong come to america\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/merlinclassics.store\/collections\/mah-jongg-collection\" style=\"display:block;width:100%;box-sizing:border-box;text-align:center;padding:14px 18px;margin:16px 0;background:#A9C7A1;color:#111111;font-weight:600;text-decoration:none;border-radius:4px;white-space:nowrap;\"\u003eMore Mah Jongg Items\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhere did America's first mah jongg sets come from?\u003c\/strong\u003e Largely from China, carved in part from American cattle bone that sailed to Shanghai and came back as tiles.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHere is a tote fit for a shopping story. The Big Joker goes to the market on plain natural cotton, simple and sturdy, for the player who likes a good object and a good tale about where things really come from.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe first American sets were sold by a New York outfitter whose agents scoured China for them. Prices at one department store ran from $16 to $75. In October 1923, one ship was reported carrying 170 tons of sets, and by 1924 they ranked sixth among Shanghai's exports to the United States.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDemand strained the supply of bone. Much of it came from Chicago slaughterhouses, shipped across the Pacific, carved by families who might finish about one set a day, then shipped back. Accounts differ on whether a true shortage drove this. Either way, your grandmother's 1920s tiles may have started out as American shinbone.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA sturdy market tote in 12 oz, 100 percent cotton canvas, 15 by 16 inches, with 20-inch self-fabric handles and a natural finish. Printed to order and easy to fold into a bigger bag. Spot clean only, no bleach, then line dry. Do not iron directly over the print. As with everything we make, \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/merlinclassics.store\/pages\/landing-page-charity\"\u003eprofits support hunger relief\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/merlinclassics.store\/collections\/mahjong-ornaments\" style=\"display:block;width:100%;box-sizing:border-box;text-align:center;padding:14px 18px;margin:16px 0;background:#d9d9d9;color:#111111;font-weight:600;text-decoration:none;border-radius:4px;white-space:nowrap;\"\u003eMah Jongg Ornaments\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cscript type=\"application\/ld+json\"\u003e\n{\"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\", \"@graph\": [{\"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\", \"itemListElement\": [{\"@type\": \"ListItem\", \"position\": 1, \"name\": \"Home\", \"item\": \"https:\/\/merlinclassics.store\/\"}, {\"@type\": \"ListItem\", \"position\": 2, \"name\": \"The Mah Jongg Collection\", \"item\": \"https:\/\/merlinclassics.store\/collections\/mah-jongg-collection\"}, {\"@type\": \"ListItem\", \"position\": 3, \"name\": \"Heritage Mah Jongg Market Tote - The Big Joker\", \"item\": \"https:\/\/merlinclassics.store\/products\/heritage-mah-jongg-market-tote-big-joker\"}]}, {\"@type\": \"FAQPage\", \"mainEntity\": [{\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"What were 1920s mah jongg tiles made of?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"Mostly bone and bamboo. Much of the bone came from American cattle and was shipped to China for carving.\"}}, {\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"How much did a mah jongg set cost in the 1920s?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"One department store sold them for $16 to $75.\"}}, {\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"What is printed on this market tote?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"The Big Joker tile, in our original engraved art.\"}}]}]}\n\u003c\/script\u003e","brand":"Merlin Classics","offers":[{"title":"Natural \/ 15\" x 16\"","offer_id":51294797889753,"sku":"70238313659965888717","price":34.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0768\/9374\/9465\/files\/13834527584241208785_2048.jpg?v=1793674551","url":"https:\/\/merlinclassics.store\/products\/heritage-mah-jongg-market-tote-big-joker","provider":"Merlin Classics","version":"1.0","type":"link"}