Milton Bradley, lithographer and inventor, formed the Milton Bradley Company in 1860 in Springfield, Massachusetts. Having the only lithograph machine in Massachusetts outside of Boston, Milton was busy with free lance orders but was looking for a more stable base for his business. After playing an old English board game, Milton designed an American version called The Checkered Game of Life, produced several hundred copies, and sold all of them in a few days in New York City. This sparked a fad and Milton sold 40,000 copies that first year and thereafter focused his business on games.