This perplexing photo of a woman seems to be in some kind of lottery office. She is surrounded by different types of punchboards and coin boards, as well as some other items that look very much like they could be prizes. Behind her is a drapery that clearly looks Christmas-y.
Punch boards have been around since the 1700s as a form of gambling. Typically, they used a board with holes drilled in it. The holes would be filled with small numbered pieces of paper. The holes themselves were covered by another piece of paper, as shown above. The bar patrons would use a sharp object to puncture the paper and reveal the paper inside the drilled holes.
Ever since punchboards have existed, there has been room to cheat. Many times bar owners would tear open the back of the punchboards and learn where the high pay-out numbers were and remove them, thus eliminating the possibility of a big winner.
This photo shows a woman sitting at a table full of gambling paraphernalia of the time. To one side of her you can see that she has a Texas Charley punchboard. The story behind this is anyone's guess. This is probably circa 1950s.
Punch boards have been around since the 1700s as a form of gambling. Typically, they used a board with holes drilled in it. The holes would be filled with small numbered pieces of paper. The holes themselves were covered by another piece of paper, as shown above. The bar patrons would use a sharp object to puncture the paper and reveal the paper inside the drilled holes.
Ever since punchboards have existed, there has been room to cheat. Many times bar owners would tear open the back of the punchboards and learn where the high pay-out numbers were and remove them, thus eliminating the possibility of a big winner.
This photo shows a woman sitting at a table full of gambling paraphernalia of the time. To one side of her you can see that she has a Texas Charley punchboard. The story behind this is anyone's guess. This is probably circa 1950s.
1 comment:
Ezekiel
I can recall something like this as some point early on. I am remembering them in groceries stores and even with certain individuals? Maybe a dime was involved? I have to admit when I found the were "fixed" it was a bit of a let down. I love your posts. Glad to see this one.
Linda
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