Collection of lottery tickets and lottery advertisements, each with Jewish connection.
Auction 93 |
Thursday, May 06th,
2021 at 1:00pm
K2 Judaica Sale: Rare Printed Books, Manuscripts, Autograph Letters, Graphic & Ceremonial Arts
Lot 78
(AMERICAN-JUDAICA).
Collection of lottery tickets and lottery advertisements, each with Jewish connection.
New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland: 1761-1826
Est: $4,000 - $6,000
PRICE REALIZED $3,500
With the possibility of effortless riches, lotteries were popular in America since Colonial times. Many of the lotteries were run by private individuals for profit, others were to raise funds for public works, such as the earliest item in this lot, the Conestogoe Bridge Lottery of 1761. This lottery was intended to fund a much needed bridge in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The ticket was printed by Benjamin Franklin (see G. C. Barnhill, Benjamin Franklin’s Job Printing, www.abaa.org/members-articles/benjamin-franklins-job-printing). The prizes are surprisingly grand: One of these has a top prize of $20,000; the Grand State Lottery top prize is $100,000 (in 1823!) Consequently tickets were not cheap by the standards of the day, with individual prices of $2.50 and $5 to buy in.
Americans Jews were both consumers of tickets and brokers of lotteries, and in some cases licensed conductors of lotteries themselves. The Judah Brothers of New York City - Naphtali Judah, whose signature appears several times in this lot, and his brother Cary, were the trustee and treasurer respectively of Congregation Shearith Israel in New York City.