Outlaws, why do we honor them ?

On a far more serious note, I have this burning question, " Why are people so enamored with outlaws like Billy the Kid, the James boys and the "Cowboys" of Tombstone", just to name a few. To date, no one has stepped forward to explain to me why they love these criminals so much.

Well, yesterday while reading the USA Today - Jan.29,2008 - I came across a story about modern day criminals. The story focused on one particular family, the James Caston family. It seems that James, the father, was obsessed with the lore of the Jesse James gang. So much so that he named his first two boys, Jesse and Frank James Caston. A third son soon followed and the boys became known locally as the James gang. To make a long story short, all three boys are currently residing in the Louisiana State Penitentiary and each has been convicted of murder. So much for loving outlaws.

Why is it so hard for people to understand that children will grow up based on the parents vision of the child ? Why can't adults understand that being enamored with outlaws can result in nothing good ?

Yes, this is an extreme case but not a rare case. People in law enforcement see this all the time. Maybe the problem is, the average person just doesn't get to see this like people in law enforcement does so they don't make the connection.

I hope, by reading this, people will think twice about tearing down the good guys and stop building up the bad guys.

Mason and Co. Newark N.J.

One of the best known manufacturers of gambling equipment during the "Old West" period was Mason and Company out of Newark, N.J. , Denver, Colorado and San Francisco, California. For a while [1890-1910] George Mason moved his base of operation from the East Coast to Denver and later returned to the East Coast.

Looking for Mason gambling equipment stop by Old West Antiques.

1893 World' Fair - World's Columbian Exposition

Sometime between May 1, 1893 and October 31, 1893 gambler & gunfighter Luke Short and his wife Hettie attended the World's Fair in Chicago. They may have gone to see Little Egypt perform or just to take in the hundreds of exhibits. While in Chicago they also took in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. Luke was quoted as saying, " in spite of the lack of space, Cody managed to show much of the Old West as it was.

The World's Columbian Exposition was a huge success with some 27,000,000 people attending. Today, collectors attend shows where just about anything sold at the Fair back in 1893 can be found. Even Old West Antiques has a few items from that Fair for sale under the Tab - Miscellaneous.

Antique Books on Gambling

My library consists of many antique books on gambling. The titles range from the very rare and very difficult to find titles such as, Uncle George on Draw Poker and Hoyle's games by Thomas Frere, copyright 1875 to more common titles like Card-Sharping Exposed by Robert-Houdin and Play the Devil. Recently I found " The Complete Card Player-Hands Across the Table ", copyright 1945. This book covered every game I have ever heard of and many I hadn't. It was in near new condition with a very nice leather bound cover with art work on the front. My point is, many books on early gambling in the U.S. are out there you just need to make an effort to look for them.

You can find many of these books at Old West Antiques.

Cardpress

In the days of the " Old West " playing cards went through a bit of a transition. Just after the Civil War cards were made from a heavy paper stock known as "pasteboard" and were often referred to as pasteboards because of the material used to make them. Being of such heavy stock the cards were easily damaged with bent corners. Plus, the heavy paper stock tended to collect moisture so the already heavy cards would rise much like yeast in bread. To prolong the life of pasteboard cards a -Cardpress- was used to compress the cards which helped with the bent corners and moisture.

In the beginning a cardpress was nothing more than some wood slapped together with a wooden screw used to compress the cards. But, like many things, overtime they became works of art.

If you just have to own such an item check out the one I have at Old West Antiques.

Matchsafes - Pocket Size

Many Historians believe the first successful match was invented by druggist John Walker, Stockton-On-Tees, England. Walker's first sale occurred on April 7, 1827.

Others believe that a Thurmont, Maryland resident by the last name of Weller sold the first match in 1825. Regardless of who sold the first match these splints were packaged in a round tin box and thus the pocket matchsafe was born.

Matchsafe's in the Victorian era were made of many materials with Gold and Silver being the most sought after by collectors. Sizes range from as small as an 1" X 1 3/8" to as large as 2 3/4" X 1 1/2". Cases ranged from plain to elaborate designs.

Many matchsafes had trick openings and came in shapes such as; pillbox, boot, figural, book and pouches. Additionally, many safe's were multifunctional having tobacco cutter, calendars, gambling features, compasses and many other options.

To see a few examples of period matchsafes check out OLDWESTANTIQUES.BIZ

Speaking of Luke Short ...

I just added a YouTube link titled, " The Luck of the Draw", to the video tab on my Luke Short site. Check it out !