A history of English lotteries

The Virginia lottery of 1612--Private lottery--Licence for lottery to supply London with water--Two other schemes --Lottery in behalf of fishing vessels--Irish Land Lottery--One...

A book lottery--One for poor military officers--Lottery for Prince Rupert’s jewels--A penny lottery--First State lottery--Another in 1697--Private lotteries suppressed --Statelo...

Crowd at a lottery--Another State lottery, eighty-seven blanks to a prize--A ticket sold twice over--Extravagant prices paid for tickets--Praying for success--A lucky innkeeper-...

Winners of prizes--Attempt to put down the practice of insuring--Steps taken to prevent it--Specimen handbill --Bish, the lottery office-keeper--Lottery for the “Pigot” diamond-...

So sang Henry Fielding in his play of “The Lottery,” which was first acted at Drury Lane Theatre, January 1, 1732; and I think those who have patience to read these pages will e...

We see by this bill that in order that the subscribers should be anonymous, their shares were not to be taken in their names; but, as in some competitions nowadays--notably in a...

The Virginia lottery of 1612--Private lottery--Licence for lottery to supply London with water--Two other schemes--Lottery in behalf of fishing vessels--Irish Land Lottery--One...

A book lottery--One for poor military officers--Lottery for Prince Rupert’s jewels--A penny lottery--First State lottery--Another in 1697--Private lotteries suppressed--State lo...

Once more came a wave of virtue against private lotteries, and in 1721, by the 36th sec. of 8 Geo. I. c. 2, was prescribed a penalty of £500 for carrying on such lotteries, in a...

Crowd at a lottery--Another State lottery, eighty-seven blanks to a prize--A ticket sold twice over--Extravagant prices paid for tickets--Praying for success--A lucky innkeeper-...

In 1776 was a lottery for £600,000 (16 Geo. III. c. 34), and in 1777 was one (17 Geo. III. c. 46) for £500,000. On January 6, this year, two Jews, Samuel Noah and Joseph Aarones...

Sir Ashton Lever, who was born in 1729, and who died in 1788, was the eldest son of Sir James Darcy Lever, whose seat was at Alkrington, near Manchester. He was an ardent collec...

Winners of prizes--Attempt to put down the practice of insuring--Steps taken to prevent it--Specimen handbill--Bish, the lottery office-keeper--Lottery for the “Pigot” diamond--...

1803 had its usual annual lottery (43 Geo. III. c. 91), in which £710,000 was given in prizes, and the Government netted £204,354 4_s._ 9_d._ Another in 1804 (44 Geo. III. c. 93...

By the 47 Geo. III. sess. 2, c. 9, July 25, 1807, another lottery was legalized. £700,000 was given in prizes, and a profit resulted of £308,888 18_s._ 5_d._ And here we may not...

=A= stands for _All_ who for Affluence wish, =B= means _Be_ sure _Buy_ a Ticket of BISH. =C= _Cash_ in plenty by BISH you may gain; =D= _Don’t Delay_ soon a Chance to obtain; =E...

’Twas past meridian, half-past four, _Good Luck_, I thought I’d try to nick it, At six, up _Cornhill channel_ wore, And bought of BISH a Lott’ry _Ticket_; At seven, home with my...

The State lottery for 1811 was passed June 26 (51 Geo. III. c. 113), £600,000 in prizes--net profit, £208,007 17_s._ 8_d._, about five blanks to a prize. Of this year there are...

1815, of course, had its State lottery, June 7 (55 Geo. III. c. 73), in which £624,400 was given in prizes, and it resulted in a net profit of £224,311 18_s._ 1_d._; but this ma...

56 Geo. III. c. 61, passed June 20, was the Act for the lottery of 1816, in which the prizes were £609,730, and the profit £164,686 15_s._ 8_d._ Year after year the introduction...

On June 3, 1818, was passed the Lottery Act (58 Geo. III. c. 71) when £606,200 were given as prizes; net profit thereon, £212,551 16_s._ 8_d._ But legislators were getting disgu...

_Pat._ The top of the morning to you, Judy. Where are you trotting to, my darlin’? Faith! you skip over the bogs as nately as a butterfly on a frosty morning.

This Lottery consists of highly finished Paintings from the most valuable pictures of the old Masters, in the Collections of Noblemen and Gentlemen; a Set of Paintings faithfull...

But the lamp was to flicker once more before it finally died out, and a “last lottery” was decreed to be drawn in 1826. In the spring, and for three weeks after midsummer of tha...

Mistress Molly, the Cook, At the Scheme only look, In wealth we may both of us roll; If we _brush_ for a prize, In the world we may rise, And our _skuttles_ have plenty of _Cole_.

“For several years past these lottery-office keepers have had an ample share in imposing on the town, and cheating the country; by vending of books, handkerchiefs, and other thi...

Another sad phase connected with the lottery was the number of suicides which were the outcome of it. We need scarcely contemplate the serious side of this melancholy question,...

The place where the tickets were manipulated by the managers was afterwards changed from Whitehall to Somerset House, and the accompanying illustration shows the manner of conve...

Lotteries being universally known to be illegal in England and Scotland, no attempt has been made to revive them in their old form, since their illegality has been definitely pr...