Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1891-02-17
THINGS FOR spoRTs.
How Dice, poker Chips. Biiiiard-Baiis
and Cards are Made.


"Do you know, / don't think ever 2, say "
so much vice in such q little room' sssu
the Sunday-school reporter Ok tbs "nsn,
ington Star, gazing III az y mannU vsn;a
dealer Of sporting goods on fennsyi'an''
"Vice?p queried the dealer, standing In
WHY. certainly. Look at all those dice
and dice-boxes. For what immoral pur.
poses are they intended, pray I"
THAT Is more than / can tell !" responu-
ed the dealer: "but can INFORM you ss
TO how they are manufactured; DICE slg
mostly made in Germany, ana the nateii ~
used is bone. but they are not the sort 70
buv. because YOU never find two OF them
alike as 10 size. shape, or marking. Wnen
you see die marked on its SIDES Win tn ~
numbers all askew you may know tnas IL
Is German product.
ct is ip New York city and the towns
near by the Metropolis that the best dlee
sold are made OF q celluloid composition
that is particularly excellent Tor the pur-
pose. Each die Is precisely IKE every
other one, even TO the poker-dlce. wnich
are slammed when soft and subsequently
baked. so that the aces, kings, queens,
Jacks, and ten spots are as perfect as II IS
possible to make them in a plastic mate
nal. 80, -.
+" A novelty is black dice with white
spots, as you may see in the window. All
American dice arc made with rounded cor
ners, because persons who know about
such things believe that they throw bet
ter"
school reporter; but | see what pre-
sumo are poker-chips.p i,
"You are right. The manufacture OF
poker-chips is an important industry In
this country--one so successful, In fact,
that MIR. Mckinley has not thought. it
worth while to protect the business IN his
tariff bill. :,
"They are made mostly in New York and
vicinity, Of the same celluloid composition
have been speaking of. You can buy real
ivory chips for from 81 to 50 for 100, While
those of celluloid cost only 10 cents.
1T is worth saying that the imitation
has some advantage over the real. For
example, celluloid chip will not crack II
Won drop it. So far as beauty 10 con-
cerned the artificial material is not to be
sneezed at. Look for yourself at those
chips in the window, some OF which are so
close counterfeit of ivory that few per-
sons can tell the difference, while others
are exquisite limitations of horn, tortoise
shell, agate, onyx, and other substances.
"All of them are preparations OF the
same sort of celluloid mixture. Here are
dice-cups made in the same way. Are
they not pretty? And yet you can throw
them across the room and they will never
break" .
Those billiard-balls ore ivory, of
course?"
mot at all. They are of the celluloid
composition also. For that purpose it Is
| not quite so good as ivory, because 1T mas
| not the weight nor the same degree OF
elasticity, but it serves very fairly as a
substitute, nevertheless. Ivory cannot be
| used very much longer for billlard-bals,
| inasmuch as the elephant and the walrus
are on the verge of extinction"
But do you know l never saw so ex-
| tensive a display of playing-cardsg"
Isn't it finer" replied the dealer.
Cards are marvellously cheap nowadays.
| Only O few years ago you couldn't get
good pack for less than seyenty-hye cents,
whereas to-day you can buya very fair one
| for fifteen cents, and thirty-fye cents is
fancy price. Competition has done it.
"1he biggest playing-card factories are
| in New York city, where the finest cards IN
| the world are made. One concern there
has SlO0, 900 worth of machinery as part
of its plant. The machinery required Is
very costly. Each pack is printed entire
| on q single sheet Of cardboard and after
wards cut apart. The latter operation has
| to be performed with the utmost accuracy
in order that the edges of the cards may
| coincide. Dies are used for the printing,
and very expensive colors are employed"