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San Francisco circa 1900. "Chinatown. The street of the gamblers at night." Nitrate transparency by Arnold Genthe. View full size.
literal translation of the Chinese characters:
The top two characters:
call to wealth
The bottom four characters:
welcome the god of wealth
These are common decorations (lucky charms) for the entrance of a business.
Great site btw!
Good photo. "The street of the gamblers" is formally known as Ross Alley, which runs from Sacramento Street to Washington Street, between Grant Avenue and Stockton Street. It is still a busy place, and it contains a wonderful fortune cookie factory.
Regards,
Joe Thompson
Just letting you know, the image has been flipped. you can tell by looking at the Chinese characters in the current top left and bottom right corners.
[Thanks. I have flipped it around. What do they say? - Dave]
A dice game popular with Chinese immigrants around this time was called "throwing heaven and nine" or "chak tin kau." The game was played with two dice, with the different combinations divided into two suits. Players wager that the shooter will not throw the highest combinations. Rules can be found in the Archives of the University of Waterloo Museum of Games.
http://www.gamesmuseum.uwaterloo.ca
"Teneha, Timpson, Bobo & Blair!"
Goober Pea
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