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  PENNSYLVANIA GAME WHEEL WITH STRIKING GRAPHICS, GREAT COLORS, AND WHIMSICAL BRASS SPINNER, 1890-1910
Dimensions (inches):
Description:
Found at a fire house outside Hanover, Pennsylvania in York County, this strikingly graphic gaming wheel, brightly painted in forest green, scarlet red, and chrome yellow, white and black, features a geometric, compass style design. The highly unusual brass spinner has a leather tip and splits into a curved, "Y" shaped tail.

Made in the period between 1890-1910, the peculiarities of this game wheel don't end with the "spinner", which is, in fact, a stationary marker. Instead it is the wheel itself that spins freely inside a deep, octagonal case that can be stood or laid on flat surface. The front of the wheel is actually painted on tin sheeting, which is applied to a turned wooden framework. This is the only wheel that I have ever owned that was constructed in this manner. It is also the only small scale wheel I have ever seen that had a stationary flap on an arm affixed to its front that merely looks like a spinner.

There is a lid for the case, which is also painted in the same dark green. Fifteen black-painted, wooden bidding paddles accompany the wheel, each of which is painted with a series of four white numbers that correspond to applied paper numbers on the outer edge of the wheel. The interior of the removable lid is lined with a section of cloth from a feed sack, evidently added to protect the brass.

Wall Mounting: There are D-rings to the back of the case so that the wheel can be hung on the wall. A previous owner added Velcro to the back of the paddles and to the outside of the lid, and a D-ring hanger behind, so that someone can have the option of displaying the lid and paddles on the wall, next to or below the wheel.

Condition: Minor paint losses and expected wear.
   
Primary Color: green, red, yellow
Earliest Date: 1890
Latest Date: 1910
For Sale Status: Sold
Price SOLD
E-mail: info@jeffbridgman.com
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