Lotto - Loto


Le Loto

The graphic on the left is a detail from a painting by Charles Chaplin who lived from 1825-1891. The picture is titled Le Loto. The painting illustrates two young ladies in mid-19th century France playing the game of "Lotto".

From this painting, one may assume that the game was popular in France at the time. R.C. Bell in his book Board and Table Games from Many Civilizations (1969, page 114) indicates that::

"Loto was popular in England a century ago. Any number of players took part."

It may also be assumed that the game of "Loto" was popular in other European nations at that time. D. Pritchard in The Family Book of Games (1994, page 168) states:

"Lotto - This game is familiar under many names, of which "Housey-Housey, Tombola, and Bingo are probably the best known. Any number can play - the more the better - and it requires no skill".

Today, many consider "Lotto" to be a game for young people; however, it did not start out that way. It has a long and complicated history going back to the "drawing of lots" in the cultures of many civilizations! The physical game depicted in the painting appeaars to have a relatively long history before assuming that physical state. The North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries (NASPL) reports that in China a lottery was used as early as 100bc to finance the building of the Great Wall!

According to Microsoft's Encarta Reference Library 2003:

Lotteries are of ancient origin; they were used in the entertainments of the Roman emperors and later of the feudal princes of Europe. The first state lottery is believed to have been held in 1520 in France, where lotteries became an important source of royal revenue. Private lotteries also flourished in France until 1776, when all were suppressed or merged into the royal lottery. In Italy lotteries became popular after 1530, when the city of Florence held one offering money prizes.

The photograph of the painting on the right is of a lottery drawing held in the city of Turin in 1756. It was painted by Giovanni Michele Grainieri (1736-1789). It now hangs in the Ringling Museum in Sarasota, Florida.

To quote again from Encarta:

The lottery was introduced in England in 1569 under the patronage of Queen Elizabeth I. In the American colonies lotteries were authorized by the colonial legislatures to raise funds for such public purposes as the paving of streets, the construction of wharves, and the erection of churches. Lotteries to finance buildings for Yale and Harvard colleges were held in 1750 and 1772, respectively. In 1777, the Continental Congress attempted to raise funds by lottery for the revolutionary army. Lotteries suffered a decline in the 19th century.

The frequency of fraud in the operation of private lotteries resulted in their prohibition by many countries, and subsequently most public lotteries also were discontinued. Britain ceased to employ the lottery as a source of public revenue in 1826. France abolished its national lottery in 1836. In the U.S. growing opposition, particularly among the churches, led to legislation in 1833 prohibiting lotteries in New York and Massachusetts and, during the next two decades, in most of the other states. A private lottery, known as the Louisiana State Lottery, was authorized by the state of Louisiana in 1868 and was a profitable business for 25 years until the charter expired. Congress forbade the use of the mails for lottery purposes in 1890 and five years later prohibited the shipment of lottery tickets or advertisements through interstate commerce.

French Bar Lotto Wheel

While France abolished its national lottery in 1836, forms of the lottery continued and resulted in a variety of gambling casinos. For example, the photograph on the right is a late 18th century or early 20th century French lottery device in the collection. It was donated to the Museum in 1979 by a man from France who found it in a French antique shop. He said such devices used to sit on the bar in French taverns. While drinking, one bought a numbered ticket, the brass wheel was spun, and if your number came up, you were a winner.

The device is 27.8cs high. The base is 12.6cm in diameter, and the wheel is 12.5cm x 5.2cm wide. The free spinning brass wheel rests between 2 tines on a cast iron base. Random numbers are stamped on the circumference of the wheel. Small brass flanges swing open and closed on posts, and cover the numbers as the wheel spins. The base includes a floral design and stamped into the bottom of the tines is a abbreviation for the French phrase The Government is NOT responsible!

Lottery Tickets

As many people in the world now know, while lotteries continue to be available in many countries, government controlled lotteries came back into fashion in North America in the late 20th century with the financing of the Olympic Games and they are now commonplace almost everywhere. The NASPL reports that lotteries are now conducted in over 100 countries. On the right is a photograph of two contemporary lottery tickets: Canada's Lotto 649 and Florida's Lotto. However, what ever happened to the tablegame of "Lotto"?

Lotto Box

The photograph at the left is a copy of the game of "Lotto" produced by McLoughlin Brothers, New York, in the 1890s. This copy of the game was found in the basement of an old mansion in Williamsburg, Virginia, and was donated to the Museum in 1979.

The paper-covered wooden box top is 12.2cm long x 20.1cm wide x 2.5cm high; the bottom is 12.2cm long x 20.1cm wide x 5.7cm high. Within the box is a liner 11.1cm long x 18.7cm wide x 6.9cm high. As can be seen, the paper covering is printed to resemble a trunk. Instructions for playing the game are printed on the inside of the box top. The numbered cardboard cards to the right of the box are 9.8cm long x 17.9cm wide. Each card is divided in 27 squares; 15 of the squares of each card are randomly numbered. Each card is marked with different combinations of  15 numbers.

In addition to the printed cards in the box, there are a number of other items, namely:

A less elaborate version of the game was produced in the United States by Milton Bradley in 1932. There were other version manufactured in England and other European countries in the middle years of the 20th century.

How To Play Lotto

A non-player is the "caller". Each of the players (any number) takes one card and 15 markers. The "caller" shakes the numbered discs in the bag and then draws one disc at a time, calling out the number on the disc drawn and places the disc on the table. Players cover a number on their card with a marker if they have a number on their card that was called. The first player to cover all 15 numbers on a card is a winner. The "caller" examines the winning card against the discs placed on the table to verify a "win".

There are many other ways to play this game. For example, each player can put some money in a pot before each game, and the winner gets the money from the pot. In some places, dice are used to decide who will be the "caller" - highest throw wins the "call". Players in some games may each use two cards as can be seen in the Chaplin painting at the top of this page.

A Turkish Example

Turkish Lotto

Donated to the Museum in 1976, the photograph on the right is a lottery game sold by a street vendor in Instabul. According to the donor, the vendor has a tray of candy, cigarettes, etc. He sells a player the right to pick one strip of numbers, and then the player pulls one disc from the purse. If a number on the disc is on the strip the player has bought, the player has the right to pick a prize from the tray.

The donor who bought a set from the vendor explained that while the discs are only numbered to 60, the numbers on the card strips go to 90. There are 90 discs in the bag creating duplicates which give the vendor an advantage. The handmade leather bag with drawstrings is 12.5cm in diameter x 18cm high. The plastic stamped discs are 1.8cm x .4cm thick. It would appear that the card strips are cut from "standard" lotto game cards, cards not very different from those in the 1890 McLoughlin Brothers' set in the collection.


Last update March 25, 2010