Thimblerig: America’s Gambler

His name, “Thimblerig,” comes from the crooked scam of the old shell game in which the con man places a pea under one of three thimbles and quickly manipulates them to confuse the sucker who bets he can guess under which thimble the pea lies.

Paul Heller
Thimblerig: America’s Gambler
19th century playing cards, from the collection of Lee Asher; a typical thimblerigger, courtesy of Paul Heller