Canines Bring Poker Out of the Smokey Backrooms
Most of you will instantly recognize the series of paintings titled Dogs Playing Poker created by Cassius Marcellus Coolidge. Mr. Coolidge was born into a family of Quaker farmers who were very much into abolition and was named after one of the most eloquent orators of the time who was given the resounding nickname of "The Lion of White Hall. Coolidge, nicknamed "Cash" by friends and relatives, did not receive any formal training in the arts, but was nonetheless a prolific artist, publishing his drawings in papers before reaching the ripe old age of 20.
Cash's favorite theme was, oddly, those big dogs Mastiffs and Saint Bernards, engaging in very human activities. In 1903, he was commissioned to do a series of paintings on this very theme. In nine of the sixteen paintings commissioned, very respectable, genteel dogs were gathered together to drink beer and whiskey and indulge in a cigar or pipe as they played five-card draw poker. These furry gamers dressed in fur coats or wool suits would fill up a cozy den-like space whose only source of light was a shaded lamp over the table.
These proper members of the well-to-do bourgeoisie seem to be well mannered gentlemen, if not altogether tame, definitely a cultured lot. Think of Sergio Leone's movie Once Upon a Time in America, the pictures are roughly of the same era. But the focus of the paintings that Coolidge gives us is not the one of greed and violence as in the underground clubs depicted in the movie. Instead, his poker games emerge from the murky criminal underworld into a decent society where the club members play poker, if not entirely for fun, for only a few cents, smoke a little tobacco and tipple just a bit behind their wives backs. Poker was no more a way to make money quickly and dangerously. It was becoming wholesome entertainment for the majority of American men.
Respected members of society as early as 1875 gathered at large nocturnal poker sessions. Poker Chips was one of the publications dedicated to the game and most periodicals of the time included articles on poker in their content. Standard rules for playing draw-poker were unified and distributed among all the poker clubs beginning at the turn of the century. This was a first. It was even reported that baseball had lost its status as the national game.
Gradually, unrelated to any criminal associations, the ability to play poker and the ability to wield a gun became the staple talents of any real man. Men who played good poker were usually likewise good soldiers, good sheriffs, and good politicians. In the spring of 1918, in Europe, the game was the most popular mode of entertainment among Harry Truman and his two million troops. Truman perfected his draw and stud poker as an artillery officer. When the peace treaty was signed, waiting to be shipped home, he and his combat friends spent the time at endless games of poker which they continued even after arrival home.
It is the ability to bet large and shrewdly, take big risks, and bluff successfully for profit of course, that is also perceived to be the mark of the man that survives in battle, is willing and able to take on dangerous jobs like law enforcement or to be successful at any type of occupation that requires brains and muscle.
Cash Coolidge was around at a time that gave him every opportunity to observe the sort of person, the clothes, the card games and the milieu in which all of these elements came together in basement clubs that gave rise to the essence of his art. Through his art, which consisted of a vivid imagination and anthropomorphic humor, he created a representation of the life of the bourgeoisie at the time enjoying a game that had been around for more than 200 years.
Cash's favorite theme was, oddly, those big dogs Mastiffs and Saint Bernards, engaging in very human activities. In 1903, he was commissioned to do a series of paintings on this very theme. In nine of the sixteen paintings commissioned, very respectable, genteel dogs were gathered together to drink beer and whiskey and indulge in a cigar or pipe as they played five-card draw poker. These furry gamers dressed in fur coats or wool suits would fill up a cozy den-like space whose only source of light was a shaded lamp over the table.
These proper members of the well-to-do bourgeoisie seem to be well mannered gentlemen, if not altogether tame, definitely a cultured lot. Think of Sergio Leone's movie Once Upon a Time in America, the pictures are roughly of the same era. But the focus of the paintings that Coolidge gives us is not the one of greed and violence as in the underground clubs depicted in the movie. Instead, his poker games emerge from the murky criminal underworld into a decent society where the club members play poker, if not entirely for fun, for only a few cents, smoke a little tobacco and tipple just a bit behind their wives backs. Poker was no more a way to make money quickly and dangerously. It was becoming wholesome entertainment for the majority of American men.
Respected members of society as early as 1875 gathered at large nocturnal poker sessions. Poker Chips was one of the publications dedicated to the game and most periodicals of the time included articles on poker in their content. Standard rules for playing draw-poker were unified and distributed among all the poker clubs beginning at the turn of the century. This was a first. It was even reported that baseball had lost its status as the national game.
Gradually, unrelated to any criminal associations, the ability to play poker and the ability to wield a gun became the staple talents of any real man. Men who played good poker were usually likewise good soldiers, good sheriffs, and good politicians. In the spring of 1918, in Europe, the game was the most popular mode of entertainment among Harry Truman and his two million troops. Truman perfected his draw and stud poker as an artillery officer. When the peace treaty was signed, waiting to be shipped home, he and his combat friends spent the time at endless games of poker which they continued even after arrival home.
It is the ability to bet large and shrewdly, take big risks, and bluff successfully for profit of course, that is also perceived to be the mark of the man that survives in battle, is willing and able to take on dangerous jobs like law enforcement or to be successful at any type of occupation that requires brains and muscle.
Cash Coolidge was around at a time that gave him every opportunity to observe the sort of person, the clothes, the card games and the milieu in which all of these elements came together in basement clubs that gave rise to the essence of his art. Through his art, which consisted of a vivid imagination and anthropomorphic humor, he created a representation of the life of the bourgeoisie at the time enjoying a game that had been around for more than 200 years.
About the Author:
The author takes advantage of the highest True Poker Rakeback. Please visit Rakeback Solution to also sign up for True Rakeback.
0 nhận xét:
Đăng nhận xét