341 object
old MASON & co KC missouri DRUMHEAD chuck a luck CAGE DICE hazard TUMBLER- $210
Important factoid regarding the maker: Mason & Co. had a facility in Kansas City, Missouri long before the owner, Harrington Drake, consolidated, moving the whole shootin’-match to Chicago. My guess is, as one of three or four companies whose products were geared toward grifters, con men, cardsharps, and other scoundrels, he grew tired of appearing in court in state after state.
I have a little piece of advice for sellers like me who enjoy “working” on their eBay listings in the predawn hours when everyone else in the house is sleeping.
If you ever find one of these huge dice tumblers with sheepskin drumheads on each end and big heavy dice inside, it’s not a good idea to keep “trying it out” again and again. This warning is especially important if the bedroom where your spouse is sleeping is adjacent to your work area.
The three big 1⅛” dice dance around on the drumhead when you turn the cage and they drop onto the bottom head. If the heads remain tight, such as those on this 19” tall beauty, those dancing dice make quite a racket.
I listen to music using headphones as I write descriptions, take photographs, and post my things to eBay, so I didn’t hear her coming. Right in the middle of the Bela Fleck and the Flecktones concert coming through my headset, WHAM! Something hit me on the back of the head. For a moment, I thought I was being raptured, but when I swiveled around in my chair, there she stood.
She didn’t say anything. It wasn’t necessary because I’ve seen “that look” several hundred times. The expression on her face - “that look” – has always reminded me of Satan with a throbbing hangover headache. She just whirled around and headed back to bed.
I dabbed the back of my head with a white paper towel – no blood – so I said, “Sorry.” (Actually, Iyelled, “SORRY.” I didn’t mean to yell, but I had Bela Fleck really cranked up on my headset so I was unconsciously making sure she heard me over the music. Duh. She couldn’t hear the music. Dang, I’m stupid.)
Oops. I seem to have wandered off the subject. Sorry.
This is a large piece, and it works beautifully. The total height is 18 ¾”, which includes the handle at the top and the heavy round bottom with a socket on each side – sockets into which fit the two support posts. The “Mae West” shaped chuck cage is 15 ½” tall, or more, with 7 ½” ends. The whole deal weighs 10 lbs. 10 oz. (4.82kg)
Call it what you will. It is known by many names, some based on where it is being played: Sic Bo, Chuck-a-Luck, Grand Hazard, Chuckluck, Hi-Lo, Dai Siu, and more. At a little country tavern near my house, a bar I may or may not have frequented, they have a small plastic version of the chuck with but two dice. We They call it “that dice thing,” as in: “Hey, Nurse! Grab me that dice thing. I’m tarred of keepin’ track of “who bought the last round. We’ll roll for it, but you may have to count up the dots. I’m seein’ double, and a couple of these nitwits is even worse off than me. Set’m up, Shortstuff.”
CONDITION REPORT: The mechanism works perfectly and smoothly. The translucent ruby red dice have honestly rounded corners, the result of decades doodling around on the sheepskins, but they are not chipped or otherwise damaged. While a little spotty here and there, the plating on the stand remains in remarkable condition. The cage “bars” show some surface rust – but certainly nothing heartbreaking. It has a striking presence. At the waist of the chuck, you will see a fitting put there to protect the dice as they drop through. I think is leather. It may be something else, but anyway, the finish on it is crackly, just as one would expect. One of the drumheads has a slit, almost invisible since it is out at the very edge. I hadn’t even noticed it until I took the pictures for this listing. Nothing is missing or broken.
Now listen – Since I’m a straight-laced guy whose only flaw is excessive modesty, I’m no expert when it comes to gambling and other kinds of sinning. I even went to church once, and lips that touch liquor will never touch mine. However, that said, I’m almost certain we’re looking at a pretty goshdanged rare piece. Chuck-a-Luck doodads come in many forms, but I believe those embossed “Mason & Co. K. C., MO” are rare, or at least scarce.
What it really needs is a thorough bath and a little TLC by someone who knows what they’re doing. That leaves me out. (Personally, I think old man Drake made a mistake by moving out of Kansas City. What a great jingle he missed.
"Mason and Ko of Kansas City Mo"
Seen above is that crackly thing at the waist. I am, by the way, highly skilled at taking photos that make things look worse than they appear in real life. (No, Virginia. eBay is not real life, which is why you’re so pale and squinty-eyed.)
Holy mackerel! I just this second realized something. Talk about a great Christmas gift. This ole dude even comes with its own “rum pa pum pum.”
SATURDAY INQUISITION
more handmaiden's of satan propaganda 1555
volcano cam
katmai
.JPG)
