Lotteries
Although its title may have appealed to readers tempted by the prospects of getting lucky and striking it rich through the lottery, this pamphlet is actually a didactic tale warning readers of the dangers of the lottery.
It tells the story of a virtuous man whose purchase of a lottery ticket leads him into financial ruin, crime, and eventually death.
The hand-illustrated cover image shows the lottery wheels in which the tickets were spun to randomize the drawing. The wheel of the lottery became a common image and metaphor for chance and risk.
Lotteries were common in late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century America, where they provided a way to raise funds for anything from bridge building to college fundraising.
These are examples of lottery tickets from this period, which tempt their purchasers with the promise of winning prize money from the drawings.