[Bowling]. [New York]

The Old Shades / Gothic Hall Bowling Saloon [caption title]

[New York: ca. 1845]. Broadside, approximately 18 x 12.5 inches. Untrimmed, printed on yellow newsprint. Old horizontal fold, with some rumpling and dust soiling in proximity. Faint dampstain at lower left corner. Chipping and wear to extremities. Paper remnants on verso corners from previous mounting. Good. Item #6460

An untrimmed advertising circular, perhaps a proof copy, to four local New York City establishments of the mid-19th century that includes one of the earliest interior views of an American bowling alley. The Gothic Hall Bowling Saloon, whose proprietor Charles D. Stiles took over the premises in 1845, here promises, "The largest and most magnificent establishment of the kind in the city (or the world)," and, "One of the finest and best ventilated bar-rooms in the city...stocked with the very best of Wines, Liquors, Ales and Segars." Indeed, the woodcut illustration of the saloon shows high vaulted ceilings lined with pillars, and the all-male crowd of patrons enjoying six lanes, drinks, and a spot to read the paper. Other establishments advertised on this broadside include two restaurants, The Saracen's Head on Dey St. and The Old Shades, the latter offering, "All sorts of fine joints," as well as, "A large store of the very best cigars, as they are selected in Havana by an agent on the spot." The final advertisement is for sporting equipment manufactured by Goodyear's Insoluble Rubber and for sale at Brower & Brooks. Incidentally, the address proffered for the bowling alley, 316 Broadway, is now the site of a massive federal building.

Price: $1,500.00