Before going into this shady ad on eBay, let me say that you can buy the reprinted catalog being offered in the auction, directly from the Gamblers Book Club (actually a store, not a club) in Las Vegas (702-382-7555) via mail order for $2.50, but there is (I believe) a $10.00 minimum. (So buy some for your friends.)

It is a neat catalog, by the way. It is about con equipment, and the seller's eBay ad is sort of a con.
The ad is at:
http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=134190644

The title is, innocently:
1918 gambling & carnival catalog

The starting bid is just a penny. It is now about $10.

Just look at the lengthy description:
During the early part of this century, the nation's (if not the world's) premier purveyor of

gambling and carnival gear was H.C. Evans & Company of 1522 W. Adams Street, Chicago,

Illinois. For gaming houses and carnival entrepreneurs, "If Evans don't make it, you don't need it."

This handsomely illustrated 64-page catalog straddles the fine line between legitimate entertainment

devices designed to earn the operator a reasonable profit and then other "trade stimulators" whose

sole purpose was to permit the operator to enjoy an early retirement. Evans clearly targets both

markets. His scopes of machines, gadgets, and stratagems specifically engineered to "grind" the

customer boggles even the cynical marketeer as the century closes. For instance, want to make a

few bucks letting players "win" chocolate candy? Well step right up to the "Evans Flashing Star,"

an electro-mechanical contraption that used some sort of primitive relays to let the player/gambler

stop the action so as to determine a "winner" (besides the owner). 20-light version: a palrty $75

FOB Chicago. "The Flashing Star cannot be equalled in many respects. It is particularly popular

with the playes, as they have a direct part in in the operation of the game, which is a feature never

before incorporated in an outfit of this kind. It is equally popular with the operator, as the action is

fast, netting him a handsome [undefined] profit." Roulette wheels of all type, faro games, card

decks, gambling chips, felt layouts, baseballs for milk-bottle targets, ring tosses, dice, prizes

(including hand-dipped chocolates at 30 cents the pound), ah, the list is virtually endless. This

catalog is a solid 3-hour read and provides an excellent snapshot of the hustling taking place on the

midway immediately after World War I. The T&C's are especially amusing. GBC reprint edition

of the 1918 original. Softbound, 64 pages, good condition. Buyer to pay $1.25 postage.

IF YOU WERE SELLING THIS, THE FIRST THING YOU WOULD MENTION IS THAT IT IS A REPRINT. NOTE HOW THE SELLER WAITS UNTIL VIRTUALLY THE LAST LINE TO QUIETLY NOTE THAT, probably hoping it would be lost in the tons of words.

(This is another example of what I consider a bad practice: auctioning common stuff readily available, stuff that can be currently bought at retail, and giving no estimated value or idea of scarcity. Just my opinion.)