American Gaming Archives Grand Opening Exhibit featured at the Nevada Historical Society

A Grand Opening exhibit of gambling manuscripts and artifacts will be featured at the Nevada Historical Society reception at 5 pm on the evening of Friday, October 17, 2014 at 1650 No. Virginia Street in Reno. The American Gaming Archives is a focused collection at the Society and comprises one of the world’s best collections of gambling manufacturers material from the 20th century. A lecture on the American Gaming Archives at the Society will be given by AGA coordinator Howard W. Herz.
One specialized exhibit will display items from the famous and infamous K.C. Card Co.’s “Blue Book – a company catalog of gambling equipment that sold both fair and cheating devices. The exhibit features marked cards and other items that the company sold throughout the United States.
Records and artifacts of The Burt Company of Portland, Maine are featured in another display of gambling chip manufacturing procedures along with an explanation of the parts of a gaming chip. The Burt Company manufactured the vast majority of the gaming chips used in Nevada casinos from the 1960’s to the 1980’s.
The American Gaming Archives collections were created in 2006 as a home for gambling history in both manuscript and artifact form. The Nevada Historical Society, Nevada’s oldest cultural institution, is one of the few institutions in the state that maintains both collections of artifacts and manuscript material for historical research. The archive’s collection includes manufacturer’s records and artifacts from the major gambling manufacturing companies that sold gaming paraphernalia throughout the United States and the Caribbean.
The initial exhibits are intended to present a limited view of the extensive material from the society’s holdings. We are looking forward to expanding the research capabilities of the AGA.

Nevada Historical Society hosts a Gambling Collectibles Show
A “Chip Dig” will be hosted at the society on Saturday, October 18, 2014 from 10 am to 4pm. This is a gaming collectables show featuring a limited number of dealers of gaming collectibles and memorabilia. Individuals wishing to buy or sell gaming collectibles are encouraged to bring them to the show. Admission is free.

For additional Information contact:
NEVADA HISTORICAL SOCIETY • 1650 NO. VIRGINIA ST. • RENO, NEVADA 89503
(775) 688-1190