Billiards Hall, Oskaloosa, Iowa, Circa 1900

Billiards Hall, Oskaloosa, Iowa, Circa 1900

Billiards was known as a gentleman's game throughout American and European society in the 19th Century, although the game became popular in Great Britain around 1770, eventually making its way to America predominantly in the early 19th Century. As the game became more popular in America in the late 19th Century into the early 20th Century, the game's audience appealed to more social groups, thus attracting crowds that did not necessarily fit the bill of a gentleman. In this photograph stands a man outside a billiards hall in downtown Oskaloosa, Iowa around 1900. To the left and right of the billiards hall sign are goods that would have been available to purchase while a billiards game would be in progress. Instead of focusing on the store, the patrons focused more on the game and products from the store were purchased without much thought as a result of the centerpiece, that which being the billiards table.

Chuck Russell

Chuck Russell

Chuck Russell

"2009-06-05"

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still image/jpeg 2000

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