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Walter Gibson Typescripts of Books on Gambling (MS-00370)

Abstract

The Walter Gibson Typescripts of Books on Gambling consist of manuscripts written by Walter Gibson for Sidney Radner in the 1940s. The collection includes three typescript copies of manuscripts titled, So you Want to be a Crapshooter? Or All Craps are Crooked; Poker and How to Play It; and How Gamblers Win at Cards. There are handwritten notes on the typescripts.

Finding Aid PDF

Date

1940s

Extent

0.2 Linear Feet (1 box)

Related People/Corporations

Scope and Contents Note

The Walter Gibson Typescripts of Books on Gambling consist of manuscripts written by Walter Gibson in the 1940s. The collection includes three typescript copies of manuscripts titled, So you Want to be a Crapshooter? Or All Craps are Crooked; Poker and How to Play It; and How Gamblers Win at Cards. There are handwritten notes on the typescripts.

Gibson ghost-wrote these books for Sidney Radner (1919-2011), who authored several books on card games and was considered an expert on crooked gambling and detecting cheaters at cards. Radner was best known as the steward of one of the world’s largest Houdini colletions and performed under the name “Rendar the Magician.”

Source: Vitello, Paul. “Sidney Radner, Guardian of the Houdini Legacy, Dies at 91,” The New York Times, June 26, 2011, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/27/us/27radner.html (accessed December 2, 2014)

Access Note

Collection is open for research.

Publication Rights

Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish.

Arrangement

Materials are arranged alphabetically.

Biographical / Historical Note

Walter B. Gibson was an American author and professional magician. He was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania on September 12, 1897. He wrote over a hundred books on magic, true crime, and games. He was a ghost writer for Sidney H. Radner, Harry Houdini, and Harry Blackstone, Sr. Gibson was most famous for his success with the pulp fiction character The Shadow, featured in comic books, magazines, and radio shows. Gibson died in Kingston, New York on December 6, 1985.

Source: Walter B. Gibson. Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_B._Gibson. (accessed November 6, 2014).

Preferred Citation

Walter Gibson Typescripts of Books on Gambling, 1940s. MS-00370. Special Collections, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.

Acquisition Note

Materials were purchased in 2014; accession number 2014-038.

Processing Note

The collection was minimally processed by Tom Sommer in 2014 at the time of accessioning. Material is described at the collection level. The material was quickly reviewed to provide a general description of the contents of the box and an estimate of dates represented in the box. Loose documents were foldered. No further work was performed on the materials.

Resource Type

Collection

Collection Type

EAD ID

US::NvLN::MS00370

Finding Aid Description Rules

Describing Archives: A Content Standard
English