A Chicago Pool-Room on Sunday

The gentlemanly game of billiards in Victorian-era Chicago.

In the late 19th century, a pool-room was not used primarily for the modern-day game of ‘pool’. Rather, the name was taken from collective bets made on horses – billiards tables were just a way to pass the time between races.

This scene from an 1892 issue of Harper’s weekly shows a typical Chicago pool-room on Sunday. Smoke drifts lazily across the room as men play billiards and review betting sheets. No women are to be seen, but the men vary somewhat in class based on their dress. A seated man on the left, one of the few pictured without hats, takes bets for the next race.