This is an extremely rare brass put and take from the world famous Galerie Lafayette.
Put and Take first became known during WW1. It was likely invented by soldiers in the engineering divisions who manufactured the first examples from brass bullet cases as a means of a gambling device in the absence of dice, replacing the six sides.
The dice version, which originated in the 1940’s, is played with a Put and Take die (printed with 3 T’s and 3 P’s) and a number die (printed with 1-2-3-3-4-A).
Players ante up a chip and then roll the dice. If a player gets a ‘P’ he puts a number of chips into the pot matching the number shown on the other die. If he gets a ‘T’ he takes a number of chips equal to the number shown on the other die from the pot. Rolling an ‘A’ on the numbered die means ‘All’ (T+A means take all chips in the pot and P+A means you match the pot). Players are eliminated as they run out of chips. The last player still holding chips wins.
Includes original instructions and box, though without original lid. Excellent condition, Grade 1 under the Hoyles Vintage Grading System (see here).
