Richardson,
Goodluck,
& Co. were stock-brokers and licensed lottery-office keepers
in Cornhill and Charing Cross, London. Goodluck was actually
an elderly lady who was made a partner and paid £50
per year by Richardson for the use of her name. She had no
other duties with the firm.
Lotteries were adopted by the
Government in 1567 as a means of generating revenue and
continued through 1826 when the last state lottery was
held.
Tokens, such as this one, were created
to induce people to participate in the lottery.
It was Richardson's practice to
never reveal the names of the fortunate winners who purchased
tickets at his office but after numerous inquiries about
lottery prize number 12807 Richardson felt compelled to publish
a list of the winners minus their names.
Among those mentioned were:
A clergyman near Briggs, Licolnshire
A housekeeper at King Street, Grosvenor Square
Two gentlemen at Newmarket
Two ladies (sisters), Bloomsbury
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