Bunco Artists in Richmond 1870-1920

<p> Richmond in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was home to a lively underworld of tricksters swindlers confidence men and thieves. The former Confederate capital's under-staffed police force and dense population--large numbers of immigrants and the very poor--accommodated the enterprising criminal.</p><p> Newspaper reports of the day offer a glimpse of a wide variety of crimes and misdemeanors often with a bit of humor or pathos. Based on reports from the proceedings of the Police Court this book provides a portrait of Richmond--then the most congested city in the U.S.--during the Golden Age of the Con when gamblers hustlers and frauds plied their trades across the country.</p>