# Dogs playing poker **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 26, 1999, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-playing-poker/3499 "1999-09-26T00:48:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gilligan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Gilligan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gilligan)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 1999, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-playing-poker/3499/1 "1999-09-26T00:48:00Z")
Some questions came up recently among friends, one of whom has one of these prints. Does anyone know: Who was the original artist? When was it originally painted? We also debated how valuable the original would be, considering its status as an icon of bad taste. What kind of money do you think the original would get if it came up at auction today? ---
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 1999, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-playing-poker/3499/2 "1999-09-26T02:39:00Z")
The originals (there were several in the series) were by Cassius Marcellus Coolidge, around 1910. A couple of sites: Email postcards (from a great site, btw): [http://www.retroactive.com/Postcards/coolidge.html](http://www.retroactive.com/Postcards/coolidge.html) Tin signs: [http://www.tias.com/stores/tsusa/pokerdogs-1.html](http://www.tias.com/stores/tsusa/pokerdogs-1.html) And their value: [http://www.homearts.com/depts/home/kfkove09.htm](http://www.homearts.com/depts/home/kfkove09.htm) ## All with Altavista and about 5 minutes. Bob the Random Expert “If we don’t have the answer, we’ll make one up.” ---
**Author:** ![pluto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f08c70/32.png) [@pluto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pluto)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 1999, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-playing-poker/3499/3 "1999-09-26T02:54:00Z")
Cool! ## So who did the original crying clown and the big eyed kids on those velvet paintings? “non sunt multiplicanda entia praeter necessitatem” – William of Ockham ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 1999, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-playing-poker/3499/4 "1999-09-26T03:09:00Z")
I’ll see you and raise you one velvet Elvis… ---
**Author:** ![Satan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Satan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satan)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 1999, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-playing-poker/3499/5 "1999-09-26T04:25:00Z")
I love those ESPC commercials… * * * Yer pal, Satan ---
**Author:** ![Satan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Satan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satan)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 1999, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-playing-poker/3499/6 "1999-09-26T04:26:00Z")
ESPN is what I meant… _sigh_ ---
**Author:** ![Nickrz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbce88/32.png) [@Nickrz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nickrz)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 1999, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-playing-poker/3499/7 "1999-09-26T14:11:00Z")
I wish our humble TubaDiva would weigh in here… she has the best taste in bad taste of anyone I know. An encyclopedic knowledge of it, too. ---
**Author:** ![aseymayo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e57/32.png) [@aseymayo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aseymayo)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 1999, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-playing-poker/3499/8 "1999-09-26T16:38:00Z")
Those scary big-eyed kid pictures used to be attributed to Walter Keane. A few years ago, his wife Margaret sued him and proved in court **she** was the artist and he had just been taking the credit. I can’t imagine _wanting_ to take responsiblity for creating those things. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 1999, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-playing-poker/3499/9 "1999-09-26T22:31:00Z")
Geez Nick, you make a trip to South of the Border and you can be an expert too! 🙂 For those of you that don’t know what I’m talking about, you gotta go here: [South of the Border](http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/SCDILsob.html) Then you gotta GO. One stop shopping for all your tacky gift, firework, and video poker needs. your humble TubaDiva Buy just one painting on velvet and you spend the rest of your life trying to live it down! PS Our Ed Zotti mentions that Great Art and Tacky Souvenirs are a world-wide deal. He just returned from a visit to Israel, where the big deal for sale is, of course, pictures of Jesus . . . enhanced so that it looks like His Eyes follow you around the room. Ed’s comment: “Makes Him look like he’s casing the joint.” ---
**Author:** ![Satan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Satan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satan)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 1999, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-playing-poker/3499/10 "1999-09-27T04:08:00Z")
South Of The Border rules with a yardstick! * * * Yer pal, Satan ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 1999, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-playing-poker/3499/11 "1999-09-28T00:52:00Z")
You mean it STILL hasn’t gone Metric yet?