This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/18/2023
Matching Pair of Keno Gooses, One Gaffed and One Straight. San Francisco: John Kewnig, ca. 1885. Excellent. The push slide is stamped “J. Kewnig Mkr. 10 Stevenson St. S.F.” The gaffed goose operates by twisting the ring on top. This can expose a chamber in which the operator has placed the low numbers or one in which he has placed the high numbers. It has a partial set of wood keno balls. 21”h. See Levine, Bernard R; “Knife Makers of Old San Francisco” (pp. 126-128). Kewnig was one of San Francisco’s premier knife makers who also sold “sporting goods.” Before going off on his own he worked with John Meyer, a well-respected ivory turner. Kewnig probably continued to turn ivory for M. Price, San Francisco’s premier knife maker after going off on his own. This is the only known set of keno gooses marked with his name.