My first Derby had no interest for me as a race, but as giving me the opportunity of studying life and character it is ever to be gratefully remembered. My first visit to Epsom was in the May of 1856 – Blink Bonnie's year. In Frith's 1895, My Autobiography and Reminiscences the painter-turned-memorialist leaves an account of his encounter with a thimble-rig team (operator and accomplices): A thimblerig team (comprising operator and confederates) was depicted in William Powell Frith's 1858 painting, The Derby Day. The swindle became very popular throughout the nineteenth century, and games were often set up in or around traveling fairs. Later, walnut shells were used, and today the use of bottle caps or matchboxes is common. In the 1790s, it was called "thimblerig" as it was originally played using sewing thimbles. A book published in England in 1670 (Hull Elections – Richard Perry and his fiddler wife) mentions the thimblerig game. It can be seen in several paintings of the European Middle Ages. The shell game dates back at least to Ancient Greece.
The pickpocket is robbing the spectator who is bent over. The real trick of this painting is the pickpocket who is working for the conjurer. The shell game does have some origins in this old trick. The painting accurately displays a performer doing the cups and balls routine, which has been practiced since Egyptian times. The Conjurer, painted by Hieronymus Bosch. Fraudulent shell games are also known for the use of psychological tricks to convince potential players of the legitimacy of the game – for example, by using shills or by allowing a player to win a few times before beginning the scam. In practice, however, the shell game is notorious for its use by confidence tricksters who will typically rig the game using sleight of hand to move or hide the ball during play and replace it as required. Where the game is played honestly, the operator can win if he shuffles the containers in a way which the player cannot follow. One or more players are invited to bet on which container holds the ball – typically, the operator offers to double the player's stake if they guess right. A small ball is placed beneath one of these containers so that it cannot be seen, and they are then shuffled by the operator in plain view. In the shell game, three or more identical containers (which may be cups, shells, bottle caps, or anything else) are placed face-down on a surface. An illegal shell game in Drottninggatan, a street in Stockholm.
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