“Dr.” Samuel Bennett – King of the Thimbles

Thimble Artist

Shell Game

“Dr.” Samuel Bennett, from Shreveport, Louisiana, was one of the best-known “thimble artists” to ever cruise the Mississippi River.

Bennett was born in New Hampshire on January 1, 1791, and grew up to work as a fur trader, merchant, and tavern keeper, before making a name for himself as a “thimble artist.” Bennett was never actually a physician, but somewhere along the line, he acquired the honorific title of “Dr.”

A variation on the “shell game,” Bennett’s con game was played with three thimbles and a tiny paper ball. Bennett claimed that he had been playing the game since he was a boy, and as an adult, he was so proficient at it that he soon earned the nicknames of “the King of the Thimbles” and “the Napoleon of the Thimble-Riggers.”

Bennett made his living at the thimble ruse and other con games so proficiently that in the early 1840s, stringent laws were passed in several states that specifically prohibited the game. Inevitably, his name was so associated with the game that curious passengers on the riverboats would often ask him to demonstrate it. Though Dr. Bennett would feign reluctance, in the end, he would show his “skills” to the other passengers. Ironically, even though he was well known as a con artist, someone was always sure they could beat the crafty conman, only to walk away without their money. Samuel Bennett died on September 21, 1853, in Shreveport, Louisiana.

©© Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated September 2022.

Also See:

Gambling in the Old West

Gambling & Saloons Photo Gallery

The Old West

Scoundrels in American History