Saturday, March 1, 2008

Hustler's Convention

On this day in 1922 a convention of bootleggers convened in Seattle. Prohibition was in full swing and the Northwest's most notorious rumrunners and smugglers sat down for a week-long meeting to discuss the rules and procedures of their trade. More on this here.

Above, Alfred M. Hubbard, a local inventor who worked with the king of Seattle bootleggers, Roy Olmstead. As a radio operator, he would signal the rumrunning boats over the air. Pretty cool looking dude.

Below, clockwise from top left (click to enlarge): Confiscated stills; King County Sheriff Matt Starwich and women in Scottish gear at a 1925 ceremony to destroy confiscated alcohol (wow, fun party); More confiscated liquor; During prohibition, houseboat speakeasies were common in Seattle; Seattle's Imperial Liquor Co. at start of Prohibition.
Houseboat speakeasies. Someone make this happen now.
Images courtesy the Museum of History & Industry.

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