Based on some old lottery tickets we stumbled upon, it seems as though the French may be responsible for the tens of thousands of people roaming Vietnam’s streets selling their pink and while slips of hope.
Looking closely at this “Loterie Indochinoise” tickets, a few things become clear. First, it was clearly administered by the French authorities, likely as a way to boost income from their overseas colonies.
Second, even though they seem to be printed in Hanoi (as written on the bottom of the tickets), each contains Vietnamese, Chinese, Khmer and Lao (we think?) so as the “Loterie Indochinoise” indicates, these tickets were likely sold throughout France’s holdings in SE Asia.
Finally, these tickets were printed from 1942 – 1944, meaning that the French were still running the lottery, even during Japanese occupation of Vietnam.
They also look pretty rad.
[Photos via manhhai]
