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A Card from the Fellows Reading Room Draw signed by Wilder Gutterson, RSA Development Director.

During the building of the ambitious Adelphi Scheme (which included the RSA's John Adam Street House) the Adam Brothers were faced with bankruptcy. To complete the building work they ran a lottery which offered private houses as prizes. They need to raise approximately £200,000 - the equivalent of about £14m today - and tickets were sold for £50 each - the equivalent of about £3500 today!

The brothers were successful in raising the required amount, and must therefore have sold about 4,000 tickets. Without the Adelphi Lottery the RSA House would not have been completed.

The cover of this card preproduces a 1774 lottery ticket from the RSA Archives.