- Name Article: Confessions of a Solitaire Friend
- Author: Ezra Knox
- Year: 17 October 1909
- Published in: The Commercial Appeal
- Location: Memphis, Tennessee, USA
Confessions of a Solitaire Friend by Ezra Knox, Published in The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tennessee (17 October 1909)
Yet another confirmation is that in 1909, Seven Card Klondike was among the most popular solitaires. However, the author Ezra Knox names the game Canfield as you can read here:
“There are many different kinds of Solitaire, and I played them all, but my first love, the kind I have always preferred, is known by some persons as “the game of Patience” and to others as Canfield Solitaire, is named after a man who was at one time a notorious gambler. This game has been used for gambling…”
She explains the game in detail which confirms the fact that she really means the Seven Card Tableau Layout.
“..For the benefit of those who are unacquainted with this kind of Solitaire. I will say that the game is played by first arranging 28 cards in seven piles, one card in the first, two in the second, and so on, there being seven cards in the last pile The top card of each pile is exposed…”
“..When it is no longer possible to make a move by changing cards from one pile to another, then a single card is taken from the 34 cards that remain in the deck after the seven piles are dealt..”
This article confirms that back in 1909, although Elza Knox didn’t get her information firsthand, it was believed that the Seven Card Klondike game was played by Canfield.
Although we can’t see this as proof, it’s remarkable that many sources around this time connect the seven-card layout Solitaire (Klondike) as the one being played in Canfield’s Gambling House.