Usa Chess Sets

Creating a list of chess sets made and sold in the United Statesinitially occurred to me for at least two reasons. First, finding decent information on such chess sets proved to be extremely difficult – to the point, in some cases, of being almost impossible. Second, and perhaps as a result of the first, it seemed there was a tendency among many chess collectors to not take American chess sets seriously. Perhaps neither did I. I originally envisioned a final list of just a few short pages, even if the list included a few sample pictures. But I soon discovered that wouldn't be the case. At All. As I searched through catalogs, magazines, the internet and elsewhere, I found the list growing longer, and then longer again. I was surprised when what I had anticipated to be a short, quick list became much more. An even bigger surprise was when I realized it had become necessary to be selective. Therefore, there are some chess sets – and companies – not included in this book. Only a few companies or sets that came after the 1980s are covered, but that is pretty much within the timeframe I originally had in mind, anyway. Nor does the list generally include specialty sets, such as those based on TV shows, movies, or other “pop” themes – any of which could potentially go on forever. I have also left out computer and/or electronic chess games – another topic all its own. Chess paraphernalia, chessboards, compendium sets, clocks, or books – topics about which one could probably start…. a book, were also excluded. Another criteria I followed had to do with verification. If I couldn’t confirm information – I didn’t use it (i.e. if a manual, box, or set itself, could not be confirmed as original to the overall ‘package’, it wasn’t used). Of course, now that I’ve set down the guidelines I tried to follow, I will be the first to admit there are some exceptions. Originally, I had planned to include only those companies in the United States that were actual manufacturers of chess sets. But I soon discovered this would require my following a rather blurry line. Many – if not most – companies, who were ‘bona fide’ manufacturers of chess sets, also purchased sets from other companies/distributors to fill gaps in their product line. However, companies that were obviously distributors only (i.e. Pavilion), were excluded. Other companies, not quite so obvious or well known, were included. I also tried, with mixed results, to ignore chess sets that were imported into the United States. But that also started requiring the following of a rather blurry line. Ultimately, a number of imported sets did make it on the list, mostly due to their having become a quite integral part of the history of that particular company. Ironically, even as I excluded some things, I found it necessary to add others. More than just manufacturing companies were responsible for the chess sets and designs that originated in America. To the list could – and should – be added others, such as designers, artists, architects and various other craftsmen, who also produced significant chess sets and designs over the years. This development meant I had to take a new look at the way I was viewing my list. I had, simply enough, originally centered my attention on American manufacturing companies; now that focus needed to change and expand. To exclude such additional ‘sources’ of chess sets in the United States would have been a great disservice to my original purpose. Where I didn’t try to exercise any special criteria was in regards to quality or collectability. It is pretty safe to say that the contents of this book easily range from pure junk to pure art. But as the saying goes, “One man’s junk is another man’s treasure”. Every person has his or her own idea or reason for what they do – or do not – collect. That part is not up to me – my task, as I saw it, was to simply make available as much of the information I had as possible. Plastic does seem to have been more the rule than the exception in American sets. Finding information on the individual plastics actually used, however, was another story. Following is a short list of plastics, along with brief descriptions, that are known to have been used in producing chess sets: Acrylic: A tough, plastic resin that remains clear, doesn’t yellow, and is able to withstand weathering. Some modern sets are made of acrylic, but as to how great of an extent it was used in the past has yet to be determined. Bakelite/Celluloid: A phenol formaldehyde resin, usually mixed with a wood filler. Bakelite objects were often carved or formed by an extrusion process – which involved forcing the plastic material, usually in the shape of a bead or pellet, into a heated chamber and through a shaped die. The immediate cooling of the material after leaving the die left the plastic in the desired finished shape. Simply put, if chess pieces have mold lines, the set probably isn’t made of Bakelite. Either process was rather labor-intensive. Bakelite also starts showing significant yellowing in a relatively short period of time. As a result, newer materials, which were more easily injected into molds and less subject to yellowing, replaced Bakelite fairly quickly. Today, that once undesirable yellowing has developed into a pleasing patina that has made Bakelite items very desirable and collectible to many diverse collectors, including some chess collectors. Bakelite is still used for such things as electric insulators and other items that do not require extensive detail. Melamine: A plastic resin that was once considered a likely replacement for ceramic and, as such, became quite popular for a short period of time. However, it was found to stain and scratch easily and soon fell out of favor. It is still extensively used in laminates and other similar products. The only set currently verified to be made of Melamine is the Peter Ganine Superba Gothic. 2 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES Polystyrene: A petroleum-based plastic invented in 1927. It is a cheap and commonly used plastic – think Styrofoam peanuts. While all plastics yellow (with acrylic a possible exception), polystyrene can be formulated to reduce or even completely prevent yellowing. Many modern sets, especially the ‘generic’ ones, are made of Polystyrene due to the material being so inexpensive. Tenite: Invented in 1929, Tenite is a staple of the plastics industry to this very day. As it is cellulose-based (as opposed to petroleumbased), Tenite might be considered a ‘green’ plastic. It is warm to the touch, light in weight, yet tough. Light and tough enough that the first football helmets ever used were made of Tenite. The first known football team to wear helmets made of Tenite was Northwestern University, in a game against Syracuse on October 5, 1940. (Northwestern won, 40-0, although it’s said the victory wasn’t due to the team wearing helmets). Professional teams began wearing Tenite helmets in 1946, and continued doing so through at least 1953. Tenite yellows slightly over the years. Some of those football helmets, which started out painted silver, now look gold, due to this natural yellowing effect. Two makers of plastic chess sets known to have used Tenite are Drueke and Gallant Knight. There were surely more chess manufacturers who used it. There were other, more “Old World” or “traditional”, materials used in making chess sets in America, but with limited, and mixed, results. (Hey, this list really isn’t all about plastic, in spite of the foregoing.) I have not yet found evidence any American company ever made sets of bone or horn. And I am currently aware of only one American set made of ivory – specifically, from walrus tusk. However, one very traditional material, wood, was used fairly often although, with few exceptions, it is doubtful most American companies will ever be known for the quality of the wood sets they manufactured. Various metals were also used to make chess sets in the United States but, again, with mixed results. Aluminum, although it may be considered a more ‘modern’, non-traditional metal, is one possible exception. The results of American companies using aluminum were, for the most part, quite striking and still bring high prices on the secondary market. Another material it may be surprising to see on the list is porcelain. Porcelain has a long world history as a material used in making chess sets, usually in limited quantities, but with often quite beautiful results. In this regard, American production was no exception. As a result, porcelain rightly has a place on any list of materials used for making chess sets in America. For some chess collectors, porcelain has a well-recognized place in their collection. But let us return to the list. First, in the hope it might help in establishing manufacturing timeframes, I have tried to include any and all pertinent dates.1 Second, interestingly, many of the names on this list, especially the older ones, have likely never been heard of before by most of us and (with just as much likelihood) will never be heard of again. Regardless, somewhere among all the references I scoured, their names were somehow connected to chess sets.2 For Based on protocol used by the American Game and Puzzle Collectors (AGPC), symbols were used as follows: ~ Approximate year game was available < Year game was evidently available, possibly earlier > Game was not available before this year, possibly available after, or may have never been available 2 While Chess Review, Chess Life, and Chess Life and Review are referred to in this publication, there may have been other chess magazines carrying the same ads, history or information. The magazines named above are the ones to which I had access. 1 several, that is probably all we’ll ever see of them. Some companies were likely distributors only and manufactured no chess sets of their own. Others seem to have advertised for a short while, in magazines or other media, and then dropped out of sight. They may have operated for a time before and/or after their brief excursion into advertising but, for some reason, that advertising soon stopped. For some, their advertising may have been an attempt to get a new product before the public, or even a last ditch effort to survive. Ultimately, however, their efforts failed and they ceased to exist. This seems to be particularly true of companies that appeared during the ‘Fischer era’; which culminated with Bobby Fischer’s victory in chess over Boris Spassky. It should also be noted that, during World War II, an impressive number of companies set aside their normal business endeavors and helped support the war effort by manufacturing and/or supplying small pocket games, including chess sets, to the troops. Once the war was over, the companies returned to their normal business and that was the end of their foray into chess making. Whatever the reason, I included many of these apparently obscure references on the list. Who knows if one of their sets might yet be out there, waiting to be found and recognized by a collector who might have otherwise been unfamiliar with that particular name? Much more can yet be learned about most of the chess sets that follow. I hope. I say ‘hope’, because a third and, perhaps even more important, reason for putting this information together became stunningly obvious to me as I got deeper into this project. Most of the companies discussed in this book are long gone. A few managed to survive but, in most cases, were eventually bought and sold by others throughout the years. As a result, the histories of these companies – and any chess sets associated with them – has been long ignored, forgotten or, rather callously, discarded. As I dug ever deeper, I began to feel like I was hearing a cry for help. A plea to search out whatever information might still exist – and save it. So while my original intent was not all that altruistic – I only wanted to create a list I could use for reference when out ‘hunting’ – it evolved into much more. It became an effort to try to collect, catalog, and preserve as much information and history as possible on American-made chess sets, before all such information was lost forever. In spite of the above, however, I do not yet consider myself an expert on this subject; nor do I consider this list complete. I see this more as a mere first scratching at the surface. It is my hope the information contained in this book will form a desire for more information on the part of others. The result of which will be the creating of an even greater foundation of information, to both build upon – and preserve.3 4 Please Note: Many of the chess sets in this book have been photographed against a ‘scaled’ background. Please do not consider the scale to be an accurate measurement of the size of the pieces. It was impossible to maintain uniformity either in the positioning of the pieces or in the camera angle at which the pictures were taken. The scale should be used only as a ‘rough’ guide and as a means of size comparison between the different sets. The accompanying text will usually contain the correct measurements, using the king as a guide. If at all possible, I have tried to list the size of the king as well as the material used for making a set. If such information is missing, it is because it was information I either did not have or about which I was unsure. 4 Also Note: Many of the photographs and illustrations used in this book are now quite old –as much as seventy, eighty, even one hundred years old. As a result, while modern technology made it possible to improve their initial quality to a certain degree, it did not always make it possible to give them the kind of clarity and definition now often expected with today’s technology. 3 3 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES ACTIVITOYS LIMITED Grand Master, >1970, Plastic >> Compare to the ‘Generic’ set discussed later >> ADULT LEISURE PRODUCTS CORPORATION [ALPSCO] Locust Valley NY 11560 African. ©1963, 4 1/8” King, Stone and Resin >> Board has African motif, Ivory & Mahogany Glaze >> << Egyptian, 1963, 4 1/2” King, Stone and Resin, board has museum scarab motif << Cream & Black, Lapis Lazuli Blue & Bone White Glaze << Reproduced from antiquities in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Cigar Store Indian, Stone and Resin “From Authentic Early American Folk Art” >> << Looking Glass/Alice in Wonderland, 1966, 4 ½” King, Stone and Resin << Ruby & Ivory White Glaze Pre-Columbian, ©1963, 4 7/8” King, Stone and Resin >> Board has MAI Museum’s motif, White & Green Jade Glaze >> Reproduced from antiquities in the Museum of American Indian, NY >> << Staunton, 3 ½” King, Plastic, White & Black, Silver & Gold, << ‘Antique-Finished’ ‘Estone’ (Alpsco’s name for a stone and resin synthetic material) This Staunton set is a classic example of a ‘generic’ plastic set VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES Ad for ALPSCO Chess Sets, Chess Life November, 1966, back page To the right are reproductions of a patent taken out by ALPSCO in 1976 for a design of Beginner Chess pieces. Even though the patent is on record, I have not found any evidence the set was ever actually produced. If it was – it must be rare. The design consisted of cutouts in a plastic ‘plate’ that were designed to fit around the base of the pieces. As stated in the patent Abstract, the plate – or indicia as it is referred to in the Abstract – was to include the name of the piece and a diagram of how it was permitted to move. It was also intended to show the symbol for the piece and its numerical value in chess notation. The cutouts could be removed when they were no longer needed. 4 5 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES ALCOA ALUMINUM Alcoa purportedly had this set specially created as a gift for its better customers. It is not to be confused with the aluminum sets designed and created by Austin Cox [see Austin Enterprises]. From what I have been able to determine, the set was made using a process called Isostatic Pressing. In this process, a material, be it plastic, ceramic, metal or something other, is placed, normally as a powder, in a high-pressure containment vessel. It is then subjected to both high temperatures and pressurized gas, usually Argon. The dual application of heat and pressure eliminates internal voids, reduces the porosity of the metal – thereby raising the metal’s density – and improves the metal’s fatigue resistance. The pressing applies a uniform force over the entire product, no matter what its size or shape. This makes it possible to form a product to precise measurements. It is also possible to place several items in the vessel at the same time. The full procedure produces a finished product in a very cost-effective manner. While the process was developed as early as the 1950s, it was not perfected until the 1970s. It may well be that this set was created, not only as a thank you to Alcoa customers, but to also help advertise the newly perfected process. AMBRITE INDUSTRIES, LTD. INC PO Box 3088 Visalia CA 93277 Harold B. Sherfy incorporated the company on January 18, 1957. Should anyone be familiar with the company it is likely due to the fact the company was a maker of Scruby miniatures – well-known action figures used in war games. For whatever reason, it does not appear as if the chess pieces shared the same quality and detail as did the Scruby miniature figures. AMERICAN CHESS COMPANY 150 Nassau St New York NY Staunton, ~1898-1902, wood [photo courtesy of Guy Lyons] >> Sets from this company were used in the 1904 Cambridge Springs International Tournament, which Frank Marshall won, going undefeated. AP GAMES So far, every AP chess set I have seen has been part of a compendium. In each case [as with the set pictured], the chess set looked like it came from Gallant Knight. << Game Compendium, Plastic 6 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES ARE-JAY GAME COMPANY, INC 6415 Sunderland Dr 7509 Denison Ave Cleveland OH 44129.44102 Wood, stamped “Made in America” >> I have found little information regarding this company. I did discover Crisloid purchased Are-Jay in 1973. So far, everything I have seen from the company has been proudly stamped Made In America. Evidence indicates Are-Jay was another company that sold the Kingsway set under their brand name. ARROW/ARRCO PLAYING CARD COMPANY ARRCO/SAXON UNITED STATES PLAYING CARD COMPANY Also see GALLANT KNIGHT Malton, Ontario 734-754 Mather St Toronto, Canada Chicago IL USA Renaissance’ (painted), Plastic >> Also sold as ‘Continental’ (unpainted) by Gallant Knight >> ARRCO/Saxon was the Canadian division of the ARRCO Playing Card Co., which changed its name from Arrow Playing Card Co. (1920-1935). ARRCO was purchased by the US Playing Card Co. in 1987. I have been told this Renaissance design originated with a Dutch Company known as Homas, somewhere in the 1940-50s. A couple of US companies – Gallant Knight and Cardinal, to name a couple – reissued the set in the 1960s and/or later. This particular set has ‘raised’ pedestals. I have also seen examples (particularly, from Gallant Knight) that featured ‘regular’ bases. ARRCO Playing Card Co. While I have seen references linking Gallant Knight with ARRCO Playing Card Co., it has been difficult to find solid proof. But the two photos below would seem to confirm the link – both the Gallant Knight and the ARRCO name appear on the box end (below left). Also compare the set pictured on the box lid in the photo at bottom right to the set actually contained in the box. While the box shows a picture of a ‘generic’ set, the actual set inside was the original GK design. Perhaps the set was still sold while the company was transitioning to a ‘generic’ replacement? What I have not yet been able to determine is the time at which ARRCO became involved with Gallant Knight. Did ARRCO own Gallant Knight from the start, or did ARRCO become the owner of GK at a later time? I tend to believe the latter – whenever I have seen the two names together it has almost always been in association with later – and usually, rather ‘mediocre’ – sets. Although, in as late as 1969 and 1970, USCF catalogs did contain advertising for the original GK sets, still being sold in their original, well-known packaging. But other occasions where the two names were associated together involved common imported sets from around the mid1970s and later. During its tenure under ARRCO, Gallant Knight apparently also sold sets that appear to have come from both Lowe and Kingsway. All of this would seem to indicate ARRCO likely became associated with Gallant Knight at a later date. Perhaps this new ownership, and the seemingly subsequent decline in quality, would help explain why GK seems to have just quietly faded away? Hopefully, time will allow the questions of company ownership, Gallant Knight’s ultimate fate, and the timeframes involved, to yet be determined. 7 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES ARTECNICA 508 S San Vicente Blvd Los Angeles CA 90048 The Book of Chess, by Augusto Ghibelli >> Made of heavy, pressed Cardboard >> Artecnica is a Los Angeles-based design company that currently works to promote talented artisans from underdeveloped countries. The company cannot truly be regarded as a chess-producing company, but the owners of the company did collaborate with designer Augusto Ghibelli in the 1990s to develop this ‘graffiti inspired’ chess set. The set was not copyrighted until 2003. ATHOL RESEARCH COMPANY th Athol MA 200 5 St New York NY It is doubtful Athol-Research made its own chess sets. For example, the box lid to the right displays an illustration of a ‘generic’ Stauntonstyle plastic set. Athol sold the set, in various box designs, until at least 1986. Generic Set, Plastic >> << Another example of a set sold by the Athol Company, which appears to have come << from Kingsway. AUSTIN ENTERPRISES [in association with Alcoa Aluminum] 2108 Braewick Cr 115 Lyman St Akron OH 44313 Wadsworth OH 44281 Extruded [Cut] Aluminum, ©1962, 4 ¾” King >> Aluminum, Natural & Black Anodized, Wood case with Plexiglas lid >> This set was commissioned by the Ketchum, McLeod, Grove Ad Agency. Evidently, the commissioning of the chess sets was an attempt by the Alcoa Company, and its advertising agency, to present a positive image of the company to the public – that of a problem-solving, tactical and strategic company, displaying skills similar to those necessary for winning a chess game. It may have also been an attempt to flatter its customers, in that the game of chess is often associated with intelligent, knowledgeable people. Regardless, the results were a couple of truly unique and beautiful chess sets.5 Set as sold in its wood display case with blue plexiglass lid [above center] >> 5 “The Chess Set That Foiled The Competition” by John A. Mazzucco, Chess Collectors International 10th Biennial Congress Program, May 21-26, 2002, Philadelphia PA 8 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES Aluminum & Anodized Bronze >> 19” square playing board, 5” X 18” Presentation Case with blue Plexiglas lid >> Both sets were designed by Austin E. Cox and manufactured by Alcoa Aluminum Company H BARON COMPANY th 5 E 19 St 233 Park Ave S New York 3, NY Crusader, Wood >> The H. Baron Company had corporate offices in New York City and a factory on Long Island. But it appears the company did not manufacture its own chess sets. Evidence for making this statement comes, first, from the set pictured to the right, which was imported from France and, second, by the two examples shown below right. The middle example shows a set from Kingsway. The example at bottom right is a set from The Embossing Company. Judging from these examples, it would seem the H. Baron Company was more a distributor than a manufacturer of chess sets, although the company manuals did proclaim Baron to be ‘Manufacturers of Adult Games’ (below left). Coincidentally, the Arthur Popper Company also used this phrase, but I have not found any indication the two companies were associated in any way. One thing to remember: while I refer to the set shown to the right as being from Kingsway, the only reason for doing so is because Kingsway is the company with which I’ve most often seen this set design associated. I really have no evidence to prove who actually made the set and, in fact, there is some indication it may have originated in Hong Kong, although I can’t even say that for sure. Over the years, the H. Baron Company purchased Metro Mfg. Co., John Samuels Co. and Rottgames, Inc. Incidentally, the Baron chess set I possess [below right], had to have been manufactured/sold after those three purchases, as the manual that came with the set lists the company name as: Baron, Rott & Samuels, Inc, 233 Park Ave South, NY. This would also seem to indicate Milton Bradley would been the supplier of ‘The Embossing Set’ to Baron, as it was the owner of The Embossing Company by that time. The H. Baron Company, in turn, was sold to Crisloid, Inc. in 1972. 9 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES BAR-ZIM MANUFACTURING COMPANY th 113-119 4 Ave New York 12, NY [~1921-1938] Jersey City, NY [>1960] Oriental, ©1962, Plastic >> Harlequin, Plastic Bar-Zim appears to be another company that sold chess sets it did not make itself. Examples of two different sets are shown on this page, both of which bear the Bar-Zim logo. The box above exhibits an artistic rendition of a set that seems to match the ‘standard’ Lowe design. The set to the right appears to be a Kingsway set. In both cases, what was displayed on the outside of the box, or on the manual, matched the sets contained inside. The one exception may possibly be the Oriental set shown above right. So far, I don’t recall a set like it being sold by any other company. Kingsway[?], Plastic >> BEN-HUR PRODUCTS, INC th 320 5 Ave New York NY BEAULAH NOVELTY COMPANY 3 Liberty St Brooklyn NY Reference to chess sets from this company was found in the American Game and Puzzle Collectors (AGPC) Catalog. I could find no further information. Reference to chess sets from this company was found in the AGPC Game Catalog. The Beaulah Company also sold the games of Bagatelle and Polly Woggle. I could find no further information. MILTON-BRADLEY COMPANY Springfield MA East Longmeadow MA Milton-Bradley originally began in 1860 as a lithograph company. MB developed The Checkered Game of Life, which proved to be a hit. Today it is simply known as The Game of Life. A main focus of the company was educational games, as education was a personal passion to Milton Bradley himself. This was particularly true after the Civil War, and the company’s educational games eventually became its major profit-makers. MB was the first game company to supply soldiers (during the Civil War) with small game kits containing checkers, backgammon, chess, dominoes and, of course, The Checkered Game of Life. The game kits sold for $1.00. Since then, supplying games to soldiers during wartime has been a tradition continued by toy companies with each successive war down through today. The company also developed games such as Twister and Simon. MB acquired Playskool, Inc., in the early 1970s and the Lowe Company in 1972. MB was acquired by Hasbro in 1984. 10 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES No 44568, Wood, 1936 >> << No 4279, Wood [wood sets courtesy of John A. Mazzucco] No 4028, 1¾” King, Wood >> Set was also packaged as Castle Chessmen >> << Beginner’s Chess, by “Bobby Fischer”, ©1966, Plastic The box shown to the right contained a set that appears to be from Lowe. This is not the first time I have seen this combination, which leaves me wondering if the Lowe Company and Milton Bradley might have had some kind of working relationship that lead up to the purchase of Lowe by MB in 1972. The set to the left was sold, interchangeably, alongside sets originally sold by Lowe. After MB purchased Lowe, the set was sold under both the Milton Bradley and Lowe names. It appears, however, that a third company – Halsam – may have truly been the original seller/maker of the set. 11 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES E W BREDEMEIER, INC 6625 W Diversey Chicago IL 60707 Pocket Chess Set, cardboard >> Also included a mailing envelope labeled ‘Breidemeier’ [not shown] >> The Bredemeier Company was established in 1895 as a button card manufacturer. It went on to produce sample books and cards for men’s clothing companies and other fabric distributors. According to the company’s website (the company still exists), during WWII it supplied portable checkers and – based on the picture here - also portable chess sets, to GI’s abroad as part of the war support movement. According to correspondence I have had with the company, the making of the sets was probably contracted out. Bredemeier then collated and packaged the sets and included them with the lunch and ammunition boxes the company produced for the war effort. CARDINAL INDUSTRIES, INC st 21-01 51 Ave Long Island City NY 11101 Cardinal bills itself as one of the oldest privately held toy companies in the US. It began with the production of dominoes and poker chips in 1948. But it would seem, at least when it comes to chess sets, that it served more as a distributor than as an actual manufacturer. The company sold multiple chess sets under its brand name, all of which match sets offered by several other companies. Some examples of those sets follow, along with the names of other companies that offered similar sets [also see ‘Generic’ Sets]. Staunton, Plastic >> The chess set illustrated in the box art appears to >> match the set offered for many years from Kingsway >> Although the set pictured to the left looks very similar to the set sold by the Lowe Company, the box illustration looks more like – you guessed it – a set from Kingsway. It makes one think it may not have been uncommon for companies to run out of sets before they ran out of boxes, or vice versa, making it necessary to find other suppliers to meet demand. Chess Teacher, 1979 >> << 1998, Plastic Compare the set shown on the box lid with a set offered by Golden and the Transogram Company. 12 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES Cardinal also sold a wood set [right] that is comparable to wood sets from a number of different companies, such as Horn, The Embossing Company, Dynamic Design, etc. Perhaps the ‘electronic age’ arrived much sooner than we thought? The set shown below left came with chess instructions on an ‘unbreakable’ Hi-Fi Recording. Note the Cardinal name and logo on the box but how the set shown on the box lid is, once again, a set more associated with Kingsway. Unfortunately, the quality of the picture makes it rather impossible to determine what set was actually in the box, but it doesn’t look like a match to the Kingsway set shown on the cover. << Chess set with instructions on Hi-Fi Record, 3 ½” King, Plastic Ad above was in 1967 USCF Catalog, November 1966 Chess Life The set pictured in the ad above, particularly the knight, compares very closely to the set from Missouri Plastic, as well as Lowe’s Catalin set. CARROM INDUSTRIES, INC 218 Dowland St Ludington MI Carrom Industries was started sometime around 1889. For our purpose, the company is most noteworthy for its purchase of the Drueke Game Company in 1990. It has continued to produce quality chess sets under the Drueke name until today. Carrom is also noteworthy for the fact that the company website proudly states ALL of their games are American-made! Also see Wm. F. Drueke Company CHAFFEE AND SELCHOW New York NY See Selchow and Righter CHAMPION MANUFACTURING Information on this company is sketchy – there’s only about a million companies using the name ‘Champion’. While the word ‘manufacturing’ is included in the company name, all evidence seems to indicate the company was another distributor, not a manufacturer, of chess sets. The sample shown below, sold under the Champion name, matches the ‘generic’ sets sold by so many other companies. VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES CHESS EQUIPMENT th 250 W 57 St New York NY The company sold a broad range of products related to chess playing – from boards to tables to books. Also, many of the products it advertised, such as the chess sets shown in the ad below, appeared in later ads placed by the actual manufacturer. It would seem, therefore, that the company was possibly more a distributor than a manufacturer of chess sets and products. Aristocrat Pocket Set, ~1942 >> The first ad for the Aristocrat Pocket Set appeared in the March 1942 Chess Review, with only a small illustration of the outside of the case. Later ads, such as the one to the right, showed both the case and the chess set inside. Eventually, a cheaper version of the set was sold in a simple wood box with square corners. This ad [above] was in the October 1941 Chess Review. Based on the timing, descriptions, model numbers, etc., this ad may be the first (unnamed) appearance of the Liberty set [see Liberty]. CHESS INSTITUTE th 203 E 12 St New York NY This ad is from the February 1934 Chess Review. It appeared again in May 1934, but with only The Chess Review name and address listed. 13 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES CLASSIC GAMES COMPANY, INC 255 Skidmore Rd Deer Park NY 11729 On the next few pages are excerpts from a Classic Games Manual, copyright 1972, that accompanied their chess sets. The excerpts are of ads for other sets that were available from Classic Games. Accompanying the excerpts are pictures of the actual sets. Compare the picture from the manual [right] to the picture in the ad from the March 1968 Chess Life [bottom left]. The ad in the manual states that set was made of styrene (a precursor to polystyrene), the ad in the Chess Life magazine states its set was made of Catalin. Another puzzling fact is that the ad in the magazine appeared a full five years after the copyright for the set pictured in the manual. While I have to believe the ad is for the same design as the set from Classic Games, it does raise several questions: Which one came first – the set made of styrene or the set made of catalin? The set’s original copyright date was 1963; the manual itself has a copyright date of 1972. That would put the set in this March 1968 ad about in the middle of this time period. But why is that? Did this ad appear at the time it did because Classic Games was now offering the set in an additional [new] material – catalin? Or, was the set originally available in catalin but somehow, somewhere, between the 1968 ad and the 1972 manual, Classic Games switched to using a cheaper plastic – styrene? If this all sounds confusing, you’re right. Ancient Rome, Edition I >> 264 BC-14 AD, Collectors’ Series >> ©1963, 4 7/8” King, Plastic >> White & Black, Silver & Gold >> Weighted and Felted >> 14 15 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES 1776 No 1425, Plastic, ©1967 King: Queen: Bishop: Knight: Rook: Pawns: 1973, Plastic George Washington Martha Washington Benjamin Franklin Paul Revere Liberty Bell – with readable script of the Proclamation of Liberty Minutemen (six of the eight pawns per side). The two center pawns on each side are different from the others The King’s pawn is a drummer The Queen’s pawn is a fifer With the exception of the Knight and Pawn, the chess pieces in the set shown to the left are posed to show the view of the set from the player’s perspective. The Knight and Pawn, however, are turned to show their ‘front’ side. Also notice how the design of each piece subtly incorporates an indication of the moves that chess piece can make. 16 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES The Norman Conquest, 1979, Limited Edition of 3000 Silver & Gold finish [Photos courtesy of Jansid Enterprises] COCO JOES Hawaii Don Gallacher started Coco Joes when he bought a gift shop and started making key rings and magnets. The products were made of a mixture of lava and resin. They were so popular with tourists it became necessary to open a factory on the north shore of Oahu to meet the demand. Coco Joes closed its doors in 1997, when Don retired. Lava and Resin >> Information and photos courtesy of Corey Wilson COLECO [CONNECTICUT LEATHER COMPANY] See Selchow and Righter 17 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES COLLINGWOOD SALES COMPANY 149 Collingwood Ave Rm 7 Detroit MI Gilcher’s Pcket Chess >> The first ad for Gilcher’s Pocket Chess sets was in the December 1938 issue of Chess Life. While the ad shown here only lists the celluloid set, the company also sold a cardboard version. Collingwood also advertised a line of products for Correspondence Chess. COLUMBIA ALUMINUM EXTRUSION GROUP Scott Wolfe designed this aluminum set from 1972. Production was from the early to mid-1990s. Final production figures have been given in the range of 150/200 to 300 sets. All were made purely for promotional purposes and the set was never made available commercially. The set is often confused with the ones from the Alcoa/Austin Cox collaboration. CRISLOID PLASTICS, INC 55 Porter St Providence RI 02905 No 950, 4” King, Plastic >> Strangely, although the box to this set is marked “Made in America, the set was also sold by Roxy – a company located in Hong Kong. << “Snap On”, Plastic This set comes with green plastic caps that snap on as bases in place of felting. Crisloid sold this set, with different box graphics through the years, most commonly as the ‘Chess Teacher’ VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES CYBIS PORCELAIN 200 Elizabeth Ave Ste 200 65 Norman Ave Trenton NJ 08618 Following is a reproduction of the article written about the 1972 USA to USSR Gift of State chess set (photos to right) from the April 1973 issue of Chess Life and Review: Illustration of the King and Queen as they originally appeared in the April 1973 Chess Life and Review >> “When the President of the United States (Nixon) announced his visit to Russia a couple of years ago, a search for a Gift of State began. An idea came to the artists of CYBIS in Trenton, New Jersey. Just as baseball is America’s national pastime, so chess has long been considered the Russian national game. The Cybis artists, who have been creating exquisite porcelain sculpture for more than thirty years, decided to design a unique chess set. The White House agreed and the work began. The task was enormous – not one, but thirty-two individually sculptured porcelains. Their inspiration was the 14th century Hero Tapestries in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The resulting porcelains are rare treasures. The figures are each mounted on golden pedestals, which are encrusted with jewels. We see a plumed knight in armor complete with visored helmet, golden sword and full-panoplied horse. The rook is a crenellated stone tower with a page peering from the top and a court lady in cowled headdress framed in a turret below. The king and queen are robed in Byzantine splendor. The queen holds a hooded falcon; the folds of her embroidered gown gently caress her figure as she sits with her head bowed in shy repose. The bearded king is attentively erect as though aware of some ambush that might befall him ahead. From his gold crown to his ballet poised armored feet, he is regal. From his jeweled pedestal to his 18 karat golden pennant, he is majestic. The dignity of the bishop is personified by a psalter in his right hand and in his left a golden crozier The pawn is a medieval bowman. He wears a falcon embroidered on his jerkin and carries a bow and a quiver of arrows slung around his hips. Burgundy and turquoise were chosen as the colors for the two groupings. For the brocaded decorations of the garments Cybis artists employed jewellike enamels, an ancient art which the Russians practiced as early as the third century. The chessmen are housed in a handcrafted, double-tiered chest, of beautifully grained American black walnut, lined in brown velvet. Inside the lid is a medallion of the Presidential Seal, of almost transparent porcelain, with the American Eagle and its accompanying motto cameo-ed in the center. American curly maple and curly black walnut alternate in the squares of the nearly three foot square board. The maple is from a tree more than 200 years old, from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The black walnut came from adjoining Bucks County. The Summit Presentation Chessmen will be permanently housed in the National Russian Museum at Moscow. Either singly or en masse, the medieval elegance of these small figures carry the drama of old museum pieces”. A second set was produced and presented to the Smithsonian Institution. Additionally, ten sets were made in a limited edition (No. 1-10). Sizes are said to have ranged between 7”- 8” tall. A later “Hall of Fame” limited edition was also issued. Cybis’ HOF editions are usually smaller than the originals; the height of the HOF edition’s king is thought to be around 6”. I do not know how many sets were made of the HOF edition. 18 19 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES Cybis chess set displayed on its custom board >> Curly maple & curly black walnut >> Close-up of the plaque fastened to the exterior lid (as seen at bottom left) of the set’s custom case. Close-up of the ceramic Presidential Seal inlaid into the inside of the lid of the case. Custom made box to house the set, in black walnut wood >> Photos courtesy of the National Museum of American History The Smithsonian Institution SALVADOR DALI Homage to Marcel Duchamp, 3¾” King >> 1964-1970[?], Bronze & Sterling Silver[?] >> Salvador Dali designed the ‘Thumb’ set at the request, and in honor, of his good friend, Marcel Duchamp. With the exception of the Queens and Rooks, Dali modeled the5 pieces for the chess set from his own fingers. The Queens were cast from the thumb of his wife, Gala, and the rooks were patterned after the saltshakers at the St. Regis Hotel in New York. Dali also used his ‘pinkie’ finger as a model for the pieces. Dali evidently did not design a board to accompany the set. The Kings and Queens, after being cast from the thumbs of Salvador and Gala were then crowned with a cast of a tooth. The casting for the tooth was from a tooth Dali had lost as a child and kept. The Rooks were crowned with a cast of Dali’s nipple. As Dali explained it: artist, the eternal creator. How better to express this vision than “I had a precise and yet symbolic concept. In chess, as in other by sculpting my own hand, my own fingers?” forms of human alchemy, there is always the creator, above all, the To F. J. Cooper, when brazened enough to ask why, Dali artist as creator. It is this that I wanted represented: the hand of the replied, “Why not?” VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES 20 Based on what I have discovered so far, I am still unsure what materials were actually used and how many sets were actually made. One account says forty-five bronze and sterling silver editions were produced as part of a fund-raiser, in Duchamp’s name, for the American Chess Foundation. Another account states the castings were of sterling silver and silver gilt, and yet a third account says the materials used were sterling silver and gold overlay. Well-known chess collector, George Dean, has a set in his collection that he describes in his book, Chess Masterpieces, as being of sterling silver and gold-plated silver.6 Sterling silver seems to be the one constant material. Whether the other materials were also used – or not – I have not been able to verify one way or another. As to how many sets were actually made, I have seen what seems to be a lot of conflicting evidence. One account states only thirteen sets were made. But that figure does not seem to be supported by the evidence. For instance, as stated earlier, there were apparently fortyfive sets involved in the fund-raiser for the American Chess Foundation. But was that number referring only to the number of sets that were made available for the fund-raiser itself? Because adding to the confusion, Christies, the well-known auction house, when holding an auction for one of Dali’s chess sets, stated F. J. Cooper made an edition of 250. I have not seen where the auction house provided any evidence to support that statement. And the particular set being sold by Christies at that time was stamped and numbered ‘J Cooper Sterling AE/45’. That marking would seem to better support the original figure of forty-five sets made for the American Chess Foundation fund-raiser. Like the set in the collection of George Dean, Christie’s description says the set was made of sterling silver and gold-plated silver. D’AMICO-HAMMONS ASSOCIATES La Mesa CA I could not find any information about the D’Amico-Hammons Company itself. I seriously doubt it was a toy or chess-making company. Rather, I wonder if it isn’t more likely that D’AmicoHammons was possibly the company commissioned to produce and/or distribute the set for the Election Campaign. Although, then the question now has to be asked – Who did the commissioning? Campaign Checker and Chess Set, ©1968 >> Styrofoam with paper punch out pieces >> Republican Party Figures are the Red/White side >> Democratic Party Figures are the Blue/Black side >> DANBURY MINT 47 Richards Ave Norwalk CT 06857 Fantasy of the Crystal/Army of Darkness, 3½” King 1990, Imported from England >> Pewter adorned with Swarosky Crystal, Created by Robert Naismith >> Ralph Gendinning and Ted Stanley founded The Danbury Mint in Westport, Connecticut in 1969. It has historically sold quality products made by others. At this point, that means it is a wide open question as to who actually made the chess sets Danbury sold under its name. 6 Dean, George; Brady, Maxine. Chess Masterpieces: One Thousand Years of Extraordinary Chess Sets, Abrams, New York, 2010 21 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES Like Franklin Mint, which will be discussed later, most of the pieces to the chess sets from Danbury Mint were made of pewter and then hand painted/finished. The chess sets were traditionally offered to registered subscribers, two pieces sent every other month, for $19.95/piece. At that rate it would have taken something like five years to collect a full set, at a cost of approximately $700, including shipping expense. I suspect few people have ever realized their initial investment, much less any added value, from their supposed ‘future collectability’. The same can probably be said of products offered by the other Mints, as well. Star Trek, Pewter, 1991 >> Camelot, Pewter, 1992 Dr Who, Pewter, 1994 Star Wars, Pewter, 1994 Baseball, 1996, Pewter American League King: Queen: Bishops: Knights: Rooks: Pawns: Babe Ruth AL Bald Eagle Logo T. Cobb and T. Williams Berra and W. Johnson Foxx and Gehrig Athletics, Browns, Indians, Red Sox, Senators, White Sox & Yankees King: Queen: Bishops: Knights: Rooks: Pawns: Hank Aaron NL Badge Logo Mays and Musial Campanella and Hubbell Hornsby and J. Robinson Braves, Cardinals, Cubs, Giants, Dodgers, Phillies, Pirates & Reds National League VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES RITA DELIETO th 235 E 10 St New York 3, NY Rita showed her face, and her ad, in the November 1954 Chess Review, page 337. She never did it again. Actual Set, 4½” King While Rita DeLieto was evidently a real person (I found census records proving the existence of a person by that name in the right area at the right time), I was always under the impression she was simply the spokesperson/figurehead/model used for advertising the set. But according to the ad to the right, she was apparently more – she is named as the actual designer of the set. Which leaves begging the question, of course – what in heck was her motivation when designing the set? DE LUXE GAMES CORPORATION th 200 5 Ave New York NY Variety of De Luxe Pocket Games, including Chess >> << De Luxe Chess, Cardboard, ~1944 De Luxe Discs, Plastic >> 22 23 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES D N PRODUCTS PO Box 244 Ojai CA 93023 Industrial Revolution, ©1972, 2¾” King >> Steel Gun Metal Blue/Black Satin Silver, cork felting >> This ad first appeared in the May 1973 Chess Review WM. F. DRUEKE COMPANY rd 122 Scribner Marshall Ave 601 3 St NW Grand Rapids MI History of the Wm. F. Drueke Game Company as told by William F. Drueke III INTRODUCTION “This is the history of Drueke, the game manufacturer, that was started 100 years ago in 1914 by William Francis Drueke who continued to run the company until his death in 1956. It remained in the family until his sons, Bill Jr. and Joe Drueke, sold the company to investors in 1986. “I am Bill Drueke III, born February 1, 1943, two years after the game company purchased a building at 601 Third St NW in Grand Rapids, Michigan where the business operated until it was sold. I was the president at the time of the sale but did not have option to continue in that position. My involvement with the business began in the late 1950s. And in addition to presenting information as someone who was a part of the Drueke business for 30 years of my life, I also have a collection of salesmen’s catalogs and a wealth of information recorded in the General Journal from the first three years when the company restarted in 1932. All the information you read here is history, either from something I have in print or have actually lived or observed. Bill Jr. (my father) recorded that his dad was a salesman calling on Marshall Fields in Chicago in 1914 selling card boxes for a card game named Rhum. (I found a card game online called Celebes Rhum that was very popular in 1930 and preceded the card game Oklahoma Gin.) While Bill Sr. was talking with the stationery buyer, he was asked to see the toy buyer who told him their supply of chess from France and been cut off because of the war in Europe. The buyer (whose name is unknown) suggested that the Drueke company ought to make chess. So Bill Sr. returned to Grand Rapids and contracted with Waddell Mfg. to make his first chess. William F. Drueke & Company were manufacturers of chessmen, novelties and toys in 1920. The items in the oldest catalog I have (dated Jan. 1, 1920) included five versions of the Rhum box, two books (Rules of Rhum and Beginners Book of Chess), seven cribbage boards, and 12 sets of chessmen (though only three sets of the chess are pictured). I once visited G. R. Dowel Works that started in 1913 and was informed by the grandson that they had made chess for Drueke in the early days of the company. I also have Beginners Book of Chess published by G. R. Dowel Works in 1917. Bill Sr. was awarded a large government contract to make wood breech sticks for cleaning guns. However, when the war ended in 1918, Drueke had lots of breech sticks left so he made toy wood rakes and shovels. Now he could concentrate more on chess and other games. It is not recorded whether he toured the country with child chess prodigy Samuel Reshevsky promoting chess but there is a photo online of Bill Sr. in New York with Reshevsky in 1922. I do not have any business records for this time period which continued up to 1928 when Drueke gout of the business until 1932 when it was restarted in the basement of his home in Grand Rapids. During the time they were out of business, Sterling Furniture of Grand Rapids manufactured chess claiming to be “succeeding Wm. F. Drueke & Co..” They went out of business in 1934. Chess and Cribbage were the two main product lines for Drueke from 1932 through 1986. The chessboards were made of walnut and birch or maple in a range of sizes from 1” squares to 2¾” squares. During the period of time I was involved with the company, the U. S. Chess Federation was our largest customer of boards and chess pieces. Most of the wood chess Drueke sold during their history was either purchased from wood turners or imported. It was often purchased unfinished and Drueke would then finish the pieces and package them in a Drueke box. Some sets were made by Drueke until 1928 but I do not know which ones. When the business opened in 1932, William Sr. immediately had his daughter, Marian, set up a set of books; I have the General Journal stating that fact. It also has names of vendors covering a three-year period. I have the price list for 1932 and the catalog for 1935 as well. In the General Journal entries of 1932, there were regular purchases of chess from Henry Kayser & Fils, an importer located in New York. These purchases continued over the entire three-year period. This was the most likely source for the ½” plastic peg chess pieces. Drueke began selling plastic chess pieces sometime between 1935 and 1939. The first sets were turned and carved catalin. Molded plastic sets made of Tenite plastic were offered in the 1939 catalog. The early plastic machines were plunger-type injection molding machines and later went to screw-type injection molding machines. The latter kind were what Drueke eventually bought. 24 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES Around 1940, Drueke began selling ½” tall plastic chess pieces in their bookshelf series of games that were so popular during World War II. The E. S. Lowe Co. was also selling a bookshelf series that carried their name, having slightly different titles, but looked the same as those by Drueke. I recently noticed that a third company, Metro Games, supplied a chess set that was similar. In 1940, Drueke came out with the octagon-shaped chess pieces designed by Charles B. Chatfield. This design was also used for the ¾” pieces and other plastic items until 1954. The most popular one was the Little Jewel folding magnetic set. This set was stolen from our display at The New York Stationery Show, set overseas, and came back into the United States for half the price! That is a fact! I know because I set up the display at the show and when we packed up the product to ship it back to Grand Rapids, that set was gone. Needless to say, our sales took a nosedive. In 1964 the Players Choice Chess was introduced. This design ranged in size from a 2½” king up to the Imperial set with a 5” king. The King Arthur chess that required a very costly set of molds and never did sell well was also part of this era. The biggest seller of all was the 3½” Players Choice Chess Set. In conclusion, the Drueke line of games during the course of their history included wood puzzles, dice games, chip racks, backgammon and favorite family and action games. At the peak of their business, the company sold over 300 products. Today the best place to get Drueke games is on the internet. William F. Drueke III April 10, 2014 The following additional information was compiled/provided by Peter Biggins and Paul Drueke, both of whom are also grandsons of William F. Drueke Sr. By 1917, demand was great enough that the new company moved to a small rented building at 122 Scribner NW in Grand Rapids. In just a couple of years the business outgrew its facilities on Scribner Avenue, so William F. Drueke bought a larger building at the corner of Marshall Avenue and the Pere Marquette Railroad (Pere Marquette is now CSX). Soon after, the company added a furniture line, including spinet desks, secretary desks, bookshelves, and tables. But just a few short years later, William Drueke disbanded the company when he accepted an offer from a friend to become a Sales Manager within a large furniture company. That position came to an abrupt end, however, due to a business disagreement with the owner of the furniture company, and William Drueke left the company. In 1932, he restarted the Drueke game business. All the work was done in the family home, using the basement and attic. Also in 1932, Drueke wrote and produced Drueke’s Chess Primer. By 1935, the new business was doing well enough that it moved out of the Drueke home and into rented space in the Shaw Building at 640 Front Ave NW. The company moved again in 1940, this time moving to a building only a few blocks away, at 601 Third St NW, which had been purchased for $15,000. (The site referred to above by William F. Drueke III) As William F. Drueke III mentioned in his history, when William F. Drueke Sr. died suddenly in 1956 at age 72, his sons Bill (William F. Drueke Jr) and Joe (Joseph Drueke) continued to run the business. Bill did the manufacturing and Joe handled sales. They each equally owned a little over a third of the stock in the company with Rose, William F. Drueke Sr’s widow, and Marion, his daughter, owning the rest. However, according to Joe’s son, Paul Drueke, in 1971 a difference of opinion arose between Joe and Bill. Joe started another company, known as Drueke Blue Chip Game Company (see logo below right), even as he continued to own a share of the original Drueke Company. The Drueke Blue Chip Company made pretty much the same games as the original Drueke Company. Thus, between 1971 and 1987, there were two Drueke game companies. Drueke Blue Chip Company Logo [Photo Courtesy of Paul Drueke] In July and August of 1972, American Bobby Fischer beat the Russian chess champion Boris Spassky in Reykjavik, Iceland. Drueke games received a priceless promotion when photos showed Bobby Fischer practicing with the Players’ Choice set from Drueke. The match in Iceland between Fischer and Spassky doubled orders for Drueke chess sets. An article in the Sunday New York Times mentioned increased demand for chess sets as a result of the match. The article specifically mentioned the William F. Drueke Company’s Players’ Choice as among the sets recommended by experts. In 1987, when Bill Jr. was age 75, the Drueke Company was sold to the Low Tech Company. Shortly afterward, Joe also sold his share of the Drueke Company to Low Tech, as well as the Drueke Blue Chip Game Company. The Drueke name was retained. As part of the sales agreement, Joe Sr. continued on as a consultant and in sales for a couple of years, while Joe Jr. became a sales manager In 1990, the Low Tech Company sold Drueke to the Carrom Company, which moved manufacturing operations to its home in Ludington, Michigan. Joe Jr. continued to work for the Carrom Company as a manufacturer’s rep until 1994. The Carrom Company continues to produce games under the Drueke name to this day.7 As of this writing, William F Drueke III still maintains a shop in which he continues to hand-build custom chessboards and tables. He may be contacted by phone (1.616.328.2356), or email ([email protected]). His chessboards and tables can also be found for sale on ebay from time to time. 7 For more historical information on the Drueke Company, or Drueke family, please visit Peter Biggin’s excellent website: peterspioneers.com. 25 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES CHESS SETS OF THE WM. F. DRUEKE COMPANY WOOD SETS As is evident from the history given by the sources above, it is difficult, if not impossible, to know what the original wood sets may have looked like. Sets are often seen being sold with the claim they are from Drueke. All too often, however, the only connection the seller has for making such a claim is the presence of a manual or board from Drueke that happened to be with the set, or the set came in a box with the Drueke label. Unfortunately, claims based on such fluid evidence do not mean much; it is quite easy for such things to get switched around over the years. But a couple clues may be of help. For the earlier sets, a clue can be found in the catalog put out by the Drueke Company in 1920 – referred to by William F. Drueke III earlier. A picture of the cover is shown [right], with the inside page also shown. There are three different wood sets illustrated, made of two kinds of wood – maple and boxwood. The illustrations are rather crude by today’s standards, but they do give us some idea of what those early sets may have looked like. [Photos of the 1920 Drueke catalog courtesy of Dan Navarro] For later sets - from the restart of the company in the 1930s and later – a clue might be found in an ad [left] put out by the Drueke Company for the March 1946 International Toy Fair. Just below right center can be seen three wood chess pieces from a Drueke chess set. Interestingly, the pieces, especially the king and bishop, look as if they could have been the direct inspiration for the pieces that appeared in the [plastic] Players’ Choice sets from Drueke nearly 20 years later. Below is a large wood set Drueke made for display purposes and loaned to retailers. The price for the set in 1938 was $200! William F. Drueke III currently owns the pieces shown in this photo. Wood, 9¼” King [Photo courtesy of William F. Drueke III] VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES Pictured on this page are three sets I own, all of which came in boxes with Drueke labels. Given the above information, the Drueke Company may have sold all three sets, but it may not ever be possible to verify this as fact conclusively. One set that was definitely sold by Drueke is the one pictured center right. It appeared in the 1938 Drueke Catalog and was listed at $72/dozen. Based on the previous information – and a comparison of quality between it and the sets pictured on the previous page – the set shown below was probably imported, likely from France. Wood, 2 5/8” King >> Set shown below left in its original case Patent # D128794, 1941, American Design, by William F. Drueke >> THE AMERICAN DESIGN Between 1941 and 1946, Will and his sons, Joe and Bill, applied for and received patents for the designs of eight games. The most notable, for our purpose, was patent #D128794. This is the octagon-shaped set referred to by William F. Druke III, and designed by Charles B. Chatfield. It was designed to be made of plastic and was referred to by the company as the American Design. 26 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES American Design, ℗1941, 2½” King, Tenite plastic, White & Red, White & Black >> Interestingly, there is one rather notable style variation – a change to the queen’s coronets. One version had thinner, more scalloped/upright coronets [Red & White set right], the other had flatter/blunter coronets (Black & White set, second right]. The set with the ‘flatter’ queen’s coronets may have been slightly larger. Currently unknown is the reason for the change[s], or which version came first. Going by the illustration[s] that accompanied the original patent [previous page], it would appear the original design was the one with the thinner, more scalloped coronets as seen in the first photo above. This might explain the change in the design, as these coronets tended to be rather vulnerable and the points of the queen’s coronets often got broken. The flatter/blunter coronet design, as seen in the second photo above, may therefore have been an attempt to prevent such damage from occurring to future sets. I own an example of each set. The set with the thinner more scalloped queen’s coronets has a distinctly deeper yellow coloring than the other set, which also leads me to believe it may be the older set. William F. Drueke III has original drawings that were made of four different versions of the American Design before a final design was selected. Is it possible these two variations might match some of those drawings? American Design Models No 20: unweighted/unfelted No 22: weighted, felted No 23: weighted, felted No 24: weighted, felted, leatherette box (Possible) White & Chocolate, Plastic, [photo courtesy of Dan Navarro] >> The photos to the right and above show two color combinations available in the American Design. A third color combination appears to have also been available [center right]. In all of the Drueke literature and ads I have examined over the years, the set pictured to the right center is the only example I have ever seen of that color combination. But, as they say, pictures don’t lie. I know nothing more about it. TRAVEL SET The ad to the right, featuring the American Design as a pegged travel set, appeared on the back of Drueke Instruction Manuals that came with Drueke chess sets. I also found ads for the pegged Deluxe Travel Set in the Chess Life magazine – as early as the November 1962 Christmas catalog. Pegged Travel Set No 900 (Also available was a magnetized version top of next page) 27 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES 28 Magnetic Travel Set, plastic, also known as ‘The Little Jewel’ or ‘Remotrol’ set The magnetized version of the American Design Travel Set During WWll, Drueke, like other game makers, put much of their production effort into supporting the war – by producing multitudes of small, portable ‘Pocket Games’. Above right is a picture of what the Pocket Games chess set looked like when opened. This travel set appears to match the one illustrated in a patent received by William F. Drueke on January 19, 1943 [left]. At one point, Drueke shipped out a railroad car that was full of nothing but Pocket Games – including chess, backgammon, cribbage boards, and other games in their product line. Fans of Drueke chess sets might find it difficult to believe the set displayed below was really from the Drueke Company – if it were not for the evidence given on the box lid itself [bottom left]. The lid lists two different chess styles available under the same model number. A stamp on the box lid identified which set was contained in that particular box (as barely seen to the right of the Model No., in the photo at bottom left of page). In this case, the box contained the KFlorentine set. While unknown for sure, it is doubtful the K-Florentine chess pieces were actually produced by Drueke. Since the Kingsway Company owned the patent to this design, it would seem more likely Kingsway supplied the sets to Drueke. But this surprising little ‘curve’ also illustrates the difficult, yet interesting, twists so often seen when examining the histories of American chess companies. There appears to have been a generic sharing of styles and packaging between game manufacturers. It would be interesting if agreements between the different companies could be found. It is definitely a subject deserving more research. 29 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES PLAYERS’ CHOICE CHESS SET (ALSO KNOWN AS THE LUXURY LINE) Players’ Choice came in three different sizes – Small, 2½” King, ‘simulated wood’ Plastic >> Standard (tournament size), 3¾” King, ‘simulated wood’ Plastic Imperial, 5” King [not shown], ‘simulated wood’ Plastic According to William F. Drueke III, only 25-50 of the Imperial-sized set were made per year, since they were so expensive to make. Players’ Choice Comparison, Small vs Standard size chess sets >> Up until the introduction of their ‘Players Choice’ chess set, Drueke did not have a tournament-size chess set to offer the public. This would have made for a serious gap in their product line and, no doubt, was one the company felt the need to fill if it was to be truly competitive. While Drueke advertisements [bottom left] stated the set was officially introduced at the 1965 National Open in Las Vegas (where it was so popular every set on hand sold out at the event), evidence seems to indicate the set was available some time earlier. Note the ad that appeared in the November 1963 Chess Life, page 288 [bottom right]. A frequent problem faced while compiling information for this book has been the same problem found in this ad. The problem is, since sets were often advertised by the USCF itself – the makers were left unidentified. However, while the USCF may have placed their name on the ads, the Federation usually didn’t touch the ad copy itself. This makes it possible to compare USCF ads with later ones placed by the manufacturers themselves. In this manner, it is possible to identify the maker. In this case, the comparisons help us determine both ads were for the Drueke Players’ Choice set. First, the set itself: Compare the design of the King, Queen, Pawns and, especially, the Knights in the two ads. The design of the Knights alone surely indicates the set is from Drueke. After all, this was the knight design Drueke used for their company logo. Second, as mentioned earlier, the way in which the ads were written can be just as telling. Compare the wording used in the ad above left with the wording used in ad above right. Parts of them match word for word. And finally, Players’ Choice was also know as ‘The Luxury Line’, the name used to identify the set in the November 1963 ad seen in the ad to the right. All of this evidence, put together, indicates the set is the Players’ Choice, and even more – that it was available for some time before the Las Vegas National Open in 1965. VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES Interestingly, the pieces to the Players’ Choice sets were made in two pieces – with the exception of the knights. I discovered this for myself quite by accident. While cleaning a small size set I had recently purchased, the bishop suddenly came apart in my hand [right]. Also note what appears to be glue residue on the ‘insert’ at the top of the stem. Curious, I quickly examined all the other pieces in the set and found they evidently were all made in the same way. This was a surprise – to me, at least – as I had always assumed these sets, and most plastic sets in general, were molded as one piece. To the center right is a picture of the king, well illustrating this two-piece manufacturing process. A seam line is visible on the top part of the piece, but no such seam line is visible anywhere on the stem or base. Another interesting comparison: We know the American Design was made of Tenite. Drueke stated the fact a number of times in their advertisements. But whether the Players’ Choice was also made of Tenite has been open to debate. This may be due to the fact the Players’ Choice set has a very different look, feel and texture than the American Design – perhaps deliberately so, considering the ads touted its “Hi-Impact satin-finished plastic”. However, at one point, a card included with all Drueke chess sets made a blanket statement regarding the plastic used by Drueke that would seem to cover all of the company’s plastic chess sets [below]. In addition, compare the card [bottom right] with the ad below. The wording of the statement on the card regarding the “Hi-Impact satin-finished plastic that will not attack the lacquer finishes” is an exact match to the identical statement made in the advertisement for the Players’ Choice set. Such evidence would seem to support the conclusion that the Players’ Choice was also likely made of Tenite. Magnetic version of Luxury Line/ Players’ Choice >> from the 1969 USCF Catalog >> 30 31 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES I find a certain irony in the fact that Samuel Reshevsky began his chess career in America as a child prodigy under the sponsorship of William F. Drueke. And then later, as an adult, he graced the cover of the April 1965 issue of Chess Life, playing in a tournament – with none other than a Players’ Choice chess set – from Drueke. KING ARTHUR Throughout the 1940-1950s, one of the most popular chess set designs on the market was the Gothic chess design by Peter Ganine. For something like 30 years, from 1947 through the 1970s, the game was sold in the hundreds of thousands. Drueke may have again felt the need to market a rival set. To do so, the company commissioned William A. Bendekgey, a local master wood carver, to design and make a set in a similar design to the Gothic. The design he created was named the King Arthur set. The set began to be sold by Drueke around 1964 – about the same time the company introduced the Players’ Choice. The set was manufactured differently than any Drueke plastic sets before it, however. Each chessman was manufactured in two pieces, a metal weight was inserted into the base, and the two halves were then sealed together. Evidently, this was an attempt to keep the weights from falling out. Unfortunately, the process apparently created other unforeseen problems – sometimes the weights came lose and could not be fixed – unless one was willing to destroy the piece in the process. Another disadvantage was the lack of protective felt on the bottoms. This caused excessive wear on whatever chessboard was being used for play – and forget about using it on a wooden board. Also, the mold method used produced rather hollowed out pieces that were seriously more thin-skinned than either of its rival sets – the Ganine Gothic – or even Drueke’s own Players’ Choice. Some have compared the thickness of the pieces to that of a ping-pong ball. Which, perhaps, is a rather harsh comparison. Possibly as late as 1986, ads for the King Arthur set were included in many of the company brochures, instruction booklets and chess primers. Despite such heavy promotion by Drueke, the set did not live up to its hopes or sales expectation and never proved to be a valid competitor to the Ganine Gothic design. It is not often seen on the aftermarkets and remains rather rare and unknown. King Arthur No 1007, ~1963-64, 4” King, Plastic >> King Arthur sets were sold in the following color combinations: Ivory & Black (top right) Ivory & Black Gold Faces [above right] Tan/Chocolate Marbled Tan/Chocolate Marbled, Gold Faces Ochre/Black DYNAMIC DESIGN 1433 N Central Park Anaheim CA 92802 1973, 2½” King, Wood >> I have not been able to find much information about this company other than its main focus was apparently on the production of “psychological board games”, such as Wine Cellar, Emperor of China, Who Can Beat Nixon, and others. Perhaps chess fit somewhere in that 32 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES product philosophy? I could find no further information on the company. The wood set shown on the previous page shares several of the same characteristics as wood sets from Cardinal, Horn, The Embossing Company, and others. There are differences, though – in particular the king. It has a cross on the finial rather than the round ‘knob’ as seen on the finials of the kings from the other companies mentioned. A set with a similar king to the one below was supposedly sold by Horn, but the knights were different. In the example to the right, the chess pieces shown on the box lid appear to also share many of the characteristics seen in the wood sets from Cardinal, Horn and The Embossing Company. In fact, these chess pieces seem to have more similarity with those competing sets than even with its sister set shown on the bottom of the previous page. Strato Chess, Wood, chrome and acrylic boards >> EAST COAST GAMES Wood >> THE EMBOSSING COMPANY 23 Church St 58 Liberty St Albany NY Disk Set, Wood >> Despite claims made to the contrary by other companies, there is a good possibility The Embossing Company may have been the first chess-making company in America. It was definitely one of the earliest. Evidence suggests it may have been manufacturing chess sets, in the form of disks [bottom right], as early as 1871. Since The Embossing Company was founded for the purpose of manufacturing embossed wood products, it is likely the company’s first chess sets, as mentioned earlier, consisted of embossed wood disks similar to the ones shown to the right (Note the embossed or ‘raised design/relief” on the surfaces of the disks). This set was offered for many years, but whether or not it is representative of their original 33 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES product cannot be said for sure. Given the company’s history, it would seem likely. Wooden Disk and Staunton-style Chess Sets. Note the similarity in the wooden >> Staunton set with those sold by other companies such as Horn, Cardinal, etc. >> The company was incorporated on January 22, 1870 in Albany, New York and operated until December 31, 1955. At that time it was sold to Halsam Products Company of Chicago Illinois. The company’s product line included checkers, dominoes, picture puzzles, ABC blocks and other games and products. The company took special pride in its embossed wood products and the graphics on them were spectacular. The Embossing Company also served as the US sales agents for the Britishmade Meccano and Plasticine products. Throughout its history, the company owners were responsible for a good number of patents in plastics, water purification, machine tools, bearings, dental plates and other manufacturing processes. Perhaps the most notable was the patent received by one of the owners, John Hyatt, for the invention of Celluloid. But it was his brother, Isaiah Hyatt, another owner of the company, who coined the word ‘celluloid’. This invention, and others, led to the establishment of sister companies – such as the Hyatt Billiard Ball Company and the Bonsilate Company. No 420, Plastic, <1955 >> Although solid verification is lacking, it would appear The Embossing Company possibly supplied chess sets and other games to a number of other companies, such as the H. Baron Company, E. S. Lowe Company, Wm F. Drueke Company, Parker Brothers and Milton Bradley. When Halsam bought The Embossing Company at the end of 1955, it continued to manufacture products and sell them under the umbrella name of “The Embossing Company Division of Halsam Products Company”. It was primarily used for Halsam’s economy products. For example, both The Embossing Company and Halsam sold the plastic set shown to the right. And as mentioned earlier, evidence suggests this set was also supplied to other companies to sell under their brand names. Mouseketeer, Plastic [chess pieces] >> Eventually, all Embossing Company products were sold under the Halsam name – the original Embossing Company packaging was often still used, only the names were substituted. An example of this practice is the Mousketeer set shown above, where both the Halsam and The Embossing Company names were used (the Halsam name can be seen on the bottom of the lid, The Embossing name can be seen on the bottom of the cardboard insert inside the box). Halsam Products was taken over by Playskool in 1962. Milton Bradley purchased Playskool in 1968 and, in turn, the Hasbro Company purchased Milton Bradley in 1984.e EXECUTIVE GAMES, INC Boston MA 02124 Peter Stepanek incorporated Executive Games in Dorchester, Massachusetts, in 1968. Games, such as chess and badminton, and other novelty items, were its original product line. By 1975 the company had turned its attention to home electronic games. The company first introduced a home version of an air-hockey game and then introduced Television Tennis, the first electronic game taken on by the company itself. The game was introduced in time for Christmas 1975 and was an instant success. For Christmas 1976, the company offered a TV Hockey/Soccer game. However, one month later, in January 1976, the company’s factory was badly vandalized and Executive Games ceased operations shortly afterwards. Chess Mate, 8½” King, plastic, sand filled for weight >> 32” X 32” carpet board made for Executive Games by Glenoit Mills, Inc >> 34 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES FRANKLIN MINT th th 8 W 40 St 14 Flr 486 Thomas Jones Way New York NY 10018 Franlin Center PA 19341 Joseph Segel originally founded The Franklin Mint in 1964 as a private mint, manufacturing and marketing coins, jewelry, diecast vehicles, dolls, sculptures and other collectibles. In 1980, Warner Communications purchased the company but then sold the company in 1985 to American Protection Industries, Inc (API). API renamed itself Roll International (RI) in 1993. Entering the 2000s, RI began closing down much of the Franklin Mint business, ultimately selling its remains to a group that included a private equity investor and The Morgan Mint. The latter appears to still be operating in full form at this time. The predominant material used for making the chess pieces was pewter. The pieces were then hand painted or covered/highlighted in Sterling Silver and 24 carat Gold. A couple exceptions were the Chess Sets of the Gods – made from Bisque Porcelain, and the Coca-Cola set, which the mint claimed was made from ‘Tiffany-like’ glass. Both were then embellished in Sterling Silver and 24 carat Gold. Tournament of Camelot, pewter, 1977 >> According to the document that came with the set [right] >> Tournament at Camelot was the first chess set offered by the Franklin Mint >> Blue & Gold Civil War Set, Pewter, also available in Gold & Silver finish, 1983 Ulysses S Grant and Robert E Lee served as Kings Chess Set of the Gods, White & Black, Porcelain Bisque accented in 24 carat gold Battle of Waterloo, Pewter, 1984 35 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES The Great Crusaders, Richard the Lionhearted vs The Saracens >> 5” King, ©1984, Tesori Porcelain >> The Great Crusaders set came in a wooden storage box with formed trays to hold individual pieces. Franklin Mint evidently sold the set in either the ‘natural’ colors shown here, or in a fully hand-painted version. Plaque fastened to top of wooden storage box << Raj, 1987, Pewter, set is based on the British/Indian Sepoy Indian Revolution, 1857 Star Trek 25th Anniversary, Pewter, 1989 >> << Emperors of the Orient, 1992, 4 1/8” King, Porcelain Sportsman Trophy, Pewter, 1994 36 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES Star Trek Next Generation, Pewter and ‘Crystal-Clear’ base, 1993 >> Star Trek 3D, Pewter, 1994, Gold & Silver colored Lord of the Rings, Pewter >> Coca Cola Chess Set, 1996, 2½” King, Pewter and ‘Stained Glass’ >> Franklin Mint literature described the Coca Cola set as follows: “The playing surface, inspired by the early 1900's Coca-Cola stained glass lamps, is crafted with hand-cut, individually smoothed panels of authentic Victorian style stained glass arranged and soldered into place. The finished board is set into a hand-assembled hardwood frame with Victorian style open fretwork. The logo appliques on all four sides are individually hand-painted with fine enamels and lavishly embellished with 24K gold. The bodies of all 32 chess pieces are based on the design of a Coca-Cola syrup dispenser of the 1890's and accented with 24K gold. Each is hand-enameled to distinguish the opposing sides. The pawns, kings, and queens are each enhanced with Coca-Cola logos.” 37 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES King Tut, Pewter, 1997 >> << Looney Tunes, Pewter Faberge Imperial Jeweled Egg Miniature, Pewter, Gold, Sterling Silver, Rubies >> Official FIDE Champion Set, Wood >> VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES GALLANT KNIGHT 228@ Kinzie SW 1331 Shermer Rd S Chicago 10, IL Northbrook, IL Lake Villa, IL 340 S Racine St Chicago, IL The first reference I found to Gallant Knight chess sets was in the April 1942 Chess Review. In that issue, CR announced a set of ‘Gallant Knight Moulded Chessmen in wooden box’ would be given as 1st Prize in their Sectional Open Tournament. The first ad for Gallant Knight sets appeared in the Aug-Sept issue of Chess Review. Sets were weighted and felted. They were originally sold in two sizes: Small – 2 1/8” King, or Standard – 2 ¾” King. A larger set – 3 ¾” King, started appearing in Gallant Knight ads in the October 1942 Chess Review. The largest set – 5” King, was first advertised in October 1947 [see ad below right]. The ad to the right is from the October 1942 Chess Review. Note the reference to the sets being made of Tenite plastic. Like Drueke, GK also advertised their sets were made of Tenite, and did so as late as 1957 – possibly even somewhat later. Interestingly, the photo from the ad was used as a cover photo for the book “The Immortal Games of Capablanca” by Fred Reinfeld, first advertised in the December 1942 Chess Review. Standard, 2¾” King, Plastic No 125 – Black & White, No 126 – Red & White [shown above] The set pictured above matches the set illustrated in the top left corner of the ad shown to the right. The actual case, with set, is shown at the top left of the next page. Gallant Knight ad from the 1945 Chess Review Christmas Catalog >> Standard, 2 ¾” King, plastic, No 80–Black & White [shown above] No 81–Red & White [not shown] The set shown above matches the set illustrated in the bottom left corner of the ad above right. The actual case, with set, is shown at top left of the next page. I haven’t quite figured out what system – if any – was behind the numbering sequence to Gallant Knight chess sets. I do, however, have sets and cases that match the two sets illustrated on the left side of the ad above center. Ad announcing the availability of the new >> 5 Inch King Size Gallant Knight chess set >> 38 39 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES << No 80, Black & White, case with set << Compare to illustration in the 1945 Chess << Review Christmas Catalog [previous page] No 126, Red & White, case with set >> Compare to illustration from the 1945 Chess >> Review Christmas Catalog [previous page] >> Gallant Knight logo as emblazoned >> on the lid of both cases shown >> For the most part, Gallant Knight advertising appears to have ended by the end of 1962. I have, however, seen GK sets listed for sale in the USCF Catalogs of 1969 and 1970. But somewhere around this time, another name started appearing along with Gallant Knight – ARRCO Playing Card Company. The name change seems to have also accompanied a subsequent downgrade in quality. Gallant Knight totally disappeared from sight soon afterwards [see ARRCO Playing Card Company]. Style No 100, Plastic, Mottled Color >> << Style No 150B, 2¼” King, Plastic, Ivory & Black L400 – The Dundee, 3¼” King, Plastic, Red & White >> Gallant Knight also apparently sold a version of the Florentine design, as sold by Kingsway [left]. It also came in a Gold & Silver version. Although the set depicted on the box looks very much like the ‘Renaissance’ set shown earlier under ARRCO, it appears Gallant Knight used the box design and graphics for selling anything but the Renaissance chess set. Besides the Florentine set shown here, I have also seen the box used as packaging for both the ‘regular’ Gallant Knight chess set as well as versions of the ‘generic’ chess set. VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES To the right is a picture of the Gallant Knight Lawn Set that appeared on the front page of the May 5, 1950 Chess Life. The article about the set was found on page 3 (the two were combined here for display purposes). I have yet to find evidence Gallant Knight, itself, ever advertised the set. Shown below is another classic example of why it can be so difficult to verify which set was made and/or sold by which company. I bought the set due to the fact the seller said the box was still sealed. Therefore, it seemed safe to assume the box would still contain its original contents from when it left the factory. I was curious to see if the set inside matched the set illustrated on the box lid. Especially since the set represented on the lid bears no resemblance to any the classic GK sets shown earlier. The box did arrive – still in its original wrapping from the factory. I was surprised, though, when I opened the box and found the set inside wasn’t related to any of the GK sets discussed above or to the set illustrated on the box cover. Instead, the set was a direct match to the set sold by Kingsway. 40 41 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES GEM PRECISION 41 Murray St New York NY 10007 Ad as it appeared in the October 1970 Chess Life and Review >> The set itself is understandably heavy. Unfortunately, the “silk screen” chessboard built into the top of the box was only cardboard and really couldn’t support the weight of the pieces and ultimately ‘caved in’/collapsed. Below is a photo of the actual set. Chess Nuts, 3” King, Metal ‘GENERIC’ SETS Maker[s] Unknown Since I refer several times to a ‘generic’ set, perhaps now is a good time to explain what I mean by the term. I apply the term to a chess set design that was made/supplied by as yet unknown manufacturer[s] to almost every company that ever sold chess sets. Unfortunately, this fact also makes it nearly impossible to determine the true origins of the set. However, information provided by the John Hansen Co., as recounted later, may give some indication as to where the sets were manufactured. The US Chess Federation placed the ‘generic’ ad shown at left in the January 1974 Chess Review. Compare the set in the ad to the generic sets sold by a large number of other companies listed elsewhere in this book. ‘Generic’ Plastic >> C. R. GIBSON COMPANY Norwalk Conn The Gibson family, originally from York, England, settled in the U.S. in 1850. Four brothers, Robert, Stephen, George and Samuel, started a printing company in 1860. Sixteen-year-old John Gibson launched a printing company of his own, called the John Gibson Company, in 1870. It would eventually become today’s C.R Gibson Company. Some of John Gibson Company’s original retail products included letterheads and business forms, notes, drafts and receipts sold to stationers, plus marriage certificates and calendars. VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES No. KA33, Wood, compare to Horn No A33 >> After operating separately for over thirty years, the John Gibson Company and the Gibson Art Company merged into one, forming C.R. Gibson & Company under the leadership of John Gibson’s nephew, Charles Gibson. A young innovator and apprentice to the family business, Charles had previously developed wedding and baby books from the elaborate wedding and baptismal certificates of the day. These fresh formats were transferred to the new company, increasing C.R. Gibson’s presence in the industry and established it as an industry leader. By 1940, with the rough waters of the Great Depression behind them, the company had outgrown its New York dwelling, so C.R. Gibson, comprised of thirty-some employees, relocated to larger facilities and a more measured pace of life in Norwalk, Connecticut. C.R. Gibson purchased photo album manufacturer, W.C. Horn Brothers & Company. This pivotal maneuver allowed C.R. Gibson to successfully enter the gift book and photograph album market with two revolutionary products: the popular Unimount™ photo album featuring adhesive pages under acetate sheets, and the Univision™ photo album with acetate windows (or pockets) on each page. These particular products were originally developed by W C Horn and appear to have been the major motivation behind C R Gibson’s acquisition of the Horn Company. As a direct result, sales increased sevenfold in as many years for C.R. Gibson. Interestingly, up until this time, Horn had been contracting with C R Gibson to produce cribbage boards and chess sets that were then sold under the Horn name. In 1979, C R Gibson purchased Creative Papers Stationery Company. C.R. Gibson itself was acquired in December 2007 by CSS Industries, Inc. In May 2008, the company acquired Basalt Colorado-based Iota Stationery and Gifting Essentials. GITS MOLDING CORPORATION 4600 W Huron St Chicago IL The first ad for Gits chess sets appeared in the January 29, 1947 issue of Chess Life. It consisted of a simple list of chess sets that were available along with descriptions and prices. The first ad to show an illustration of a Gits chess set [right] appeared in the May 5, 1947 issue of Chess Life. No 500, 2” King. Despite the difference in packaging this set appears to be the same as the Parti-Game set [top of next page] 42 43 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES Parti-Game, 2” King, Plastic >> [see No. 500 shown on previous page] No 820, 2 ¾” King, plastic, weighted and felted, Mottled Ivory & Black Set No. 820 came in the case shown to the right >> Note how it matches the case illustrated in the ad on bottom of previous page >> << Size comparison between No 820 and << Parti-Game sets, the family resemblance << is unmistakable, notably in the knights Close up [right] in which can be seen >> (barely, after all these years) the company name >> G I T S, embossed into the top cover >> GOLDEN See Western Publishing Golden was a trademark of Western Publishing. Compare this set and packaging to the set and packaging used by Parker Brothers. Also compare the set to a like one from Transogram. GRAND RAPIDS DOWEL WORKS Grand Rapids, Mich The company was started in 1913 and, as reported by the owner’s grandson, early in the company’s history it made chess sets for Drueke. According to A Working List of Historic Michigan Furniture Manufacturers, GRDW merged with Saunders Brothers Dowel Makers of Westbrook ME, in 1978. I have seen very few samples of chess sets from this company, but they also seem to match wood sets sold by Horn, The Embossing Company, Drueke, Cardinal, and others. The company also published “A Beginner’s Book of Chess” in 1917. 44 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES MICHAEL GRAVES Princeton NJ Michael Grave was an American architect and professor at Princeton University, known for designing domestic products sold at Target stores (now at JC Penny’s). Among those products are ‘takes’ on several different board games, the chess set seen below being one of them. Magnetic, Plastic >> HALSAM 4114-4124 Ravenswood Ave Chicago 13, IL Plastic, White & Black >> Halsam was founded in 1917 by brothers-in-law Harold (Hal) Elliot and Sam Goss, Jr. The company name was created by combining the founders’ first names (Hal + Sam). Sam Goss Sr. had invented the highspeed rotary press. But when Sam Jr. talked to his father about joining him in the printing business, his father convinced his son he should try a different business; one without the kind of fluctuations that affected the printing business. Sam decided on making toys and bought a woodworking company in Muskegon, Michigan. That company was already making wooden blocks. Sam Goss moved the business to 4114 Ravenswood Ave, Chicago. He persuaded his father to apply the engineering expertise he had used in inventing the rotary press to the making of wooden blocks. As a result, the company’s first product was the automated manufacturing of wooden blocks. Raw wood was put into one end of the machine and finished blocks rolled out of the other end. Employees would then assemble the loose blocks into completed sets. Halsam was the first licensee for Disney products. The company also made bakelite dominoes and checkers and eventually introduced American Bricks. As part of a consolidation effort, Halsam acquired JOHN N HANSEN COMPANY 369 Adrian Rd Millbrae CA 94030 The John N. Hansen Company was established in 1947 and is presently under the management of three generations of the same family. The company is a game manufacturer/assembler/distributor for many national game and toy companies. Medieval, <1972 – 2002, Chessmaster No 378, Plastic >> Set was assembled from parts made in Asia and the US >> their rival wooden block maker, The Embossing Company, in 1955. After the acquisition, Halsam moved to a new factory and office building at 3610 Touhy Ave, in Chicago. I do not know if the chess design shown below was original to Halsam, but evidence indicates Halsam sold it both before and after the Halsam Company was purchased by Playskool. The set was also sold by Milton Bradley after MB purchased Playskool. I do know Halsam sold chess sets that were original to The Embossing Company, after Halsam purchased that company. Playskool purchased Halsam in 1962. Milton Bradley, in turn, purchased Playskool, sometime in the 1970s. 45 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES Chessmaster, Plastic >> The Hansen Company sold this set under the name of “Chessmaster”. It is obviously another version of the ‘Generic’ set described earlier and sold by so many different game companies. As such, it illustrates why I have, rather reluctantly, used the word ‘generic’ to identify these sets. Generic or not, this is one of my favorite sets to use for play. It is simply a nice solid set with which to play. At the time the Hansen Company confirmed they sold this set, it also informed me the set consisted of pieces originally manufactured in Japan, then Taiwan, and finally, China. Perhaps such information provides a clue as to the manufacturing origins of most, if not all, ‘Generic’ sets? HASBRO INC 1027 Newport Ave Central Falls Pawtucket RI Hasbro/Hassenfeld, Plastic, 1967 >> Brothers Henry, Helal and Herman Hassenfeld founded the Hassenfeld Brothers Company in 1923, as a textile remnant company. The company was incorporated in 1926. Within just a few years the brothers were using the textile remnants to make hat liners and pencil box covers. They soon began making their own pencil boxes, however, once they saw how popular they were. In 1935, when the supplier of pencils to Hassenfeld decided to raise their prices and sell their own pencil boxes at a cheaper price, the brothers also started making their own pencils. By 1942, as the demand for school supplies waned, the company became primarily a toy company. The pencil making business continued as a major moneymaker for the company, however, until that part of the business was spun off on its own as Empire Pencil in 1980. Toy hits were Mr. Potato Head (in 1952, the first toy to be advertised on TV), GI Joe (in 1964) and My Little Pony (1982). The company became a major licensee for Disney characters in 1954. By 1960, Hassenfeld was one of the largest private toy companies in the nation. The company name was changed to Hasbro Industries in 1968. While these two examples from Hasbro are similar to the ‘standard’ Lowe design, they were apparently a cheaper imitation – see Tucket Toy Co., a company with close ties to Hasbro. Also compare them to the set illustrated on the box lid for The Learning Game by Gallant Knight. In 1977, Hasbro acquired the licensing rights to the ‘Peanuts’ characters. In 1984 it introduced the Transformers line, which proved to be highly successful. The company purchased the Knickerbocker Toy Company in 1982, Milton Bradley in 1984, CBS Toys in 1985, and Playskool in 1986. It acquired bankrupt Coleco in 1989, and bought Tonka Corp (owner of Parker Brothers) in 1991. It bought Avalon Hills in 1998 and Wizards of the Coast in 1999. As a result of its acquisitions, Hasbro became the world’s largest toy maker by the mid-1980s. Mattel reclaimed that position in 1993, however, when it acquired Fisher-Price. Most Hasbro products are now made in East Asia. Along with that practice has also come the alleged worker abuse, domestic work force layoffs, factory closings, and ‘obscenely’ paid CEOs. A book about chess sets made in the United States has no choice but to lament the company’s following of a pattern currently seen all too often in the corporate world of America. Family Fun, Plastic, ©1971 >> VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES #37802 Chess Game, Plastic >> In contrast, the set shown to the right was apparently an ‘inhouse’ Hasbro design and product, from the company’s ‘Design Center East’. On the bottom of the plastic case is impressed ‘Made in America’ and ‘Hasbro Industries’. The literature that accompanied the set described this chess design in this way: “The game of the ages! But in a design no older than “now”. This Marslike planetary set reverses the tradition; has all “men” in one shape, opponent colors identify the pieces. Men are prismatic. A really new interpretation of chessmen – for collector and beginner alike.” Hasbro also used a similar design for a set of Checkers. HOLLENDONNER CHESSMEN 1830 T St NW Washington DC 20009 This is the one and only ad I have found for this set. Patents were filed for the chess piece designs in 1976 and, for the most part, granted in 1977. The one exception appears to have been for the queen. The patent filed for the design of the queen piece was not granted until 1979. 46 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES 47 A HOLUM AND SONS CO. INC 341 N Pulaski Rd 740 Burr Oak Dr Chicago, IL Westmont IL 60559 When I discovered this company was still in business, I sent an email asking if anyone might know some history on the set bearing their name. Following is the response I received: “My name is Richard Holum, president of Holum and Sons Co Inc. I have to say WOW! What a blast from the past. A. Holum and Sons was my grandfather’s company, Arthur Holum. The location, 341 North Pulaski, was the first building A. Holum and Sons moved into after starting the business in my grandfather’s basement. I believe the first location was only a thousand square feet or less. We are now over 77 years old, 40,000 square feet and I am third generation and sole proprietor.” “My father Edward T Holum, second generation and former president of Holum and Sons, was piloting B-24 bombing missions into Germany during the time the chessboard was being manufactured by his father, Arthur, and brother, Leo. “Holum and Son is a custom “Job Shop”, we don’t have any proprietary products manufactured here, all work is basically one of a kind. The chess/checkers set is something I have never seen before and any records of its manufacturer are long gone. “I have to say thank you for bringing this piece to my attention and I am amazed how it has come full circle after all these years.” The follow-up below was received shortly after: “After sending you my email I noticed something interesting. The name on game was "Buddy" Chess and Checkers. That got me to thinking a little more about this game and my family history. A third brother was also involved in the business and his name was William Holum. He was also well known to be called "Bud". Was this just a coincidence? I can't say with 100% certainty. I would have to conclude that the work I see is familiar to us, and something we would produce. I would also say that it was "manufactured and distributed" by my grandfather and uncles at the Pulaski factory in Chicago as stated on the envelope. We would have every capability to produce that product. I am sure that this was an early venture of a custom product by A. Holum and Sons and probably my uncle Bud. I don't have the complete history of our company as I have only worked here the last thirty years of our seventy-seven year history. When I started at the factory my grandfather and two uncles, Leo and Bud had already passed away.” Granted, the above is a lot of space devoted to a relatively insignificant chess set, but it is this kind of information that makes collecting so interesting. Such history is fascinating and makes the set that much more personal. W C HORN BRO & CO rd 571 N 3 St Newark NJ According to its Masthead, W. C. Horn, Bro. & Co. was established in 1846. It was incorporated on July 1, 1924. The company address was listed as 200 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. The company had a factory located in Newark, New Jersey. It appears W C Horn was known mostly for its photo albums and other stationery supplies (CR Gibson lauded its acquisition of the Horn Company because of the innovative photo album products from Horn that could now be added to the Gibson product line). But W. C. Horn was also known for its cribbage and chess sets. However, evidence indicates the cribbage boards were actually made for W. C. Horn by R. F. McCrillis, Inc. from the early 1920s through the 1970s. This makes me wonder if this might also be true for the chess sets sold by the Horn Company [also see C. R. Gibson Company]. The ad to the right first appeared in the March 1935 Chess Review. It was, however, used as a generic ad by Chess Review for several months prior to 1935. The generic ad used the same text and graphics, but without the use of a company logo of any kind. Ad variations were seen in the magazine nearly every month after its initial introduction. Sometimes, the Horn logo was used. Other times, only the graphics, sans logo were used. While the ads referred to Horn’s wood sets, the wood set itself – other than the knight – did not appear in ads until July 1937. All of these ad variations appeared randomly for several years. Ad is from the March 1935 Chess Review >> VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES No. A33 Wood, in original green box >> Note how the pieces are fitted into the box >> The fitted case, together with the box logo, helps confirm the set is from Horn (even after allowing for the large degree of artistic license evident in the ad). More Wood Unlike the example of the wooden set pictured to the right, I am not totally convinced the examples below are really from the Horn Company. The Horn Company advertised for many years in Chess Review and Chess Life and the ads consistently showed the same wood set. Not a single one of those ads ever showed anything close to the two sets shown here. On the other hand, the fact cannot be ignored that sets like these consistently come up for sale and are fairly consistent in their style, packaging and model numbering. As is the case with wood sets purportedly from Drueke, this commonality may be the best argument for supporting the sets are originally from Horn. Therefore, I have included these examples and will let the reader decide their origins. Compare them to the wood sets from Cardinal, Dynamic Design and Drueke, etc. Travel Sets An ad for the travel set shown below left first appeared in the November 1941 issue of Chess Review. While the Horn name does not appear in the ad, it is very likely the set came from Horn, given the evidence shown below. For whatever reason, advertising for this set does not appear to have lasted for long – possibly no longer than the next Christmas season. Ad for Travel Set, actual set is shown below left >> Note how the bottom of the set’s wood base [bottom center] is stamped with both the “Horn” and McGrillis names. This would seem to give credence to the possibility that at least some of the chess sets sold by Horn, like their cribbage boards, were actually made by the McGrillis Company. 48 49 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES The ad to the right is from the December 1936 Chess Review, page 286. It is the earliest ad I have found for Horn Catalin sets. Unfortunately, the quality of the picture is rather poor, so details of the set are pretty much impossible to determine. I included the ad to help date the set. Its dating can be of help in determining when such sets might have been available. In 1963, W. C. Horn Bro. & Co. was sold to C. R. Gibson & Company. Gibson apparently desired some innovative photo album copyrights and products owned by the Horn Company. Gibson evidently also attempted to continue the Horn Company’s venture in chess – by now producing the sets once supplied to Horn under the C. R. Gibson name (below). The attempt doesn’t appear to have lasted long. C R Gibson set KA33, wood, ~1963. Compare to Horn set A33 (shown earlier) INTERNATIONAL MINT PO Box 1151 Washington DC 20013 International Mint ad from the November 1972 Chess Life. It is the only ad I have ever seen for this company or their chess set. 50 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES KINGSBRIDGE th 10-05 35 Ave Long Island City NY 11106 Ad is from the October 1964 Chess Life. However, most sets I have seen from Kingsbridge came with the case and set shown below. And it is nothing like any of the items shown in the ad. Go figure . . . . The Kingsbridge name can be seen on the set to the right, consisting of a full box >> of matches for each chess piece. I have seen very few of these sets come up for sale >> << Renaissance, plastic, imported by Kingsbridge, see label below << Compare the set to like sets from ARRCO, Cardinal and Gallant Knight. Inside of box for this set which shows >> the Kingsbridge name. It would also >> seem to verify the set was imported >> KINGSWAY Deluxe: Embossed box with chessboard >> Red & White, Maroon & Ivory, Black & Ivory >> Standard: Box opened into chessboard, Black & Ivory I believe the set to the left is also probably from Kingsway, although there are differences: compare the tops of the rooks and knights’ heads with the ones in the first picture. Also note differences in collars. I refer to both sets as being from Kingsway since that is the company with which they are most often associated – I really have no idea whether they were actually produced by Kingsway or if Kingsway got them from a supplier. 51 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES << Varsity, 5½” King, Plastic When I received rhis set in the mail, the King and one Pawn were in two pieces. While repairing them, I realized the inside of the top of each piece had a slight ‘collar’ and the base piece fit into the bottom of the top piece quite nicely. The repairs became virtually invisible. I then realized the top of the pieces had mold lines while the bases did not. It appears the chessmen were made in two pieces and then glued together, much the same as was the Drueke’s Players’ Choice set (see Wm. F. Drueke Game Company). It was difficult to photograph, but note the barely visible mold line running between the finial and the first of the double rings (right). With the exception of the matching ‘fleur decoration’ on the other side, the rest are smooth. Below that first ring, there are no mold lines to be found whatsoever. << Size Comparison between the Kingsway sets shown << on the previous page and the Varsity Set shown above Below left is the first ad I discovered for the Florentine set from Kingsway. It is from the June 20, 1948 issue of Chess Life. The United States Chess Federation was the sponsor of the Kingsway ads from the first ad in June through the last ad [below right]. This last ad was in the September 5, 1948 Chess Life and displayed a different chess piece from the set. 52 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES Florentine, ©1947, available with either a 2 7/8” or 3¼” King, Plastic White & Red, White & Black, Marbled Gold & Silver Magnetic, Plastic >> KNIGHTS CASTLE 997 First Ave New York 22, NY The ad to the left appeared in the February 1951 Chess Review, page 37. Now you know as much about the company and this set as I do. KONTRELL INDUSTRIES Newburgh NY 12550 Peter Max, ©1971, Paper Cutout >> [Colors of set shown below] 1960-70s, Plastic, another example of a company selling a ‘generic’ set >> VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES KUIPER CARVING COMPANY 1519 Paris Ave SI Grand Rapids, Mich Another company from Grand Rapids that appears to have entered the ‘chess business. Did the company design and sell its own set [pictured below]? There are enough slight differences to the set that it is possible. But even at that, it is still a common enough design that it is impossible to say for sure. LEARNING GAMES, INC Quickmaster, Cardboard, ©1971 >> LIBERTY [W T PINNEY (?)] 811 Maltman Ave Los Angeles CA Life for the ad appearing to the right began in the 1942 issue of Chess Review. Sets were made of Olivewood and were weighted and felted, with the exception of the Economy Set. All came in a wooden box with a hinged lid and clasp. Judging by the similarities in description, design, and model numbers, the set in the ad could very well be the same set formerly sold by the Chess Equipment Company as “hand-carved chessmen”. Either way, it seems to have been a popular set. As noted in the ad, Reshevsky and Kashdan used a Master Set in their 1942 Championship match [as seen in photo at middle right of the next page]. The set also appeared on the covers of several Chess Review and Chess Life and Review magazines. I have seen pictures and descriptions indicating a W. T. Pinney, of Los Angeles, California, made the Liberty sets, but have yet to see ‘concrete’ evidence supporting/confirming that claim. However, the sets and descriptions I have seen very closely matched the details of the set shown in the previous ad. Compare the picture of the set in the ad with the sets shown at the top of the next page. The evidence would seem to indicate the claim has merit. 53 54 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES LINCOLN SPECIALTIES COMPANY Travel Chess and Checkers, Cardboard >> E S LOWE th 27 W 20 St New York 11, NY The E S Lowe Company was founded in 1929-1930 when E. S. Lowe introduced the world to the game of Bingo. From the beginning, the company had trouble keeping up with the demand for the game. Later, the company would have the same kind of success when it introduced the game of Yahtsee. Based on copyright dates, the company evidently didn’t start selling chess sets until around 1945. A copyright date of 1945 is on almost all chess related items sold by Lowe – the one major exception being the Renaissance set, which has a copyright date of 1959. The original basic chess set on which Lowe received its copyright was sold, virtually unchanged, for close to thirty years. According to one management insider, Lowe made even more money selling its chess and checker games.8 That is a significant statement when you consider how wildly successful the games of Bingo and Yahtsee were for the company. However, in spite of the millions of chess sets the Lowe Company likely sold over the years, I have never found references to any factory facilities or manufacturing plants owned or used by Lowe for manufacturing chess sets. So comes the question; did Lowe manufacture sets of their own, or did [a] supplier[s], provide chess sets to Lowe? 8 Eisler, Kim Isaac. Revenge of the Pequots: How a Small Native American Tribe Created the World's Most Profitable Casino, Simon & Schuster, New York, 2001 55 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES These photos have been scaled in size in an effort to match, and illustrate, the relative size differences between the sets. As the pictures also demonstrate, with the exception of the knights, all three sets reflect similar design characteristics. No 841, ©1945, 3 ¾” King, Plastic >> No 815 Magnetic, 2 5/8” King, Plastic, unweighted, unfelted >> Various Color Combinations Available For Lowe Chess Sets No 804: 2¼” King White & Red White & Black Marbled White & Marbled Black Marbled Red & Marbled Black Bakelite with case: 3¾” King White & Black White & Red No 815: 2 5/8” King Magnetic No 841: 3¾” King White & Red White & Black Marbled Purple & Pink No 831: ANRI Renaissance: 4” King No 835 ANRI Coronation: 5” King With the exception of bakelite sets, the sets listed above were sold either unweighted and unfelted, or weighted and felted. No 804, 2 ¼” King, Plastic, unweighted, unfelted >> Bakelite, ~1946 >> So far, the earliest ad I have discovered for Bakelite sets, like the set shown above, was in a 1946 Chess Review Christmas Catalog printed in both the November and December issues of the magazine. Since the ad [below left] is a generic ad from Chess Review, the maker cannot be positively identified as Lowe. However, I have the set in a similar case with the Lowe logo embroidered on a ribbon located in the upper inside left corner of the case [bottom right]. At the very least, the ad helps establish some kind of time frame in which the sets were available. << November 1946 Chess Review << Christmas Catalog, First Catalin ad Bakelite Set in Presentation Case >> 56 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES No 831, ANRI Renaissance, Plastic, ©1959 >> It is thought the Renaissance design was inspired by the coronation of Leopold I as the Holy Roman Emperor in 1658. The set was a copy of one originally produced by the ANRI Company of Italy. There must have been some kind of agreement for doing so between Lowe and ANRI, as the sets bore the logos of both companies, but I have not yet found any evidence or details of what that arrangement might have been. << No 835, ANRI Renaissance Coronation, Plastic, ~1974 Paint it Yourself Renaissance, Plastic, 1961 >> For a long time, whenever I saw examples of Renaissance sets that had been custom painted I thought I was seeing an individual’s own personal attempt at customizing a Renaissance set. But once I saw this product [right], as sold by Lowe, I realized I had been mistaken. Lowe evidently sold a kit by which the set could be ‘custom’ painted. The set came with paint, brushes and thinner, along with painting and playing instructions [left]. Shortly after Milton Bradley purchased the Lowe Company, it offered both the Renaissance and the Crusader set [right]. A good question to ask might be: – Why? Was the Crusader design an attempt by MB to eventually replace the Renaissance set for some reason? Was there perhaps a licensing problem with ANRI after MB purchased Lowe? Or did MB simply feel the need to introduce a new product under new ownership? I do not yet know the answers. Due to its design, it is hard to find an undamaged Crusader set. They are almost always missing part of the ‘protrusions’ designed into the set, ie: the axes carried by the pawns, the staff ends on the bishops, etc. In fact, when I purchased one in good shape online I found two pieces had broken when I received it. Just shipping it without any extra precautions was enough to cause breakage. The designers must not have taken into consideration, as much as they should have, perhaps, the everyday wear and tear a chess set needs to endure if it is to be used for actual chess playing. Supposedly, the cover art for the box lid of the Crusader set (not shown) was done with assistance from the Higgins Army Museum of Worcester, Massachusetts. So far, I have not yet been able to confirm that as a fact. Lowe also sold wood sets, but pretty much every example I have seen has appeared to be of sets imported from the Lardy Company of France. 57 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES Pegged Travel Set Lowe also sold a series of travel sets. Most contained the exact same pieces, but were available in at least two different types of packages. Either in a – Bookcase Style, set as shown in ad >> << Or in a Plastic Case Actual ‘Book’ Case >> << Pegged Metal Travel Set The Lowe Company was a master, as apparently were most toy companies, at repackaging their sets. Box art and styles changed frequently; sets were offered in basic cardboard boxes or could be upgraded to ‘fancier’ Presentation Cases, such as the one in which the Bakelite set was shown earlier. Space won’t allow the attempting of even a small sampling of the many different ways the same basic set was repackaged and sold. E. S. Lowe sold the company to Milton Bradley in 1973. Milton Bradley continued selling original Lowe chess set under the MB name for some time after it had purchased the Lowe Company, perhaps up until MB itself was sold. LUC-TON AND COMPANY, INC See Odell Company. Inc. MAG-NIF, INC 8820 East Ave Mentor OH 44060 Mag-Nif was founded in 1963 as a maker of coin storage banks. It is now the nation’s largest producer of animated coin sorting banks for both business and home. Over the years the company has designed and produced a large assortment of products that ranged from the coin sorting banks to puzzles, games, trim-a-tree, gift wrap and bow-making items. The case [above right] unfolds into a playing board with the pieces contained inside (bottom right and below]. 58 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES MANACRAFT 678 Berriman St Brooklyn 8, NY The ad shown to the right appeared once, and only once – in the November 1950 Chess Review. METRO MANUFACTURING COMPANY th 127 W 25 St New York1, NY Essentially all I was able to discover regarding Metro Manufacturing was that it was purchased by the H Baron Company. Below, however, are two examples of the sets they sold: Travel Chess, Plastic, <1946 << Chess, Plastic, ~1950, from a Chess and Checker Compendium MINGO Fremont CA 94536 Space Chess No 712, Plastic, 1980 >> King: Planet Rook: Rocket Queen: Commander Bishop: Jet Fighter Knight: Satellite Pawn: Robot MISSOURI PLASTICS 1050 Suburban Tracks St Louis 14, MO I previously listed the set shown below as possibly coming from SkorMor, but have since been informed, and confirmed, it was likely made by a company called Missouri Plastics. The set is likely from before the 1960s as the address is from before zip codes. Note the interesting similarity between the knight in this [plastic] set and the knight in the Lowe Bakelite set, as well as a catalin set sold by Cardinal. Plastic, White & Red, Ivory & Black, Marbled Yellow & Black >> NATIONAL BINDERY & GAME COMPANY, INC 80-82 Greene St New York NY < 1935 Reference to this company and a chess set it sold was found in the AGPC Game Catalog. I could find no further information on the company or any of its possible chess sets. 59 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES NATION TIME, INC 2407 Clark St Columbia SC 29201 Nation Time was apparently a [non-violent] black separatist movement around the 1970s. One may wonder if perhaps the company was set up as a way of funding the organization. Pages from the manual appear below, followed by a picture of the set itself. The manual definitely puts a new twist on the history of chess – although, I would think, a pretty mythical one. Note also the names of the pieces, etc. The set itself was unique enough that it easily added to the twist on the game of chess introduced by the manual. Nation Time, plastic [Photos Courtesy of Don Mankowski] >> << Nation Time Instructions [Photos Courtesy of Don Mankowski] NON-SKID PRODUCTS, INC Hartford CT The pieces to the Non-Skid set were made of a felt-type cardboard that clung to the felt chessboard. The pieces measured ¾” across. The set came with its own mailing envelope. Note the similarities between the packaging of this pocket set, to like sets from A Holum and Sons and other companies. The set was advertised for only a short period of time in Chess Review. 60 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES ODELL COMPANY, INC 4304 Rainbow Blvd Kansas City 3, Kansas Strat-egy, Plastic >> While it was given the name Strat-egy, the game was really nothing more than the ‘traditional’ game of chess with new names given the chess pieces. I have seen three versions of the instruction sheet accompanying the game. One version listed Luc-Ton & Co. as the manufacturer, but showed the game as Strat-Agy [see Instruction Manual, left – compare to box cover shown right]. The second version still listed Luc-Ton as the maker, but with the name of the game ‘corrected’ to Strat-egy. And the third version listed the game as ‘Strat-egy, Modern Chess, A Creation of Luc-Ton’, but listed the Odell Games Company as manufacturer. An indication, perhaps, that the Odell Company had purchased the Luc-Ton Company, but continued to produce the game? PACIFIC GAMES COMPANY - CAVALIER 12830 Raymer St N Hollywood CA 91605 Pacific Games offered their chess sets under two different brand names – Cavalier and Pleasantime Games. To try to avoid confusion, I have divided the sets offered by Pacific Games according to their ‘brand’ names. Pacific Games filed for the Cavalier trademark on June 18, 1964. The trademark expired on Feb. 18, 2006. The ad to the right is from the June 1975 Chess Life and Review. It was also used in the 1977 USCF Chess Catalog. << No 1493 Cavalier Deluxe, 4“ King << Plastic, ©1967 No 1491: Ivory & Black, double-weighted No 1492: Ivory & Walnut No 1493: Alabaster & Walnut [above left] << No 1433, Cavalier Magnetic, Plastic Size comparison between >> Cavalier Nos 1493 and 1433 >> VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES The ad to the right appeared in the 1969 USCF Catalog. It was positioned on the catalog page just below the ad for its plastic counterpart, as seen at the beginning of this section. This is the only time I recall seeing this set, either in an ad or otherwise. PACIFC GAMES COMPANY – PLEASANTIME GAMES Sets designed by Peter Ganine were offered under the Pleasantime Games brand/division of Pacific Games, so I have listed them accordingly Wood, pre-1960s [?] The estimate for the date given above is based on the fact the address on the box does not include a zip code, which started in 1963. Cover of August 1956 issue of Chess Review >> with the cover story [below] that accompanied it >> Incidentally, this was also the issue of Chess Review in which Bobby Fischer first came to the attention of the chess world. Only a few months later it was his turn to be featured on the cover (December 1956), after what came to be known then as the ‘Game of the Century’. 61 62 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES Superba Gothic, Melamine >> Ivory & Black (right), Ivory & Burgundy [below], and Antiqued [below right] No 108, Henry Ohme, Wood, ©1960 US Patent #171,286: Filed March 16, 1953, granted January 12, 1954 >> << Leaflet, showing << the Ohme design << along with the << Cavalier and << Ganine designs 63 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES Peter Ganine Classic, Plastic, 1961 >> Acrylic, 1961 No 1483, Peter Ganine Conquerer, 4 ¾” King, Plastic, 1962 White & Red, White & Black, Gold & Silver No 142[4], Space Chess, ©1969, Made in U.S.A. >> Table-ette, Wood Europa, 1973 >> 64 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES Travel Set 810-1100, ©1971, 2 ¼” King, Plastic >> Medici, 4” King, 1975, plastic “Inspired by the Medici family . . . rulers of the Italian Renaissance” Ganine Travel Set, metal, Silver & Gold [shown], also came in Plastic, White & Red >> PARKER BROTHERS 190 Bridge St Salem, Mass Since 1883, Parker Brothers has published more than 1,800 games, including such well-known games as Monopoly, Clue, Sorry, Risk, Trivial Pursuit, Aggravation and Probe. Despite such a legacy of games, I have found no evidence the company ever produced chess sets of its own. Instead, it appears the company imported chess sets from the Lardy Company of France – and probably other makers, as well – and sold them under the Parker name. Compare this set and box cover with the set and box cover from Golden. PATTBERG NOVELTY COMPANY New York, NY Plastic >> So far, the two or three examples of chess sets I have seen from the Pattberg Company have consisted of this similar GK-appearing chess set. This would seem to suggest the company did not make its own sets, but, rather, used a supplier. The company also sold imported wood sets. 65 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES PET TOY OF N. H. Claremont, NH #878, ‘King Richard’, 6 ½” King, Plastic >> A POLET Eskimo Arts Nome AK The write-up shown to the right appeared on the front page of the June 6, 1949 issue of Chess Life. An ad for the set [below] appeared in the same issue of the magazine. Both the article and the ad stated a Staunton-style set was also available in old rare ivory. The sets sold for $150 each << Alaska Walrus Tusk/Ivory, 3¼” King King: Queen: Bishop: Knight: Rook: Pawn: POLYGON CORPORATION 3411 N Halsted St 810 Arlington Chicago IL La Grange IL Plastic, [photo courtesy of Don and Patricia Otto] >> Polygon was evidently a game and toy company, as I have found evidence of several different games that were produced and/or sold by the company. A person by the name of Bert J. Bratt copyrighted several of the games, from at least 1939 through 1947. I have not yet discovered what position he held in the Polygon Corporation. Eskimo man in ‘typical garb’ Eskimo woman in ‘typical garb’ Arctic Owl Polar Bear Igloo Squirrel 66 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES ARTHUR POPPER th 113-119 4 Ave [>1932] 555 Broadway [>1960] New York, NY The Arthur Popper Company was well known for its fine jewelry and plasticware designs. The phrase – ‘Manufacturers of Adult Games’ – was included in a number of their ads. Ads for Arthur Popper chess sets ran in the Chess Review for a very brief time: from August 1934 through January 1935. Their sets were never pictured in the ad. However, the same ad and information appeared as a generic ad in later issues of The Chess Review. PRESSMAN TOY CORPORATION th 200 5 Ave New York, NY Jack Pressman founded the Pressman Toy Company in 1922. No 1124, Staunton, 3 5/8” King, Plastic, weighted and felted >> The set inside matches the set shown on the box lid. Compare it to the set design from Lowe. Cardboard Disk Magnetic Disks, Plastic >> 67 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES To the right is a set from Pressman that also looks very much like it came from the Lowe Company. On the box lid below left can be seen the Pressman name. Golden Chess, Plastic >> THE RAINBOW WORKS Also See WESTERN PUBLISHING I have seen this exact same box and set with the Whitman name displayed in place of ‘The Rainbox Works’ on the box cover. Plastic >> MAN RAY The information below appeared in the January 12, 1994 issue of CCI-USA News and again in the Spring 2013 issue of the CCI-USA Newsletter A checkered pattern of a chessboard appeared in Man Ray’s very first assemblage. In 1920, Man Ray planned his first chess set, and the pieces he so lovingly designed on paper inspired the shapes of the chess pieces. His chessmen were made from the items scattered around his studio – simple geometric wooden shapes used as draughtsman’s models and broken violins. A pyramid was used for the King, a cone for the Queen, a cube for the Rook, a bottle for the Bishop and a sphere, glued to a button that served as a base, for the Pawn. Man Ray displaying his chess set design >> Taking the Egyptian symbol of Kingship as the Pyramid, he used it for the King. The Queen, a more feminine form, was suggested by the conical headdress of ladies in medieval times. The flagon for the Bishop originated in the clergy’s love of good cheer and their skill in concocting rare and famous liquors. The scroll of a violin bearing resemblance to a horse head, served for the Knight, whose movement on the board is more erratic than the geometrical moves of the other pieces. The Rook was reduced to the simplest possible geometric form – the cube or blockhouse. The sphere for the Pawns was the most simple interpretation of these less powerful pieces, but their augmented size was in keeping with the importance the Pawn has 68 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES assumed in modern chess. In 1926, while living in Paris, Man Ray was commissioned by an Indian Prince to execute the set in silver and three sets were made.9 1920 – 1924, Wood >> In 1945, Man Ray designed a new set [center right], issued in a limited edition of six wooden numbered and signed sets, which in 1947 were produced in aluminum. Here the influence of geometrical industrial design can be observed as chance yields to the rational: the Rook was a cylinder; the Knight a segment of a circle creating the profile of the arched horse’s neck; the Bishop a bottle; the Queen more feminine with the pointed end of the earlier cone replaced by a sphere; the King, mellowed with age, the pointed edges of the pyramid softened into a circular pyramidal shape surmounting a truncated cone with a central hole. The Pawns were almost identical to those of the 1920 set except for a slight modification of the base to facilitate handling. Man Ray, 1945, Aluminum >> In 1962, 17 years later, Man Ray designed his third chess set by making slight modifications to the 1945 design. Only one piece, the Bishop, changed radically; the bottle shape being abandoned in favor of a more conventional approach derived from the Bishop of the standard Staunton set. Man Ray’s Bishop was, however, more harmonious. The eight different planes of the Staunton model melted into one long flowing S-shaped curve derived from the Bishop’s head in the standard model. The Queen and Pawn remained unchanged. The top section of the Rook and the King was cut by a cross-shaped indentation while the Knight’s eye, a simple point in the 1945 set, was enlarged to a circular hole. Aluminum, set and board. Board was signed by Man Ray and dated 1962 >> In addition to these three main chess sets, Man Ray produced several variations in which the pieces of the various sets are somewhat mixed. Sometimes slight changes were introduced into the basic design of the three sets. Man Ray designed a chess table (1930) and a chessboard (1962). In both cases the sides of the chessboard are inscribed with a prose poem based on alliteration and puns that humorously characterize the chess pieces of the game. Le Roi est à moi, la Reine est la tienne [The King is mine, the Queen is yours] La Tour fait un four, le Fou est comme vous [The Rook is a flop, the Bishop is a fool like you] Le Cavalier déraille, le Pion fait l’espion comme toute canaille [The Knight talks nonsense, the Pawn is a spy like every scoundrel] 1971, Aluminum >> Note how this later design [right] varies from the 1962 design. In particular, the King does not have the cross-shaped indentation as seen on the Rook. Also, the Pawns have evolved from spheres on bases to cylinders with indented tops. The design of the Bishops appears to have ‘married’ the traditional visor cut to the top with the vase shape of the early Man Ray chess designs. Man Ray harbored illusions that his chess set might become as popular as the standard Staunton set in tournament play. In 1919, the reaction of a chess master, Marshall, decided. Man Ray displayed his chess pieces to Marshall who asked if they were intended for play. Marshall proposed a game and took about 10 minutes to beat Man Ray. Man Ray asked Marshall if his design was practical and might be accepted by players. Marshall replied that the pieces did not matter, he could play with buttons or even without pieces – chess players were not susceptible to form unless they were also artists. Man Ray continued to direct his efforts toward designing new forms for chess pieces. 9 The Man Ray Trust, founded by his wife, Juliet Man Ray, has authorized a new ‘posthumous’ release of this early wood chess set. It is to be made by craftsman located in Germany and Italy. 69 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES RECREATION PRODUCTS COMPANY 180 Lafayette St New York, NY Travel Set, Cardboard >> REGAL & WADE MFG, INC Maspeth 78, NY Magnetic, Metal >> Regal and Wade’s main product was a set of specially coated steel playing cards, along with a magnetic board to which the cards would ‘Kling’ (the company’s term). This allowed for using the cards in windy/inclement weather without the cards blowing away. The company apparently used the same idea for this metal disc chess set with a magnetic playing board [partially shown with the set]. A best guess for a date of manufacture is roughly the 1960s or 70s, based on the box graphics. But this is only speculation, of course. REGAL GAMES, INC 47-05 Fifth St Long Island City, NY RIGGS & FREEMAN th 242 W 27 St New York, NY The very first ad for selling chess sets I was able to find in any issue of Chess Review was one from this company. The ad appeared in March 1933 [right]. But the ad tends to be a bit confusing. Although under ‘Styles’ it refers to Hand Painted Men, the emphasis appears to be on advertising chessboards. So, did chessmen come with the board[s]? It seems likely, based on the ad. But that may remain an unanswered mystery as this is the only time the ad ever appeared and I could find no further information on the company and/or its products. ROSE ART INDUSTRIES, INC 6 Regent St #150 Livingston NJ 07039 Isador Rosen founded the company in 1923 when he started the Rosebud Art Company in New York City. It primarily produced coloring books but later, mostly during the 1930s, it changed its focus to games and puzzles. Isador’s sons, Irving and Sydney, joined the company in the 1940s. In 1970 the company was incorporated as Rose Art Industries and moved to New Jersey. During the Labor Day weekend of 1985, a Chess >1936 Reference to the Regal Games Company selling chess sets was found in the AGPC Game Catalog. I could find no further information on the company. 70 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES huge fire destroyed 23 homes and 17 industrial buildings, including the factory and inventory of the Rose Art Company. The company relocated to Bloomfield New Jersey. Sydney’s sons, Jeffrey and Lawrence, bought the company in the early 1990s. In 1994 the company moved to Wood Ridge New Jersey. Along the way, Rose Art acquired other companies, such as Coloron/Avalon, Warren Industries, American Publishing, and others. The company is now regarded as the fastest growing crayon manufacturer, right behind Binney & Smith, makers of Crayola. While nowhere near the size of the dominant toy maker, Hasbro, Rose Art is among the top ten toy makers. None of this history, however, explains the address seen on the box [bottom of previous page] in which this chess set was sold. Unlike most other manufacturers, seventy percent of the company’s products are still made in the United States. This set from Rose Art [right] would at first appear to be the same one sold by Tucket and/or Hasbro. The rooks, however, are noticeably different; they look more like they came from Lowe. And while the knights look like they could have come from a Kingsway set, they differ noticeably in the ears and base design. It leaves one rather baffled as to the actual origin of this chess set design. Perhaps the pieces were bought from various sources and then assembled, much like what was done by the Hansen Company? ROTTGAMES, INC New York, NY Travel Set, Plastic >> Rottgames was primarily known as a quality Roulette and Mah Jong games manufacturer. Chess set collector, Ty Kroll, has a picture of a travel set on his website that is also supposedly from Rottgames. Rottgames was purchased by The Baron Company. Baron, in turn, was bought by Crisloid, Inc. in 1972. Compare the case and set shown to the right with one shown earlier – under Chess Equipment. Wow, this little black box [left] seems to show up everywhere! Companies like Drueke, Horn, Grand Rapids Dowel Company, and others, all used it. The chess set inside this one, however, is distinctly different from those other wood chess set[s] [below right]. The set’s design fits the style of the era of the box it came in, but there is no way of knowing for sure whether it really originally came in the box. It is likely, but not beyond question. Wooden chess set >> purportedly from Rottgames >> RUSSIAN WAR RELIEF th 11 E 35 St New York, NY Chess and Checkers, >1941 Reference to this company was found in the AGPC Game Catalog. According to other references, the organization was created on July 29, 1941, one month after Germany attacked Russia. The FBI, among others, considered it a Communist Front Group. I could find no further information as to what any of this may have had to do with chess sets. 71 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES SELCHOW AND RIGHTER Also Known as E G SELCHOW Or CHAFFEE & SELCHOW New York, NY Selchow and Righter was originally founded in 1867 as E. G. Selchow & Co. In 1880, with the addition of a new partner, John Righter, the company name was changed to Selchow and Righter. Up until the midtwentieth century, the company was considered a “jobber” – a company that produced and licensed other peoples’ games (also see Holum). It produced such games as Parcheesi (1870), Scrabble (licensed in 1952 and trademarked in 1972), and Trivial Pursuit (licensed from Horn and Abbot in 1982). It also produced Anagrams (1934) and Jotto (1955), plus a number of other games over the years. Coleco Industries purchased Selchow & Righter in 1986, declared bankruptcy in 1989, and was subsequently purchased by Hasbro. Chess for Juniors, Plastic >> Some, but perhaps not all, of the ‘Chess for Juniors’ sets included a basic chess set. This one looks to be from Kingsway, but others I have seen contained sets that appeared to be from Lowe. SHIRT POCKET GAMES COMPANY PO Box 885, Madison Square Station New York NY 10010 << Pocket Chess, Cardboard The chessmen in this set were made of a self-adhering vinyl, with a ‘handsomely grained’ vinyl case. Chessmen flipped over to convert into a checker set. This company may have fared slightly better than many of its contemporaries. Other companies of its time advertised for only a month or so in 1973, but advertising for the Shirt Pocket set started in the July 1973 Chess Life and Review and lasted through September 1974. It should be remembered all of this occurred at the peak of popularity for chess, due to the match between Boris Spassky and Bobby Fischer in 1972. S I PRODUCTS PO Box 8155 La Sierra CA 92595 Staunton Grace, 4 ¼” King, Pewter & Bronze >> SI also offered an elephant leather chessboard on a wood base, with raised border and felted bottom, or a flexible tournament style board with gold trim. This was another company with a short lifespan – if you use length of advertising as a guide. SI advertised for the two months of August & September 1973 and then was never seen again. The ad shown above was from September 1973. VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES SKOR-MOR CORPORATION 6390 Cindy Ct Plain St Carpinteria CA 96013 Clinton MA 01510 Skor-Mor is another example of a company selling the ‘Generic’ set under their brand name. Chesseasy, with Tablecloth-size chessboard >> and ‘generic’ Plastic chess set >> The drinking chess set shown below left was advertised in the November 1973 Chess Life and Review [left] - the only ad I have ever seen for this particular set. Perhaps everyone was too busy enjoying the ‘game’? Chess in the 3rd Dimension, Plastic >> Wood base with plastic boards, 1976 >> 72 73 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES STAY-PUT Pocket Chess, No 233, ~1941, Cardboard >> Pieces stood up or dropped down on their own as the board opened or closed. The set came with four extra pawns for playing checkers and the case had a zippered fastener. The first ad for the set was in the August/September 1941 Chess Review. Although The Chess Equipment Company was the game distributor (leaving its maker unidentified), the cover had a Stay-Put logo. It is possible, therefore, that Stay-Put was the name of the manufacturer. No further information was found. STERLING FURNITURE COMPANY Grand Rapids, Mich During the time the Wm F. Drueke Company was temporarily out of business (approximately 1928-1932), Sterling Furniture manufactured chess sets and claimed to be “succeeding Wm. F. Drueke & Co.” [below]. Sterling Furniture went out of business in 1934. << Wood, 1926 - 1934 STOLL & EDWARDS COMPANY Also Known as NOBLE & NOBLE; STOLL & EINSON th th 23-25 26 St 65-67 Madison Ave 25 4 St New York, NY Chess & Checkers <1926 >> Picture of logo is from the back of the set’s chess/checker-board. I have been unable to find any further information on the company or whatever chess sets it may have produced or sold. VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES STRATO-VARIOUS PRODUCTS, INC 9041 Hensley Sterling Heights MI 48078 Crescendo Chess, Clear & Acrylic with acrylic board >> The ad for this set was in the September 1973 Chess Life and Review [right], and was the only ad ever seen from the company. It also sold Strato Tac-Tics and Strato Checkers. Apparently, these games were 3-dimensional versions of the classic games of Tic Tac Toe and Checkers. Each game used clear and colored acrylic pieces. The game was the company’s variant on the game of chess. Information on the box itself described how the chess variant was played, as quoted below: “An introduction to an ageless game with a 20th century pace. The game of chess is simple. It is difficult only if you make it so. And Crescendo Chess is as simple as regular chess. It is played by the same rules. The chessmen move the same. A full set of rules and instructions that completely cover Crescendo Chess are included. After several moves, you then enter into the exciting world of mobility, power, and cunning. Compounding the power and mobility of the chess pieces accelerates the game and sharpens one's perception of the effects of combining different pieces. Thus one gains a broader insight and a better appreciation of this game. Because of this, Crescendo Chess enhances regular chess. "Crescendo Chess is a new experience for any chess player. By following the rather simple rules, one can soon learn to think in terms of stacking, capturing and position playing. One important feature in Crescendo Chess is that the chessmen have a hole on top and one on the bottom that permits pegging one piece atop another. When this is done, it is called "stacking." A stack of chessmen can then move across the board together. One soon learns not to exhaust the stack ineffectively. Experience teaches how to take advantage of the best stacking arrangements for certain types of attack and defense. “In one turn the stack moves first as the bottom piece normally would move as in regular chess, then continues as the next piece up would move, etc. It costs one turn to place a piece on a stack. On the next turn, the stack can make its move (see rule 8). To give an example, a Knight can be placed atop a Bishop in one turn. Then, on a later turn, the two together would move the permissible diagonal move of the Bishop and the two together could continue, one – one, two, as the Knight would move." "It is important that in stacking, the pieces are moved into the stack using their regular move, - that is, a Bishop diagonally, a Rook forward or sideways, etc. Each piece must be free to make its move as in regular chess rules. "Crescendo Chess is so called because it starts as regular chess and then increases in intensity. As stated, the first two moves by each player are made on a regular basis. After that, the next four moves by each player may be made where one piece is stacked on top of another to a two level height Max. (L2). NOTE: See Glossary & Game Notations at end of rules. It is not necessary to stack the pieces if the player does not wish to do so. “Upon completion of a total of six moves by each player, the pieces may be stacked to a three level height. Max. (L3). This is the stacking limit for the rest of the game. The three can move first as the bottom piece, which then remains, then as the other two would move as a two piece stack." 74 75 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES 3M Bookshelf Game, Wood, 1970 >> This set was produced from 1962-1975 and was designed to fit onto a standard bookshelf. It fit into a slipcover that looked like the outside of a hardback book. 3M Games was eventually sold to Avalon Hill, which had a competing bookshelf line. Avalon Hill was later sold to Hasbro. TRANSOGRAM COMPANY, INC 560 Broadway 200 Fifth Ave New York, NY [~1920] New York, NY [~1936] Also: Brooklyn, NY [Pre-1930] Easton, Penn [1930+] Chess King, Plastic, White & Black, Bone & Alabaster, Peach & Seafoam Green >> Special Edition Gold & Silver, 1945. Compare with set from Cardinal, 1998 >> The original Transogram Company was established in New York in 1915. A new company was incorporated on September 4, 1959, in Pennsylvania. Over the years, several subsidiaries were added – Anchor Toy Corporation, Gold Metal Toys, Playwood Plastics Company, Toy Research Institute, Toy Scouts of America, Transco Adult Games and Transogram Midwest. Marx Toys purchased the company in 1970, but filed for bankruptcy in February 1971. Staunton Variation, Plastic, likely from Tag >> [compare coloring to Mandarin set on next page], but not known for sure >> << Patent No 9239 Visual Chess ©1966 << Pieces were designed to illustrate the moves each piece could make No 9239 Visual Chess, Plastic 76 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES Mandarin, 5¼”, King, Plastic, Ivory & Green, also available in Silver & Gold >> Mandarin, 5¼” King, Antique, Plastic, Ivory & ‘Chocolate’ Presentation Edition No 9250 Ming Dynasty, 1963, 5½” King, Plastic, Antique, Ivory & Chinese Red >> I’m not sure what the difference is between the Mandarin and the Ming Dynasty set - perhaps the differences in colors? << A Mandarin chess set from TAG was featured, along with Bobby Fischer, on << the cover of the July 1965 Chess Review. TAG sponsored an event featuring Bobby Fischer at the UN >> 77 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES TUCKET TOY CORPORATION Woonsocket, RI 420 Pine St Pawtucket, RI Tucket did some manufacturing of toys for Hassenfeld Brothers (Hasbro). But to what extent, or in what way the companies may have been related has not yet been determined. It does appear both companies shared selling the same chess design. I have also seen the set with the Hasbro name and a 1972 copyright date. At first look, one might think the set was of the standard Lowe design, but a closer look reveals it’s probably a [cheaper] imitation: note the ‘flat-topped’ rook, very shallow indentation of the bishop mitres, and the severely flattened top of the queen’s coronet. THE UNGAME COMPANY 1440 S State College Blvd Bldg 2D Anaheim CA 92806 The Ungame Company described itself as the makers of ‘noncompetitive communication games for all age groups’. I’m not quite sure how such a description managed to include chess in its product line, but it apparently did. Chess II, Plastic, ©1978 >> They did quite the ‘patterned’ designs on their chessboards, though. UNIQUE ITEMS COMPANY 270 Lafayette St New York, NY Chess, ©1942, Cardboard >> 78 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES WESTERN PUBLISHING COMPANY WHITMAN PUBLISHING COMPANY Racine, Wis Pughkeesie, NY No 4812, © 1963, 2 5/8” King, Plastic, unweighted and unfelted >> The box to this set says Made in Hong Kong for Western Publishing Co. I have also seen this set in a Jade Green & Brown variation. The set itself may have been based on a set made of Soapstone and sold in Asia – in a carved box often sold to tourists. Western Publishing Company was based in Racine Wisconsin. Brothers Edward and Albert Wadewitz founded Western Publishing when they bought the West Side Printing Co. in September 1907, changing its name in 1910. In 1915 the company bought HammerungWhitman Publishing Company, which had been based in Chicago. It became a subsidiary of Western Publishing under the name of Whitman Publishing Company. By the late 1970s, Western Publishing was one of the largest commercial printers in the US, with four manufacturing plants and two distribution centers. At one time it was said Western printed everything from ‘business cards to billboards’. But by the mid-1990s most of the printing plants had been closed down and the printing operations once again became headquartered in Racine. Western Publishing was the primary manufacturer/distributor of such games as Trivial Pursuit, Pictionary and other games. It also printed specialty cookbooks – such as the famous Betty Crocker cookbook – comic books, children and juvenile books, magazines, corporate reports, automobile service manuals, etc., etc. In the 1920s and 30s, Western published children’s books under the Golden Books brand. Mattel bought Western in 1979, but resold it to private investors in 1984. In 1996, as an attempt to emphasize children’s books, and under the supervision of Richard E. Snyder, the company was renamed Golden Books Family Entertainment. The box lid below pictures a set that appears to be the same as one sold by Milton Bradley, starting around 1969 [also compare to the box and set sold under the name of The Rainbow Works] Compare with sets sold >> by Transogram and >> Parker Brothers >> Cut/Pop out, Paper >> By 1997, Western Publishing had been absorbed into the Golden Books Publishing Company. Classic Media and Random House acquired Golden for $84.4 million in a bankruptcy auction on June 5, 2001. On July 23, 2012, DreamWorks Animation purchased Classic Media for $155 million. Whitman Publishing, while long a subsidiary of Western Publishing, had originally started in 1938 with the publishing of coin boards, used by coin collectors to store their collections. In 1942 it published its first price guide, The Official Blue Book of U.S. Coins. This was the start of an expanding line of books aimed at coin collectors and would eventually include hundreds of titles. That line continued even after Mattel bought Western Publishing and was spun-off and renamed Golden Books Family Entertainment. The coin products were eventually sold to St Martin’s Press, which then sold off the coin products line to the H. E. Harris Company, which also specialized in coin collecting materials. Harris was renamed Whitman Publishing and continues making coin collecting materials. Strangely, while Whitman Publishing’s specialty appears to have been in the coin collecting field, a number of chess sets were sold under the company name over the years, as shown in the following examples: 79 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES WHITMAN BROTHERS PO Box 2285 New York, NY A Travel set of wooden checker pieces with chess symbols on the other side. Board folds into quarters to fit into box. << Chess & Checkers, Wood WINDSOR CASTLE LEO GLADSTONE th 140 W 30 St New York, NY Windsor Castle, 3 7/8” King, Plastic >> The ad to the right, the first and original ad to appear for this brand, appeared in the June and October 1949 issues of Chess Review. The ad didn’t reappear again until October of the following year (1950). This is another set/brand that benefited from the phenomenon that was Bobby Fischer – sales of this set took off after the publication of a picture showing [a very young] Bobby playing a game using one of these sets. The ad, below left, for the Windsor Castle chessmen, first appeared in the August 5, 1953 Chess Life. The ad continued to appear thereafter in Chess Life, through the end of 1955. Ads for Windsor didn’t appear in Chess Review until October 1965. Then an ad appeared, but the set was pictured upside down. It was corrected and reappeared in the December 1965 issue [bottom right]. But that was the end of advertising for Windsor in Chess Review. 80 VINTAGE CHESS SETS OF THE UNITED STATES ERNEST WRIGHT PO Box 141 9-5 Edgehill Ter. Belmont 78, Mass Troy, NY Ad to the left first appeared in the February 1953 Chess Life and December 1953 Chess Review. The ads ended with the last issue of Chess Life in 1954. Tempo, Wood >> An article about the set [right] appeared in the October 20, 1954 issue. THEODORE YONKERS, INC A reference to this company was found in the AGPC Game Catalog. I could find no further information on the company I would like to thank the following people and entities for their contributions and help in making this book possible: American Game and Puzzle Collectors Peter Biggins Paul Drueke William F. Drueke III Richard Holum, Holum and Sons Co., Inc. Lars Larson, John N. Hansen Co., Inc. Bonnie Campbell Lilienfeld and staff, Division of Home and Community Life, National Museum of American History, The Smithsonian Institution Guy Lyons, CCI Member John A. Mazzucco, CCI Member Keith Middleton, CCI Member Dan Navarro Floyd Sarisohn, CCI Member REFERENCES Answers.com American Cribbage Congress, cribbage.com, Article #4 American Game and Puzzle Collectors 1998 Game Catalog A Working List of Historic Michigan Furniture Manufacturers (fm4furniture.org/michyes.htm) Blog.crgibson.com Chess Life, 1946-1955 Chess Life and Review, 1956-1969. 1973-1975 Chess Review, 1933-1955 Christies.com Ebay.com Helmuthut.com Peterspioneers.com Tykroll.com Wikipedia.com