Three generations named William F. Drueke, in 1947: William F. Drueke, III; William F. Drueke, Sr.; William F. Drueke, Jr. ©www.peterspioneers.com/WFDi

William F. Drueke Chess Sets

Bruce_Hedman

Updated: Nov 5, 2024, 1:05 PM | 17

In 1914 William F. Drueke founded a company to sell the first chess sets produced in the United States. I have collected most of the sets and boards made by his company and its successors over the next century. In this five-part blog I set forth the history with photographs of the wonderful sets these three generations of Druekes distributed. My sources are Duncan Pohl's book Vintage Chess Sets of the United States (CreativeSpace Publishing, 2016) and family archives available on the internet.

Table of Contents

- - - PART ONE: 1914 to 1926 The First American Made Chessmen
    - PART TWO: 1932 to 1940 World War Two and Pegged Chess
    - PART THREE: 1941 to 1962 American Design in Quality Chess Sets
    - PART FOUR; 1963 to 1987 Players' Choice in the Luxury Chess Line
    - PART FIVE: 1987 to present Wm. F. Drueke and Sons, Inc. sold to Carrom Co.

PART ONE: 1914 to 1926

William Francis Drueke, Sr. (1883-1956) was a salesman in 1914 visiting Marshall Fields in Chicago, selling boxes for a card game called Rhum (similar to rummy which uses two decks.) The toy buyer suggested that he consider selling chess sets, as America's supply from France had been cut off by World War One. Drueke returned home to Grand Rapids, Michigan, and asked several local craftsmen to submit samples of wooden chess sets. He contracted with Waddell Manufacturing to produce the first sets which he distributed as William F. Drueke and Co.

In 1917 Drueke rented his first workspace on Scribner Avenue NW in Grand Rapids, and bought equipment and hired woodworkers to manufacture his own chess sets. He also landed a lucrative contract with the U.S. Army to make breech sticks, which after the war left him with a large stock of doweling. These he made into toys. In every decade the Drueke company diversified beyond just chess sets. A Beginners Book of Chess (©1917 published by Wm. F. Drueke and Co.) was written to accompany his sets.

In 1919 Drueke bought a larger building on Marshall Avenue, and included furniture and household items to his product line. Drueke published a catalogue dated January 1, 1920 which included five versions of rhum boxes, two instruction books for rhum and

chess, seven cribbage boards, and twelve sets of chessmen, though only three are pictured.

http://peterspioneers.com/WRSD.htm

An Early Drueke Set (around 1920)

I presume that this set No. 00 is one of the nine sets not pictured in the 1920 catalog, as "00" connotes a slightly larger version of "0." Note the "dull finish" the catalog mentions. As knights are the only piece not turned on a lathe they are useful to compare sets.

Knights from No. 00

Knight from 1920 Catalog

No. 00 in a grey box

No. 1½ in Catalog: 1½ pencil upper right Catalog No. 1½ comes in wood box, perhaps maple	No. 1½ in Catalog with Polished Finish No. 1½ in Catalog priced at $72 per gross

No. 10 with the Drueke logo

After the First World War Drueke began importing chess sets from France. He adopted the knight's head as his logo.

No.10	The ring on the plinth is lower than the catalog's.
Here the model number is stamped on the base of the box.	The necks of the four knights are more pronounced.

A Tooled Leather Box

Even in his first catalog Drueke offered a choice of better boxes. I have not seen an advertisement for a tooled leather box, but below is an example. It bears the early Drueke logo, like No. 10 above. After Drueke issued his "American Design" in 1941, he adopted as his logo Its knight's head with an octagonal plinth.

Here is a box with tooled leather.	The top snaps over two divided sections.
An early Drueke logo, like No. 10 above.	These polished wood pieces are felted and weighted. These may have been imported from France after WWI, as Drueke was no longer making wood chessmen.

In 1920 William Drueke met the boy Samuel Reshevsky, and in a letter (www.peterspioneers.com/reshevsky.pdf) described their relationship. He first heard about Reshevsky when news from Warsaw told of a seven-year old boy who out-played all the German officers then occupying the city. He met Reshevsky at the University Club of New York City where in a simultaneous exhibition he defeated twenty of the club members. The Club set only fifty chairs for onlookers, but were overwhelmed when 300 came to see the wunderkind. Drueke was drawn to the boy not only because of his skill but also his uncanny knack to spark interest in chess among those who had never played. Up to this point Reshevsky's simuls were hosted by clubs. Drueke suggested that he give simuls in department stores, where of course Drueke's chess sets were sold. The first was held on April 5, 1921 at Strawbridge and Clothier's in Philadelphia where a crowd of 2,000 gathered. Drueke wrote that it was a "tremendous success. It took 37 policemen to handle the crowd. I acted as his advance agent, and he played two games in every large city west of Chicago, one in a store and one in a club." (op.cit.). At this time his parents depended on Sammy's earnings for their income. He did not attend school, for which his parents were charged in Manhattan Children's Court.

An advertising handbill about 1922

William Drueke, Sr. in fact did not play chess. But this advertisement pictures Drueke with the boy Sammy. And life came full circle when, at age 54, Samuel Reshevsky appeared on the cover of Chess Review with a Drueke set in hand making the winning move at the First National Open Championship, held in Las Vegas in 1965 (photo in Part Four.)

In 1921 Drueke arranged a simul in Los Angeles where Reshevsky met and played a game with Charlie Chaplin. In the photograph they are using a Drueke set, which seems a little small for the board.

On September 15, 1926 the Federal Trade Commission accused 27 furniture companies in Grand Rapids, including the Wm. F. Drueke Co. , of advertising furniture made of oak, maple, and walnut, when in fact it was only veneer over gumwood. In October, 1928 the FTC dismissed the case against the Wm. F. Drueke Co., because of the dissolution of the firm. Albert Stickley hired William Drueke, Sr. as a sales manager with the Stickley Brothers Furniture Company of Grand Rapids. But he soon left Stickley because of a disagreement over stocks. Like most investors at the time, Drueke purchased stocks on margin in 1927, and lost $7,000 in the Crash of 1929. He, then, started selling hospital furniture and steel cabinets.

PART TWO: 1932-1940

In 1932 William Drueke restarted his company in the basement of their home. He no longer had his equipment to make his own chess sets, but records show that he imported sets, largely from France, through Henry Kaiser & Fils of New York. Most of these were unfinished, which then were shellacked and repackaged in Drueke boxes. In their home daughter Marian kept the accounts and ran the office in the attic, while daughters Jane and Rosemary dipped and boxed the sets. Son William, Jr. ran a phone line between basement and attic, and bought the boxes and shipping materials. At this time the company sold chess and cribbage sets, but the manufacturing was contracted out to local craftsmen. Later William, III wrote that it may have been through Henry Kaiser & Fils that Drueke imported the half-inch plastic pieces used in his pegged chess sets. By the 1939 catalog this was an established product which would prove very popular during the Second World War. In 1932 William A. Shinkmann wrote the booklet Drueke's Chess Primer which accompanied many of his sets. By 1935 the business was so prosperous that they moved into rented space in the Shaw Building on Front Avenue NW. In addition to chess and cribbage, the company also produced poker chips, dice, dominos, and other small games.

Includes 30 pages of instructions, openings, and Morphy's Immortal Game

PEGGED CHESS SETS

Sometime between 1935 and 1939 Drueke began marketing pegged chess sets. They are featured in his 1939 Catalog. Perhaps cribbage boards gave him the idea, though in England travelers had used pegged chess boards since the nineteenth century. Drueke himself did not make plastic pieces until 1954, so he purchased the pieces, pre-drilled boards, and the boxes. Until then, according to William Drueke, III, the company purchased all plastic parts through a "jobbing house," perhaps Selchow and Righter of Bay Shore, New York. Chronologically most of the story of his pegged chess sets belongs in Part Three, but topically the line begins here.

Drueke began his pegged boards in the 1930's.

His first pegged chess pieces were only ½ inch tall.

Below is the patent application which Drueke filed on January 19, 1943 for his own peg chessmen. The above set is from the 1940's or later, so illustrates Drueke's patented pieces. I do not have a 1939 Catalog or a peg chess set from the 1930's. I would appreciate receiving an image of either if anyone has such.

Vol 100 in Drueke's Play-A-way Library of 15 games.

These were made to appear like little books.

Vol. 101 is checkers where left square nearest the player is always black.

This is the second volume in the Drueke Play-A-Way Library

Drueke would inscribe for special events.

There were fifteen volumes in Drueke's Play-A-Way series which were very popular among the troops during the Second World War. Both daughter Marian and grandson William, III wrote that they sold 5,000 units a day to the government for our armed forces.

This ad was on the back of every box in the Pocket Library

In later decades this ad was included in their better sets.

Notice the above advertisement records that Drueke sold and shipped two million games for the armed forces overseas, which corroborates the estimate of 5,000 per day. These sets were alternatively called "Pocket Library" or "Play-A-Way."

From the beginning Drueke offered both cardboard and higher quality boxes for his chess sets. Below is a page from their 1977-1978 Catalog which offers upmarket boxes for their 4½ inch peg chess boards.

From Drueke's 1977-1978 Catalog

No. 102 in dark plastic

Inside No. 102 is a 4½ inch hardwood board with slots for pieces

Above is a No. 102 to house the 4 ½ inch hardwood peg board with slots to store the pieces. The Drueke logo inside the right slot bears the model number No. 102, though it has come loose.

Below is identified as No. 102 in the Catalog, the 4 ½ inch walnut peg board in a transparent plastic box.

Same No. 102 only in clear plastic

No102 in plastic: side view: Remember zip codes were not introduced until 1963.

No. 300 is the same size as No. 102 but in a walnut box.	Drueke called model No. 300 "The Little Gem."
The bottom of the No. 300 box was green felt with the Drueke logo.

Above is Drueke's No. 300 "Little Gem," the top of the line of the 4 ½ inch hardwood peg boards. It is a walnut box around a built-in board, lined inside and out with billiard cloth.

Below is model No. 111, the "Spartan" design cardboard box, red with a white banner over a mounted knight. The 4 ½ inch hardwood peg board comes with two transparent plastic boxes for the pieces. We will see this box design again for Drueke's "American Design" octagonal chessmen.

No. 111 Spartan Chess and Checkers Set

Same size board, but with plastic boxes for the pieces

The model number is often found on the side of the box.

Kingsway's Florentine Chessmen

In his Vintage Chess Sets of the United States Duncan Pohl lists another and rarer Drueke peg board chess set with Florentine plastic pieces. Pohl assumes these were made for Drueke by Kingsway, as the pattern is the same. Pohl suggested that perhaps Peter Ganine's Gothic model inspired Drueke to come out with his King Arthur model (infra). I wonder if Kingsway's Florentine might have been an inspiration.

For more detail here is a full size Kingsway Florentine

The full size Kingsway Florentine came in red or black.

PART THREE: 1941-1962

Here Drueke games were produced from 1941 until 1986.

In 1941 William Drueke, Sr. purchased a building at 601 3rd Street NW from the Grand Rapids Casket Company for $15,000. All Drueke products were produced here until the company was sold to Low Tech Industries in 1987.

American Design

Drueke applied for a patent on June 9, 1941 for his "American Design" chessmen.

In 1941 William F. Drueke, Sr. applied and received a patent for the "American Design" chessmen, an aesthetically appealing variation on the traditional Staunton pattern. William F. Drueke, III remembered that these were actually designed by Charles B. Chatfield. The plinth, column, and crown were octagonal, except for the knight whose plinth only was octagonal. It is interesting to note that after 1941 Drueke used this knight in his logo. (Contrast the earlier logo on set No. 10 and the tooled leather set above.) Sets were either black and ivory, or red and ivory. Drueke seemed to have preferred the designation "ivory" over "white." The American Design heralded Drueke's commitment to plastics. Since 1929 the industry's standard plastic was Tenite, which Drueke was to use from then on. Since Drueke did not acquire his own plastic injection equipment until 1954, these earlier sets must have been made by a "jobbing house," perhaps Selchow and Righter of Bay Shore, New York.

It should be mentioned that with the American Design Drueke began embossing his name inside the crown of every rook, a practice which would continue with the Players Choice design.

With 20/20 hindsight it is easy to criticize the fascination with plastics shown during the first half of the twentieth century. We now know that disposing of plastics threatens the environment. But in those days plastics were regarded as "green," because they replaced ivory in many products; piano keys, billiard balls, and high end chess sets. Thomas Jefferson owned two chess sets of ivory, one English, one French. The tradition of red pieces comes from staining ivory with cochineal, as ivory cannot be stained black.

Except for the travel sets, which will be discussed later, all American Design sets came in the same height, the king being 2½ inches high. Drueke used the following model numbers to classify his American Design sets: No. 20 were unweighted and unfelted; No.22 were weighted and unfelted; No 23 were weighted and felted; No. 24 were weighted and felted and had a special box.

A small aid in dating boxes is the postal code. The one or two digit postal zone was introduced in 1943, and the five digit zip code in 1963.

American Design No. 23.B. in ivory and black.

No. 23.B Note the absence of any postal zone, perhaps the earliest in my collection.	The bottom of the box is stamped "Black and Ivory."
No. 23.B Drueke prefers to call them "ivory."	No. 23.B The black pieces. All pieces were weighted and felted.

American Design No. 23 in ivory and red

No.23 Again, note the absence of a postal zone. Here it is stamped "Red and Ivory." No. 23 Note the octagonal Drueke logo.	No.23 Ivory pieces No. 23 Red pieces No. 23 Note for the first time how the inside tries to fit the pieces to their cradle, like a chess coffer.

A chess "coffer" has a usually padded cell for each piece to fit into. A chess "casket" has a handle for carrying the set.

American Design No. 21

No.21 with an annotated cardboard box	No. 21 with a top view
No. 21 This side describes the pieces of the game.	No. 21 The other side presents their symbols and describes the board.

This No. 21 included black and ivory pieces which were weighted and felted. Drueke always included instructions inside the box of his chess sets. But here he describes the game of chess on the outside of the box. Was he trying to catch the interest of customers unfamiliar with the game? Note also the postal zone "Grand Rapids, 4, Michigan," which began in 1943. Note also that the box describes the board chess is played on. Other than for pegged chess sets, Drueke had not as yet offered chess boards, perhaps because of the ubiquity of checker boards in American culture.

American Design No. 24

The model No. 24 connotes a special box. Here it is leatherette with a snap closure. On the top lozenge can be seen faintly an embossed Drueke logo.

No. 24 in a leatherette box has felted and weighted pieces.

No. 24 is stamped on the bottom of the box. But the address bears no postal zone.

No. 24 has a snapped lid which bears the octagonal Drueke logo.

Authentic American Design No. 20

Here Drueke stored his chessmen in a cardboard coffer, which was to be typical of his Quality Chess Sets (infra). As the model number indicates, these are unweighted and unfelted. All sets I have seen in these coffers come in ivory and black, not red. Note the lack of a postal zone, which suggests this is an early model.

There are cardboard holders for each piece. These "coffers" I have found holding only black, not red, pieces

Drueke stressed this design is uniquely American.

Note the model number is printed, not stamped, as would soon be the case.

Quality Chess Sets

In years to come Drueke was to sell his American Design under the rubric "Quality Chess Sets." He was not making wood chessmen, but importing them from France. The lids of his Quality Chess Sets advertised imported wood French chessmen with Model No. 0 denoting unweighted pieces, and Model No. 11 both weighted and felted. The model numbers are now stamped, not printed, on the right end of the boxes. Note also the single digit postal zone.

This is a typical box lid.	This is the right side, stamped Model No. 20. This set has the same lid design, but the right end is stamped Model No. 23
In a later design Drueke dropped advertising French chessmen.	The Model No. 22 specifies weighted but unfelted pieces. Also, note the zip code, introduced in 1963.

American Design in Drueke's 1977-1978 Catalog

By 1977 the "Players Choice" design had eclipsed the American Design, but there still was a half-page advertisement for the American Design in Drueke's 1977-1978 Catalog.

No. 24 with slide top, as advertised. Note the zip code, introduced in 1963.

Pieces in black and ivory, felted and weighted

Model Nos. 1005 and 1006 "Anyone Can Play Chess"

The 1977-1978 Catalog still advertised Nos. 1006 and 1006M which were issued earlier, along with Nos. 1005 and 1005M, under the rubric "Anyone Can Play Chess." As you can read in the small print on the cover of No. 1005M photographed below, there were eight different models issued as "Anyone Can Play Chess," as to whether the set was weighted and felted (or not), whether the included board was composition board or plywood, and whether the pieces were plastic or wood (imported from France.) Other than with travel sets, here boards begin to be sold along with the pieces.

The lid of No. 1005M lists eight sets in this series.	The cardboard casket holds the 32 pieces in place.
The 12" square board is laminated composition wood with 1&1/4 inch squares.	Note the pieces are accented in gold, and on the bishops miters gold dots. Again, note the gold dot on the bishops to distinguish them from pawns. The model number is stamped on the right, and there is a single digit postal code.

Travel Chess Sets

All American Design sets were of the same height, except for Drueke's Travel Sets. These used the octagonal chessmen with a height of ¾ inch. Drueke designed both peg board and magnetic travel sets. But first the All American travel set uses full size American Design, and includes a cardboard game board in the lid. Its graphics are taken from the "Spartan" travel set above.

All American Regulation Size Chessmen

The cover uses the "Spartan" design above.	Inside is a cardboard coffer for full size pieces. Note the pure white pieces over the earlier ivory.
The reverse side of the lid is a 9 inch square cardboard chess board.	The Model No. 22 connotes unweighted, unfelted pieces. Note the single digit postal zone.

American Design Peg Chess No. 900

Drueke adapted his American Design pieces to an 8 inch peg chess board with a king height of ¾ inches. The board in the No. 900 series was only thin composition wood eight inches square. Inside the crown of each rook was the embossed "Drueke" name. Some of the sets had bishops topped with a dot of gold paint to distinguish them from pawns, like Austrian coffeehouse sets. In the 1960's Chess Review sold both Model No. 900 and 9003 directly to their readers.

The tops of earlier sets had more advertisement.	You can see a dot of gold paint on the bishop's miter. Note the one digit postal code. ©Chess Review, January 1963, p. 12
The bishops of this set do not have the gold dot.	I include this top because it advertises the Florentine peg board set.

Here is another American Design Peg Chess No. 900 with graphics like the Spartan set above.

American Design using Spartan graphics

Note the single digit postal zone.

The peg board is also composition wood.

American Design Peg Chess No. 904

This model includes a heftier board, made from a ten-inch square, half-inch thick plywood. The pieces are the same as Model No. 900.

	The board is half-inch plywood with a high varnish. Note the gold dot on the bishops' miters.
Note the one digit postal code.	The Drueke logo is on the back of the board.

Majestic Chess Set with 3/4 inch Peg Chessmen

This later peg chess set comes with an example of the fine Drueke boards which the Drueke company was famously to manufacture. It includes a storage box for the pieces made of dovetailed maple with a sliding composition board lid.

This side of the board is drilled for the peg chessmen. It is a ten inch board with one inch squares.	The reverse side is undrilled, and made of maple and walnut.
The cardboard box is unusually plain, with only one end printed. Note the five digit zip code.	It includes a 4 and 1/2 inch storage box.

American Design Magnetic Chess

Using the ¾ inch American Design pieces above Drueke glued small, round magnets under their bases. They thus adhered to an eight inch ferrous board which came with the set. Model Nos. 550P and 90010 were still offered in Drueke's 1977-1978 catalog.

The Drueke 1977-1978 Catalog offered these magnetic sets.

Magnetic Travel Chess Set No. 500P

The board inside No. 500P	These white pieces exemplify all the magnetic sets. Black magnetic pieces: Note "Drueke" is still embossed in all rook crowns. No.500P is contained in a hard plastic box.
The inscription on the top of the box	The Drueke logo

Magnetic Chess Set No. 90010 "The Little Jewel"

The ferrous board is set in a walnut tray. Note the gold dot on the white bishops miters.	The hinges allow the pieces to be stored inside.
The cardboard box it comes in bears its nickname "The Little Jewel." Note the single digit postal zone.	The Drueke logo bearing the model number 90010 is inside.

Model No. 783 is the Crown Jewel of the American Design magnetic sets.

The Crown Jewel comes in a walnut coffer which itself is felted.

Model No. 783 comes in a wood-toned cardboard box. Note the five digit zip code.

The hinged top opens to reveal an eight inch ferrous board.

Magnetic Chess Set Model No. 9002 with Folding Board

It came in a plywood box with a sliding top of composition board.

Even though this bears the five digit zip code, it was not listed in the 1977-1978 Catalog.

The ferrous board is coated in plastic, and does not lie flat.

Model No. 9000 with Folded Board as Lid

No. 9000 ingeniously uses a folded ferrous board as a sliding lid for the box containing the chessmen. It lies flatter than No. 9002 above.

The sliding lid appears as composition board, but folds out as a chess board.	Chess pieces are the usual 3/4 inch American Design, but the sturdy board lies flat.
The Drueke logo identifies this as Model No. 9000.	The board folds and lies open easily.

Model Number Unknown

Frankly, I do not know how to categorize the following cute Drueke magnetic travel set. The plastic pieces are not American Design, and are small, the king is only 3/4 high. The ferrous board is in a walnut tray, and is only six inches wide with 3/4 inch squares.

The six inch ferrous board folds to form a storage box.	The plastic pieces are small, with a king of only 3/4 inch height.
The king is only 1 inch tall. The storage compartment came with a checker set, also.	The Drueke logo bears no model number. The zip code dates it after 1963.

William F. Drueke, Sr. Died in 1956, age 72.

He is interred at Mount Cavalry Cemetery, Grand Rapids, MI

William Francis Drueke, Sr.

William F. Drueke, Sr. died on January 18, 1956 at age 72. The company was subsequently run by his sons William F., Jr. ("Bill") and Joseph Drueke ("Joe"). Although we focus here on Drueke's chess sets, we should remember that at the height of their output they 300 different products, including a dozen different games, gavels, and furniture.

PART FOUR: 1963-1987

History of the Players' Choice Sets

Up to this point the Drueke company had not produced 3½ inch tournament pieces. To enter this market Drueke brought out in 1963 its Players' Choice line. Because of its aesthetic appearance and its heft this line enjoyed tremendous popularity, and even became an "official chess set" approved and sold by the United States Chess Federation (USCF). In his history (https://www.peterspioneers.com/WFDiii.htm) William Drueke, III stated that in the 1960's the USCF was their largest customer of both sets and boards. In 1954 Drueke purchased their own injection molding equipment, and needed no "jobbing house" but manufactured Players' Choice themselves. This design appears not to have been patented, as the last patent issued by the U.S. Patent Office in the name of "William Drueke" was in 1946 for his Play-A-Way games. I do not know who designed Players' Choice, but in his book Pohl points out the similarity between the Players' Choice king, bishop, and knight to an advertisement Drueke published for the International Toy Fair held in New York City in 1946 (see below). I suspect that Drueke may have taken a wax cast of an existing wood chess set to form the injection molds. I have seen "design patent pending" on a Players' Choice box lid, but have been unable to trace a patent number. Without patent protection I speculate that this is why the molds were scrapped when the company was sold in 1987. It is sad that this wonderful design is no longer manufactured, but it is still available in the aftermarket. I bought my Players' Choice Imperial set on E-Bay for $500.

www.peterspioneers.com/druekead

©Chess Life, November 1963, p. 288

Players' Choice sets became available in 1963, as shown by the above advertisement in the November issue of Chess Life. Pohl argues that this is a Drueke set, as the language used is identical to Drueke ads. Additionally, I observe that the number 4466 is Drueke's Model No. for their Players' Choice boxed in a two-drawer walnut coffer (photo infra). The line was officially introduced in February, 1965 at the USCF National Open Tournament held in Las Vegas, Nevada, where all 100 sets were sold out. Below is an advertisement from Chess Life which sold sets for Drueke throughout the sixties and seventies. Eventually, the USCF would instead favor the Cavalier chess sets by the Pacific Game Co.

©Chess Life, June 1965, p. 131

©Chess Review, April 1965 cover

Chess Review featured on the cover of its April, 1965 issue a photo of Samuel Reshevsky making his winning move with a Drueke tournament set at the First National Open Championship (as distinct from the U.S. Open or the U.S. Championship) in Las Vegas. In a sense this brought the boy Sammy full circle with William Drueke, Sr. (see photo in Part One).

©Chess Life, December, 1965, cover

Fischer v. Larsen, Denver, 1971

Pal Benko was featured with a Players' Choice set on the cover of Chess Life December 1965, having just won the First American Open Tournament at the Del Mar Club in Santa Monica, California. Bobby Fischer 's 6-0 shutout of Bent Larsen in Denver, 1971, was fought with a Players' Choice set.

Fischer had a "Players' Choice" set to study with.

When Fischer took the World Championship from Boris Spassky in 1972, sales of Drueke sets doubled. The Players' Choice sets even garnered special mention in the New York Times.

The Players' Choice Chess Pieces

The Players' Choice sets came in three sizes: the analysis set with a 2½ inch king; the tournament set with a 3½ inch king; and the Imperial set with a 5 inch king. All Players' Choice pieces came felted and weighted, although some sets were double or triple weighted. All colors were ivory and black, except for the Imperial which tried a wood effect with Pseudo-Wood Natural and Pseudo-Wood Walnut. A few tournament sets were cast with red pieces in the 1980's, but these were not popular. Because of its size an Imperial set took more steps to complete, so only 25 to 50 of these were made each year.

The Analysis Set with a 2½ inch king in ivory	The Analysis Set with a 2½ king in black
The Tournament Set with a 3½ king in ivory	The Tournament Set with a 3½ in king in black
The Imperial Set with a 5 inch king in Pseudo-Wood Natural	The Imperial Set with a 5 inch king in Pseudo-Wood Walnut
The Six Kings from all three sets

Players' Choice Model Numbers

Although the paper labels on some boxes do not always follow this system, the gilded logos usually do.

The Analysis size: Model No. 32 means single weighted in a cardboard box; 33 means double weighted in a cardboard box; 33-H means triple-weighted in a cardboard box; the suffix -B means a wooden box, as in 33-HB; 34 has plywood box with a sliding lid; the suffix -R means rosewood pieces (imported)
The Tournament size; Model No. 35 means single weighted in a cardboard box; 36 means double weighted in a cardboard box; 36-H means triple-weighted in a cardboard box; the suffix -B means a wooden box, as in 34-HB; the suffix -R means rosewood pieces (imported)
The Imperial size: Model no. 38 triple-weighted in a plywood or sliding lid box; 38-B means triple weighted in a walnut coffer.

It is worth noting that Drueke from the beginning was interested in offering nice boxes to house his chess pieces. Even in 1920 his customers had a choice between cardboard or wooden boxes. Because we focus on his contribution to chess, we overlook that Drueke manufactured not only many other games but also furniture. At the height of his factory's production he manufactured over 300 products. Grand Rapids was famous for its furniture and wood working, so Drueke's concern for handsome chess coffers was only natural. These were made from fine walnut, cherry, maple, pine, and even plywood. I include photos of the coffers and caskets which came with the various model numbers of the Players' Choice sets.

Model No. 38B The Imperial Coffer

This is the walnut coffer advertised with the Imperial pieces in the 1977-1978 Catalog (infra).

The hinged top opens to divided compartments.

The logo does not bear any model numbers.

Model No. 33B

Here is a double-weighted Analysis size in a cherry coffer.

Here is a side view, with width 4½ inches.

Here is a close up of the logo under the lid with the Model No. 33B

Model No. 35

Here is a single-weighted Tournament size in a cardboard box.

Does the qualification "Simulated Wood" connote a shifting of public taste from plastic to wood?

Model No. 35B

Here is a single-weighted Tournament size in a walnut coffer.

The length of the walnut coffer is 7 ½ inches.

Here is a close-up of the logo under the lid, Model No. 35B.

Model No. 32

This single-weighted Analysis size came in a plywood box with a sliding lid, which folded out into a chess board.

I think the model number should be 32B, unless Drueke did not esteem a plywood box as special.

The lid folds out into a ten inch leatherette chess board.

Model No. 34

This is a double-weighted Analysis size in a dove-tailed plywood box.

The sliding lid is composition wood.

Model No. 36

Here is a double-weighted Tournament size in a plywood box with a sliding lid.

I presume a plywood box did not merit the distinction 36B.

Model No. 4466 Deluxe Luxury Line Chess Set

This Model No. 4466 was advertised in the November, 1963 of Chess Life, which shows that the Tournament size No. 33 was available before the introduction of Players' Choice at the National Open in Las Vegas in February, 1965.

The 14 inch wide walnut coffer held two drawers. We can appreciate the workmanship Drueke put into his chess coffers.	The drawers held the single-weighted Tournament size Players' Choice.
The Drueke logo is affixed under the hinged lid.	The Model No. 4466 matches the 1963 Chess Life advertisement. It does not mesh with the later model number system for the rest of the Players' Choice models.

The Players' Choice of the Luxury Line Chess

Just as Drueke sold American Design under the rubric "Quality Chess Sets," so were Players' Choice sets sold under the rubric "Luxury Line Chess." These were single-weight Tournament size pieces sold with leatherette folding board with 2 inch squares.

This claims to have the design patent pending, though I have not been able to locate a patent number.

The Model No. 6635 connotes a No. 35 single-weighted Tournament size pieces.

I do not know what the Model No. 6735 means, though I have seen a Model No. 6036, which meant double-weighted Tournament pieces.

The interior of the cardboard box is partitioned to give each piece its own space.

An Explicit Tournament Set in the Players' Choice "Luxury Line"

This is a "Luxury Line" product, billed for tournament players.

This comes with a larger 2 1/4 inch cloth-covered folding board.

But it is still Model No. 6635, with single-weighted Tournament size pieces.

A Players Choice "Luxury Line" Combination of Chess and Checkers

Unfortunately, this print has faded from this pseudo-wood cardboard lid. I believe the Model No. 3372 is correct.

Each piece has its own holder.

It comes with a 12 inch cloth-covered folding board.

Model No. 131C Chess Board Chest

The top is a ten-inch plywood board with 1 1/4 inch squares, and is similar to the Drueke 1977-1978 Catalog Model No. 131C whose top flips up.	A drawer pulls out from under the board, containing the Model No. 33 single-weighted Analysis size pieces.
The underside of the board is raised up half an inch on plywood runners.	Model No. 131D is an improvement over the Catalog model.

Model No. 233 An Improvement over the Above Model No. 133D

Like Model No. 133C above, this board houses one central drawer for Players' Choice Model No. 33.

The underside is felted with the Drueke logo.

Model No. 233 has a heftier board made of pine.

The Analysis size of Players' Choice Offered in the Drueke 1977-1978 Catalog

The Tournament size of Players' Choice Offered in the Drueke 1977-1978 Catalog

The Imperial size of Players' Choice Offered in the Drueke 1977-1978 Catalog

Model No. 1007 King Arthur Design

In the 1940's and 50's a popular chess set design was Gothic by Peter Ganine. Perhaps to capture some of this market Drueke introduced his King Arthur design, molded in Tenite plastic like Players' Choice and available in ivory and ebony, with gold face or neutral. This did not enjoy the popularity Drueke expected. The molding process required more steps, and the finished product had a thinner shell than the Players' Choice, so was more likely to split. The weights had a tendency to come loose inside, and, as it was not felted, would in time scratch the board. It sold poorly, and today is seldom found on the aftermarket.

Credit is clearly given to the woodcarver Charles Bendekgey	Although in a cardboard box each piece has its own partition.

Unfortunately, the Model No. 1007 has been scratched.

Drueke inserted advertisements for King Arthur in his other products.

Here are the plain faces.

Here are the gold-gilt faces.

The Drueke Company Split in 1971.

William, Jr. and Joseph Drueke had been running the company since their father's death in 1956. But over a disagreement Joe left to form his own company The Drueke Blue Chip Gaming, Co. (DBC), located just a few blocks away. Joe retained a third of the shares in the original Wm. F. Drueke and Sons, Inc. He produced his own sets, using imported wood pieces from France. Below is an example of his Model No. 807, with an ingenious hinged board to reveal storage underneath.

DBC Model No. 807

The board has 1 inch squares in a maple tray with side trenches for captured pieces.	The board is hinged to reveal storage space beneath.
The inner tag indicates the Drueke Blue Chip (DBC) was importing its chessmen from France.	The white pieces The black pieces The logo uses the company initials "DBC" in a double circle, rather than a knight's head.

Drueke's Chess Boards

Other than for their travel sets, the Drueke company did not manufacture boards in their early years, I assume because of the ubiquity of checker boards in American society. But in the 40's they needed an inexpensive folding board to accompany their "Anyone Can Play Chess" line. Bill, Jr., in his history, wrote, " We needed a good folding chess board made of leatherette and clothboard so I designed and made a glue machine for the job." (http://www.peterspioneers.com/WFD.htm) Around the time Drueke introduced the Players' Choice for tournament play, they needed a more substantial wooden board. Grand Rapids has a long history of fine woodworking, which inspired Drueke not only to manufacture fine chess coffers but also exceptional chess boards. His boards are among the finest in the world. Bill, III wrote that his first job in the family business was to refurbish any factory seconds so that the wood was perfect. These beautiful boards are known for their meticulous bevel and edging along the sides of the board. The boards are made from walnut for the dark squares, and birch for the white, though my Model No. 64 says maple.

The Drueke 1977-1978 Catalog offers the following boards.

from the Drueke 1977-1978 Catalog

advertisement from Chess Life, April 19, 1965

This advertisement was put in with other Drueke products.

This is the reverse side of the left advertisement.

Model No. 61

I single out Model No. 61 with its 15 inch board, because it perhaps was the most common and because I have its original box.

This is the original box it shipped in.	Model No. 61 has a 15 inch board and 1 1/4 inch squares.
Like all Drueke boards, it is reversible.	I do not know why the logo does not bear the model number.

Model No. 62, 63, 64

The point in displaying all the boards, as they look alike, is to point out that for some unknown reason, only Model No. 62's logo bears its model number.

Model No. 62	The reverse side with logo	I do not know why only Model No. 62 has its model number in its logo.
Model No. 63	The reverse	No model number
Model No. 64 claims to use maple.	The reverse has its logo sidewise to fit.	Again, no model number in the logo.

PART FIVE: 1987 to the present

In 1987 brothers William, Jr. and Joseph, and daughter Marian owned roughly a third of the stock in the Drueke company apiece. They sold their shares to the Low Tech Co. in Grand Rapids, to whom Joseph also sold his Drueke Blue Chip Gaming Co. Joseph continued to work for the Low Tech Co. for a couple years, but in 1990 Drueke's assets were sold to the Carrom Co. of Ludington, Michigan. (Ludington Daily News, July 15, 1992 https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GcMLAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2VUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6482%2C1077078 ) As mentioned in Part Four, Carrom did not continue to produce Players' Choice, because the injection molds were scrapped upon the sale. Carrom sold off the existing Drueke merchandise, imported sheesham chessmen from India, but continued to make the famous chess boards. However, today Carrom no longer sells any chess products.

The Drueke Company

Until 1987 under William F. Drueke, Jr.'s leadership, the official business name of the company was "Wm. F. Drueke and Sons, Inc." Carrom purchased the right to use the Drueke name, but their subsidiary was named "The Drueke Company." It is important to note that products labeled "The Drueke Company" have come from the Carrom Company. I cite the following brochure included by Carrom in their chess sets.

Note that "The Drueke Company" is identified as a Carrom company.

Combination Chess/Checkers Set

Here is an example of how Carrom repackaged Drueke stock. The board is probably a Model No. 62, coffer might be a 38B, and the chessmen appear to be imported from India.

This is the box which the contents came in.

In the fine print at the lower right there is another example of "The Drueke Company" referring to a subsidiary of Carrom's.

The Green Boxes of "The Drueke Company"

Many sets come in these distinctive green boxes of "The Drueke Company." Usually the chessmen are made of sheesham wood from India, known as "Indian Rosewood" because of its beautiful grain. I have one small green box which contains a set of Players' Choice Model No. 32 Analysis size. These are still in factory-sealed bags, so I assume they were a remainder of the stock when Drueke was sold. All other green boxes I have seen contain sheesham pieces. Perhaps this a reflection of the times when plastics became less respected than wood.

Simple, understated design on a cardboard box.	Note the continued use of "Grand Rapids, MI" instead of Ludington.
The Model No. 33 hearkens back to the Analysis size, double-wighted, only here in wood.	The white pieces, probably in boxwood. The black pieces, probably in rosewood.

Model No. 2208 with Board

Analysis size in Sheesham wood

folding plywood board

Model No. 132W

Here is an ingenious walnut coffer whose sliding top is a 10 inch chess board.

The green box containing the walnut coffer is 13 inches on a side.	"The Drueke Company" identifies the Carrom Co. Yet, it still sports "Grand Rapids," perhaps because "Ludington" sounds flat? The coffer probably was a product of Wm. F. Drueke and Sons, Inc.

No Model Number

All four sides are blank green, no model number.

Inside partitioned to hold a 2 1/2 inch king.

William Francis Drueke, III

In 2015 the grandson of the founder established a new company "Drueke Games," largely to continue making the chessboards for which the Drueke name is famous. By this time Carrom had ceased making boards. Working by himself he produced several dozen boards from a larger variety of woods every year. His work can be seen on his Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/bill.drueke.1/) He wrote, " "I’m back! Once again the Drueke family is in production, making the chessboards that have been preferred by chess enthusiasts and lovers of quality wood products for many years. This year (2015) begins the second 100 years for the family business." (http://peterspioneers.com/WRSD.htm) "Bill" retired in 2022.

William Francis Drueke, III

William F. Drueke Chess Sets

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