Rare 1st Generation Wm. F. Drueke & Co. reversible chess board with early transitional Drueke chessmen.

A First-Generation Drueke Chessboard (1915–1917)

Feb 19, 2026, 12:33 PM | 5

In 1914, William F. Drueke entered a market newly opened to the United States: domestically supplied chess equipment. Over the following decades, his company would become the dominant manufacturer. This article examines an early transitional reversible board attributed to Waddell Manufacturing & Company for William F. Drueke & Company, and the historical circumstances that led to its creation.

Sources:

Family archives available at: www.peterspioneers.com
Vintage Chess Sets of the United States (CreativeSpace Publishing, 2016)
Bruce Hedman’s chess blog @ https://www.chess.com/blog/BruceHedman/william-f-drueke-chess-sets
Contemporary collector discussions
Waddell Manufacturing catalogue (c. 1904), Columbia University Archives

An Early American Replacement for European Imports

This reversible chessboard, measuring 20 x 20 inches with 2.25-inch squares, appears to date to the earliest years of domestic production by Wm. F. Drueke & Co. of Grand Rapids, Michigan — circa 1915 – 1917. Fabricated at the outbreak of World War I, it represents a transitional American response to the sudden disappearance of European chess imports.

Constructed with tight mitered corners and balanced veneer panels, the board reflects Grand Rapids’ early 20th-century furniture craftsmanship. The chess surface features alternating maple and walnut-stained birch squares framed by a solid border. The reverse side reveals a fully inlaid backgammon layout — an economical dual-purpose design likely intended to broaden market appeal during uncertain commercial conditions.

At the time of its probable manufacture, established import channels from France and other European producers had collapsed. According to early company accounts, a representative from Marshall Field’s in Chicago encouraged William F. Drueke — then a game and toy distributor — to begin domestic chess production. By 1915, Drueke had positioned his company to supply an American chess market.

Historical records further indicate that, by 1916, Drueke was marketing backgammon alongside chess, yet had not begun manufacturing his own game equipment. Boards from this brief period were supplied by outside furniture makers, most notably Waddell Manufacturing, before production moved in-house in 1917. The combined chess and backgammon construction of the present board places it squarely within this transitional phase of the American game industry — before later standardization, before catalog expansion, and well before Drueke’s mid-century dominance of the chess industry.

Domestic Production: Sub-Contracting and Distribution

Waddell Manufacturing Company was a Grand Rapids furniture-district workshop specializing in decorative turned and carved wooden components for both commercial and household use.

Their extensive product lines and capabilities are well documented in this catalogue and price list from 1904:

Early Drueke production began in rented workshop space on Scribner Avenue, following an initial period of subcontracting with local woodworkers, including Waddell Manufacturing & Company. The firm later expanded into a dedicated factory on 3rd Street N.W. Surviving photographs of that plant illustrate the scale the company would eventually reach:

1941 Wm.F.Drueke & Sons Manufacturing located at 3rd St. N.W. Grand Rapids, Michigan. (© Photo courtesy of Bill F. Drueke III @ www.peterspioneers.com)

No known photographs of the Scribner Avenue workshop have been located; however, the scale of the later plant would have contrasted sharply with the small subcontract and workshop environment in which the earliest boards and chessmen initially were received, packaged, and distributed.

(©Photo courtesy of Bill F. Drueke III @ www.peterspioneers.com)

Why This Board Matters:

This first-generation Drueke chessboard is more than an object; it is an unintended philosophy rendered in wood. On its surface lies the logic, planning, and inevitability of chess, paired with the chance and uncertainty of backgammon beneath. Together they reflect adaptation during a moment of global disruption, when American industry assumed roles once filled by European makers.

(©Photo courtesy of Bill F. Drueke III @ www.peterspioneers.com)

Built deliberately and without haste, the materials and workmanship reflect a time when objects were expected to endure decades of use. So too was chess expected to endure the moment.

The reversible chess-and-backgammon format reflects the broad, multi-game marketing typical of the company’s early years. Such dual-purpose boards suited uncertain wartime markets, offering versatility to buyers before later catalogs separated chess equipment from other parlor games.

Drueke Chessmen: Armies With Support

The reversible board was acquired with two incomplete sets of early Drueke-type chessmen.

The earlier hand-turned and carved set (shown below) lacks one white pawn, one black pawn, and a white knight.

These pieces share color, stain absorption, and matte oil-varnish aging with an accompanying group of wooden backgammon checkers. The turning profiles also correspond: the concentric rings of the checkers closely match the bases of the chessmen. While not proof of original retail pairing, such similarities suggest manufacture within the same production environment. Shops of this period — including Grand Rapids subcontract firms such as Waddell Manufacturing & Company — commonly produced multiple small wooden goods on shared lathes.

Wm. F. Drueke & Co. transitional chess / checker combination set circa 1915 - 1918.

In form and proportion, the pieces correspond to what later appeared as the Drueke “1½ pattern,” illustrated in the 1920 Wm. F. Drueke & Company catalogue (shown below). Unlike the catalog examples, however, these pieces lack the standardized polished finish and instead retain a softer surface treatment. This difference is consistent with manufacture prior to later catalog normalization.

Previously collected by Bruce Hedman, these pattern 1 1/2 pieces were offered in Drueke’s 1920 catalogue and now reside in the St. Louis Chess Hall Of Fame. (©Photo courtesy of Bruce Hedman)

The second chessmen group found with the board is nearly complete and matches the proportions of the catalog “No. 0 pattern.” These examples exhibit a polished finish, contrasting with the matte surfaces of the earlier set, as well as, “No. 0 pattern” advertised examples from the 1920 catalogue above and shown here:

Photo from current EBay listing offered by user: phils84

Photo from current EBay listing offered by user: fhfsales

Although this pattern appears in the January 1, 1920 catalogue, the polished examples likely predate catalog standardization and represent the same design after finishing practices had moved in-house. The matte and polished groups likely reflect successive production phases.

Taken together, the matte-finished chessmen and matching backgammon checkers appear to represent an earlier phase of use, while the polished set likely reflects a replacement or upgrade. Although point-of-sale association cannot be established, the material continuity and wear patterns indicate long-term cohabitation within a single gaming environment consistent with the wartime emergence of American-made chess equipment. A comparison of the white knights from each set is shown below.

The 1920 Drueke catalogue offered the left pattern 0 knight (polished) in a matte finish and the right pattern 1 1/2 knight (matte) in a polished finish.

Additionally Associated Household Gaming Objects: Support

The board was acquired together with a group of gaming and personal items consistent with early twentieth-century domestic use rather than later collector assembly. While not provably sold as a single retail set, the inclusion of these objects also suggests long-term cohabitation within one household gaming environment.

Dice (Bone and Early Plastic)

Bone Die: (Left) Circa 1890 - 1915

Celluloid Die (Center): Circa 1910 - 1935

Stained Bone Die: (Right) Circa 1890 - 1915

Petrol Lift-Arm Lighter (c. 1925–1940)

A common household table lighter, indicating the board remained in active social use well into the interwar period.

Stewardship Of A Thinking Object:

To sit before this board today is to see the century at its threshold. History, like dice, had tumbled beyond anyone’s control. This board stands not as a relic of war, but as a witness to it. It represents American industry stepping forward when Europe could not. It represents continuity in the face of rupture. And it reminds us that even during humanity’s most destructive moments, people still gathered to think, to play, and to search for meaning through structured thought. Chess did not stop the war, but it offered a language for understanding it. More than a century later, that language still speaks.

A First-Generation Drueke Chessboard (1915–1917)

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