Old Chess set Advertisements, post here

Topic for old chess set advertisements. It could be from an old newspaper, book or retail catalogue etc.

I'll jump start with these:

1914 Williams & co (Paris importer of British and American goods):

1929 - Tryon Company, Philadelphia: Fremont chess in Mountain Boxwood and French Mountain Boxwood.

1889 Milton Bradley:

1912 August Stukenbrok Einbeck:

1913 Montgomery Ward & co - bone chess

1901 T. Eaton Co: Wood and bone chess.

1902 Andersons' of Cardiff (South Wales Daily News) :

1964 Mandarin chess set by Rojan Supply:

1916 Montgomery Ward - bone chess

1950s K & C London (Kent & Cleal) :

1976 K & C London (Coventry Evening Telegraph):

1900 Nerlich & Co:

1890 S.A Maxwell (Chicago), Catalogue of Sporting and Athletic Goods no 62:

1929 Sterling Domestic Chessmen, from American News Co. catalog:

1850 Mechi's chessmen, Morning Post

1851 Mechi's Terraced Chessboard, Illustrated London News:

1858 Mechi & Bazin, Dover Telegraph & Cinque Ports General Advertiser:

1865 Mechi & Bazin, from G. Pardon Handbook of Draughts:

D.M Binger 1875:

1902 Gamages of Holborn:

1911 Gamages:

1913 Gamages:

1927 Gamages catalogue:

Great and original idea for a thread, thanks!

1939 Chess in the USSR (Шахматы в CCCP):

1900 Luxuspapier-Fabrik A. Sala:

1909 Revenaz & Tabernat:

Au Printemps 1908:

1926 Catalogue illustré des articles de The Miller Rubber Co, Akron, Ohio, U.S.A. et de manufactures anglaises et américaines:

1935 Librairie Catholique E. Vitte:

FH Ayres chess sets, based at 111 Aldersgate, London, (various advertisements):

1886 The Queen Newspaper - F.H Ayres chessmen

1882 Perry & Co - Ayres

The FH Ayres factory in 1886 (source: poster "Henry Hub" from Tennis Warehouse):

1890 Benjamin Laws' The Two Move Chess Problem -

1895 Benetfink & Co. catalogue - Ayres chess sets

1897 Benetfink & Co. catalogue (original copy). Note that this is the only Benetfink & Co. advertisement that has surfaced so far explicitly identifying "F.H Ayres' make" chessmen with the illustrations.

1899 Benetfink & Co catalogue - The "London made" chessmen shown below can be identified as "FH Ayres' make." This conclusion is based on the prior 1897 Benetfink catalogue with the same illustrations and similar descriptions. According to the descriptions in this 1899 catalogue, Ayres made "Ebonized" versions with "Loaded Bases" of Staunton pattern (on the right). There are also Ebonized St George's pattern chessmen (top right) and in rosewood (top left). Ayres even made cheaper and unweighted Staunton versions with polished mahogany boxes ( left).

Ayres' Ebonized St George pattern chess sets:

Ayres "Staunton Pattern Chessmen, London Made....Ditto, Ditto, Polished Boxwood and Ebonized, with Cloth Covered and Loaded Bases, in Polished Wood Boxes":

Cheaper priced and unweighted Ayres sets (there is no mention of "Loaded Bases"):

Photo of Ayres pieces (mixed?!) -

1907 Illustrated London News FH Ayres estate value -

1913 A&F catalogue that depicts an imported Ayres chess set with 7 sizes. The largest club size is a 4 inch tall king and priced at $27.50 (equivalent to over $800 in 2024). An Ayres traveling chess set with vegetable ivory peg pieces is shown on the left.

1914 Williams & Co (Paris), Ayres compendium - Note the style of St. George pieces

1938 Ayrgames in Sevenoaks Chronicle and Kentish Advertiser -

What a marvellous idea for a thread!

1930s Universal Toy Catalog:

Tinker Toys 1920:

Gebrüder Märklin 19th century:

1921 Frank Sugg - Liverpool Institute Magazine:

Catlin Pocket Chess, from Corsair Periodical c.1910:

1952 The Embossing Company of Albany, New York - chess sets

July 1883 Army & Navy:

1893 Richard Whitty - Runcorn Guardian. "And Every other Requisite for both IN and OUT-DOOR Games...."

17 April 1888 - Richard Whitty - Athletic News: "Every Requisite for both in and Out-door Games."

21 Sept 1900 Henry Whitty chess- Liverpool Mercury:

13 Sept 1899 Henry Whitty chess - Liverpool Mercury:

20 November 1915 - Henry Whitty chess - Liverpool Journal of Commerce:

Jan 1910 - Henry Whitty chess - Liverpool Journal of Commerce:

The Rugby League news.Vol. 26 No. 13 (Australia 7 July 1945): Mick Simmons, 712-722 George St, Haymarket, Sydney & Newcastle. Selinite plastic "Classic Staunton" chessmen.

1896 John Piggott, from Chess Openings by Isidor Gunsberg:

John Piggott storefront from invoice:

(Australia) UNIQUE CHESSMEN (1 October 1941). (1941-10-01). In Pertinent. 1 (3), 54:

1914 Hordern & Sons:

1903 Harold Wilson co, Toronto:

1879-1880 Selchow & co. American and English Staunton wood chess, French chess in white wood boxes (boxwood & ebony), English bone:

1880 Mcloughlin Bros:

1914 Mcloughlin Bros:

1952 Bertram Jones makes ivory chess -Horsham Times:

1936 Aux Galeries Lafayette:

Some of these designs, really wish they still made today!

1918 Toy Manufacturers of the USA - Drueke :

1918 Sears:

1947 Metro Manufacturing Co. / Metro Games 127 West 25th Street, New York City:

1952 Drueke catalogue:

1954 Drueke:

1957 H. Baron company catalog, 5 East 19th Street, New York. Special Military Services edition:

Imported French chess sets:

Closeup of 1950s French chess sets:

More of H. Baron co's import French chess sets. Also some plastic Crusader chessmen:

Closeup:

1958 E.S Lowe:

1952 William Rott catalogue:

Very nice plastic chess sets. Gallant Knight, Windor Castle, catalin, imported wood French sets and machine carved knights.

1958 Bar-Zim:

Saint Oyan 1908:

Dortan wood turning (maybe chess or no?), 1910:

Johnson Smith & co 1940:

Joseph Strauss co:

Strasburger 1880:

Lengerke & Antoine 1925:

Montgomery Ward 1895:

Edmonton chess club, 1935 - donate your incomplete chess sets (!)

Polygon corp 1954:

Woodward's (Canada) 1947:

Wilson's Stationery 1946 -

1974 La Barge:

1981 Antique Collector - where to buy (antique chess)?

Blumberg & Co. / aka "B & Co. London (Wholesale)" - London and Paris based seller of British, foreign and fancy goods. The business had houses at Cannon Street, London and Rue de Bondy, Paris. The founders were described as of "German extraction" and imported fancy articles from countries such as France, Switzerland, Italy and Germany.

Identification as "B & Co. London (Wholesale)" is based on the copyright of material from the 1862 book "The Club Adventures of Alderman Akeinside." Blumberg & Co were known to have sold clocks, fancy boxes, musical boxes, and musical instruments. Hinges stamped with "B & Co. Improved" have been found on vanity boxes and boxes containing the chronometers and concertinas by other makers. Blumberg & Co. also sold chess sets, as seen in an 1864 advertisement.

"B & Co. London (Wholesale)" book: The Club Adventures of Alderman Akeinside:

Blumberg & Co, 1862 copyright owner of "Alderman Akeinside", from UK Kew National Archives:

["...from the Celebrated House of Blumberg & Co...", chessmen and boards, Newry Telegraph 1864 ]:

[ Blumberg & Co, from The Public Ledge 1872]:

[Blumberg & co, from Penny Illustrated paper 1892]:

Blumberg & Co.'s large establishment and business, (then operating as Berens, Blumberg & co) 1856 Illustrated London News: "We have read in novels of people who have sold every-thing, 'from a ship to a thimble.' The establishment we describe is something of the same sort - from a sixpenny salt-cellar to a £500 chamber organ. The dealer in fancy wares can be satisfied to any amount. There are here articles for every hour of the day and every rotation of life... and the recreation of the evening." "..their annual sales go into hundreds of thousands of pounds sterling..." 

Blumberg & co - 1872 The international guide to British and foreign merchants 1872. Clocks, watches, musical instruments:

The Concertina Museum collection, "B & Co Improved" hinges on Wheatstone concertina, likely retailed by Blumberg & Co. :

The Concertina Museum Collection, "B & Co." hinges on a Prowse concertina, again likely retailed by Blumberg:

Bonham's auction of a chronometer by Morris Tobias with "B & Co Improved" box hinges :

In the book Marine Chronometers at Greenwich by Jonathan Betts, an 1858 chronometer (by Brockbank & Atkins) in a similar looking box with "B & Co Improved" hinges:

From Marine Chronometers at Greenwich by Jonathan Betts, an 1855 chronometer (by Charles Frodsham) in a similar looking box with "B & Co Improved" hinges, likely retailed by Blumberg and Co.

B & Co. Improved hinges on a vanity box:

Joseph Feltham & Co, based at City Steamworks, Barbican, with an advertisement in the 1892 book Golf by W.T Linskill: "Feltham's - Manufacturer of all In- and Out-door games..." "compendiums, chess & draughts.."

Feltham and Co. in the 1862 London directory:

California Chess Voice (various)

1969 Scacchic Voice - Art Neal chess case:

1973 Chess Voice - Art Neal Chess case:

1979 Chess Voice - Art Neal Chess case:

1968/1969 Chess Voice - Connoisseurs Curiosity Shop:

1968 Chess Voice - German clocks and repair:

1971 Rollflex chessboards and clock:

1972 Mexico chess set, Rollup boards, and Bale's hand tooled chess set:

1973 Needlepoint chessboard:

1973 Zonal chess tablette and Semi circle chess:

1976 Chess Voice - Berkeley The Pawn Shop, Gambit game store chess table, Jerger chess clocks, Philippine Kamagong wood chess king & queen book ends:

Philippine Kamagong king and queen bookends, Nielsen's Imports:

All Solid State Digital Chess Clock, Computer Chess Systems:

1977 Chess Voice - Ishar Singh Kulwant Singh, Amritsar, chess set and board:

1978:

1978 Philippine stamps:

1981-1984:

Peter Biyiasas will analyze your games by cassette!

Jeremy Silman will analyze your games by mail...

1984 - The Gamers Games Store - Berkeley

Improve your chess through hypnosis - Pself-Psych, North Hollywood California

Lots of images, but no attribution or references.

Which one(s) do you need further reference for? Happy to provide. Over the years, I have used Archive (though this site is down now), BNA, Google Books, Gallica, Museum of Play, Mechanics Institute (for the Chess Voice above) and many others. For instance, the Whitty ads are from BNA and were shared privately with two other collectors. Some are of my own collection.

It's usual to mention the source when you post...even from your own collection.

Hi, is there a particular post above that you need help with? Happy to discuss but I am unsure of what you are seeking. If you have some old chess set advertisements you would like to post or share, you are more than welcome in this thread.

No specific post, and looking back I do see a few with sources which is good. Some of these I've seen before during my own research online. I do have a question though...what's BNA?

Some interesting ads and thread.

Thanks. BNA is British Newspaper Archive. It requires a subscription, though, to do more searches.

Thanks BobbyStaunton.

There's some really great stuff here!

Can you imagine Montgomery Ward in 1916 selling genuine "bone" pieces?!!