The Set of the 1939 Buenos Aires Olympiad

The heads of the kings, queens, bishops, and pawns all screw off, and the collars are rings that fit between the heads and the stems of the pieces.

Corfield's moving history captures the pathos of the tournament, juxtaposing its events with those leading to the outbreak of war and the fall of Poland. It tells the stories of so many of the participants, those lesser well known as much as the Capablancas and Alekhines, and how the war affected and too often ended their lives.

Passion, quand tu nous tiens!

Chuck:

Congratulations for this new original acquisition.

(and You know how taking nice pictures)

PS: I love the way you presented your collection.

Do you made this three stairs yourself?

Merci beaucoup mon ami!

The steps are shelf organizers I bought on Amazon.

I recently came up with another easy staging idea. We redid our pool house this summer, and I used a lot of very light weight PVC trim. PVC boards of different width could be used for up to the entire length of a shelf, better accommodating the differing width of each displayed set. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm confident it would work well.

Thanks, Ron! I did clean them up with Renaissance Wax, but there is very little yellowing. My fifties era Bakelite Windsor set does not show any either. But Bakelite is very brittle and prone to chipping. There is a fair amount of chipping on this set. Some rook crenellations, the top of one knight's main, and so on. Two of the black pawns are from a like-sized plastic Lardy. I'll get them replaced. One pawn collar is missing. I'll get one made. 

A very nice set Chuck...! I assume its Plastic.?

Chuck, the set looks to be of pretty decent quality. Especially when one considers that this was 1939 and the fact that it was marketed to the public. I feel that it would sell very well today. Do you have any idea what it went for when it was new? Perhaps an estimate in U.S. dollars. As usual, a very enjoyable pictorial! Thanks.

Chuck, magnífico, simplesmente magnífico!

Thanks, Frank! It is indeed plastic. Fenolite is a form of Bakelite which is an early plastic. It is hard and brittle. It chips and flakes easily.

Hi Walt! I think the set is of fantastic quality for being a plastic set circa 1940. I'd compare it to the American Windsor and Gallant Knight sets of roughly similar vintage. It's pieces are superior to both, IMHO, particularly the knight. I have no idea what the initial price was. With postage from GB, I paid a little less than $200 from a knowledgeable seller who typically commands top dollar. In this case, she didn't realize it was a set from the '39 Olympiad, but I can't blame her. I had just seen clear pictures of it a day before. I was very, very lucky and had some help from a good friend.

Mil gracias, mi amigo!

Nice set. 

Thanks, Alex, and you're welcome! Can you think of another Olympiad set in plastic? I can't. The history is incredible, and Corfield does a magnificent job of capturing it. Yes, that container is great!

Many thanks!

 Many thanks, CR! I highly recommend Cofield's book.