Post your Travel Chess Sets

Hi Bob

Here is a photo which shows the board very clearly. The cover has ES Lowe on the inside -- it didn't seem that important so I didn't include it, but I'd be happy to include it or any other photos. The board looks identical to your post in #84... What do you think? I got the set at a used stuff sale. I could tell it would be a project - the pieces fit horribly in the holes. The pegs of hte pieces were of various widths, and some were slightly squarish. the holes in the board were of various sizes - that is, pieces would fit easily in one hole, but the same piece horribly in another. I felt that it was poorly made - didn't notice that anyone had messed with the set. I have a couple K & C London sets. THOSE were well made and all the pegs and holes fit uniformly.

I decided to reduce and round the pegs. That worked - to my surprise. 

I prefer that the pieces fall out if you hold the board vertically (or upside down). Seems easier to move the pieces around.

Thanks,

Greg

Thanks for the photo, Gregor.  I would love to know when your Lowe set was manufactured in the multiple year run.  I just checked several sets and none of them have the problems you've experienced.

I'm wondering if Lowe used multiple manufacturing facilities or changed facilities over the years and became careless with their quality control.  Maybe it became a matter of low bid as inflation became a problem in the 1970s.

I realize all my scenarios are merely speculative, but something must explain the poor fit and squarish pegs.  Did you notice "flash" (click here and scroll down for a definition) on the pieces or a highly offset mold line making a round peg appear squarish?  If so, that means very poor quality control.

No matter what occurred, you were unlucky enough to get stuck with a lesser set. Of course, the price was right at $2. As a collector, I paid four times that for an unused set in a pristine retail box.

Best,
Bob

hi bob. if by flash you mean very very thin remnants of plastic squeezed out from the molding process - not an issue. here's a photo of the backside of the board, and some of the pieces. looks like original pieces, from what i see of your photo of #84. i had to sand at least half the pieces (the pegs) to either roundness and/or a smaller diameter. i selected one of the tighter holes in the board, and tried inserting piece after piece and worked on those that needed it. many would not fit in at all - at least to that particular square

some of the pegs had slightly flat aspects, where it should have been a cylinder. i'm amazed my primitive effort resulted in a useable set. um, perhaps this is an early edition of the lowe sets, which they had to remake? or --- a middle or later one --- sounds like a totally different product than what you are describing. i would probably pay the $8 you quoted for an additional (useable) set. i don't find the sets that attractive, but they aren't ugly. i'd hate to play on this set -- the K & C sets are much better, but also still too small.

You're right, Gregor, the K & C Ltd. of London sets are far superior, no doubt about it.

The underside of my board is exactly the same, as are the pieces, but your pegs fit "snuggly" into the holes just as you say.  Frankly, I've never seen anything like it.  That said, I have a possible scenario for the difference since flash and poor molding are not the problem.

Lowe must have changed the diameter of the holes and the diameter of the pegs over the many years of their manufacturing process.  I'd lay money you have pieces with larger diameter pegs from one set and a board with smaller diameter holes from another.  It seems like a screw up at the factory, but more likely the previous owner found replacement pieces or a replacement board and put them together for a complete set.  You should ask him.

Here's how my pieces and pegs look when the board is tilted vertically.

                           Loose-Fitting Pieces on Vertical Board

                                      Loose-Fitting White Pieces

                                       Loose-Fitting White Pegs

                                          Loose-Fitting Red Pieces

                                          Loose-Fitting Red Pegs

Not to be funny, but you got stuck with the tight end of the peg.

Best,
Bob 

thanks, bob. at least i know if i get another lowe set, the pieces will fit a lot nicer than mine do...!

Very Colorful.

fightingbob wrote:

Fellow chess set lovers:

There are many posts dedicated to standard sized chess sets, but I collect travel chess sets, mostly of the peg-in variety.  Attractive, vintage magnetic travel sets are also interesting.  These are predominately pocket style sets of Japanese, German or Russian origin that fold in half and use disk style pieces with figures bonded to the surface.  Fitting into the antique category are 19th century pocket sets using flat, celluloid pieces that fit into slots in leather (sometimes cardboard) boards and also fold in half.

Posting any of these is welcome, but please don't be a wiseacre and post a photo of your iPhone, iPad, Android, PDA or other modern electronic device.  We want antique or classic travel chess sets, even sets using plastic pieces such as those manufactured by K&C Ltd of London, Lowe or Drueke during W.W. II.

I own one of more of these magnetic and slotted pocket sets, but will not be including them.  I wish I could say I had the Drueke pocket set my late father owned during W.W. II, but he tossed it after some of the pieces were lost during his service in the Army Air Corps.  It was known as a Drueke Vol. 100 with a wood board and plastic pieces; they were sold at the PX.  You can still find them on eBay.

In conclusion, I have limited my photos to attractive, sometimes exotic peg-in style sets from around the world, but I end with eight photos of a Drueke W.W. II set with accompanying material in unused, mint condition.

Best,Bob

     8-inch Whittington-Pattern Bone-Wood Chess Set (UK, 1890s-1900s)

     6-inch Whittington-Pattern Bone-Wood Chess Set (UK, 1890s-1900s)

   7 x 5.625-inch Unicorn Brand Lathed Metal-Wood Chess Set (UK, 1940s)

              7.5 x 5-inch Ivory-Wood Chess Set (Japan, 1960s-1970s)

      7.25 x 5.75-inch Wood-Wood Chess Set (Switzerland, 1960s-1970s)

      9.75 x 7.0625-inch Wood-Cardboard Chess Set (France, 1960s-70s)

       8.0625 x 6.1875-inch Wood-Wood Chess Set (USSR, 1970s-1980s)

          8) 5.75x5.75-inch Wood-Wood Chess Set (West Germany, date?)

     6 x 6-inch Sterling Silver-Wood Chess Set in Leather Case (UK, date?)

I have a couple that were passed down from my father when he passed away.

This is a Golden Castle "Mikado" travel set made in Japan right around WW2. 

This peg-variety one is a gorgeous little set but the only set I have found like this online is pretty expensive so I haven't had much luck finding one that I can use to make this a complete set since it is missing a few pieces. (If anyone knows any replacement dealers or happens to know where I could get pieces that would work in this set, please shoot me a note!) There are several other travel sets that I will get some pics of for this thread, too. 

Thanks for the post, Artemis-1.  The Mikado made by Golden Castle is a lovely set; it's too bad it is missing three pieces.  Still, it is gratifying to have it has passed from father to son.

There are craftsmen who professionally restore chess sets, but I don't know any who make peg-in pieces from scratch.  If I were you I'd still search the Internet.

I hope you find an inexpensive Mikado, perhaps another incomplete set listed on eBay.  I won a complete Mikado about 7 weeks ago from an eBay listing, but it costs me over $200.  On the other hand, $200 is rather inexpensive compared to one professional auction site asking $695 for another Mikado.

By the way, the Mikado continued to be made into the 1960s and 70s.  Here is an advertisement from the April 1970 issue of Chess Life and Review.

All the best,
Bob

Beauty of a set, the nicest small peg in set I have ever seen. Have Alan Dewey make you replacement pieces by sending him the ones you need duplication on?  

I'll shoot him a note, thanks for the recommendation! I also just grabbed a shot of the pieces from another set I got from my dad. It opens up to be a board and the pieces are gorgeous, not sure if they are bone or ivory. I've attached a few pics. I don't know anything about it's maker or history though, unfortunately. Since it closes up into itself I consider a travel set, but it is a full-sized board, so perhaps not. It does travel easily, though   

Here is my tiny hidden set in a box. About 137 x 93 mm.

I don't remember how I came to own my Van Keuren, perhaps purchased at a tournament in the early 1980s or from the USCF.  Like a lot of sets posted here, it is no longer made.

Nice box you keep it in, Mr. Merrell, I assume along with a standard sized set.  I keep mine in a thin plastic case that snaps shut.  Don't know where I got that either, but I know it didn't come with the set.

Thanks for the post.

Best,
Bob

The USCF gave them as a gift for renewing your membership for a year or two I think.

By George ... I mean Randy ... I think you've got it.  That seems to ring a bell.

To answer your first question, 2Q1C, I haven't kept track. When I have time I'll be putting everything in an Excel spreadsheet or Panorama database with links to photos of each set. As a rough estimate, I'd say between $2,000 and $2,500, which is a bit more than I've spent on four House of Staunton 4-inch sets and one attractive accompanying board. A majority of the cost is wrapped up in five well-preserved Whittingtons.

Do they hold their price you ask? Whatever the market will bear, unless you run into a bear market. But seriously, older, pristine travel sets with bone or ivory pieces hold their value quite well, particularly the Jaques' In Statu Quo. Nicely preserved Whittingtons also hold their value. I imagine my Sterling Silver set would be of interest to certain collectors and would sell well.

That said, if you're collecting for investment purposes and have the disposable income, the number and variety of tournament sized Staunton and pre-Staunton sets (e.g. Barleycorn, St. George, Calvert) is the way to go. There is neither the variety nor unique craftsmanship in travel chess sets; however, they take up less space.

I hope that answers your questions.
Best,
Bob

Hi Bob

I'm surprised that my (formerly defective, but now fixed) Lowe travel set is my goto around town set. Although I have two K&C sets, I do not like to carry them in my bag because they are easily scraped and abraded (the cases being cardboard covered with colored or patterned paper). 

But the Lowe set is plastic and easy to toss into a bag. Although it doesn't have holes for captures (like the K&C does), i guess I can live with that. the loose captures just rattle around. Since I use it currently chiefly for openings, the captures are often minimal.... But what other (preferably cheapo) sets would you recommend for my purpose? If i see another Lowe (for cheap) I'll probably nab it, but there are a variety of other little sets out there, and Lowes seem hard to come by. I probably wouldn't pay more than $5 or $10 for one.... of course, it has to be able to be closed with the men remaining in position!

and - you prefer the meret version of the lowe? Guess I won't be running across any of those unless i travel across the pond..........

Thanks! Gregor

Hi Gregor,

Probably the most rugged three dimensional peg-in travel set can be seen in Post No. 23.  However, there are a few caveats with the Shoptaugh.  First, the pieces are very small; the king is only 3/8 inches tall not including the peg.  Also, the bishops can be a bit difficult to distinguish from the pawns from a higher angle until you get used to them.  That said, this is a set that will last forever and comes with an extra queen and two pawns for both sides.  Now for the bad news.  I haven't seen any listed on eBay for quite some time.  A Google search shows one sold on Jan 25, 2016 from eBay Ireland for only £3.50, but that didn't include shipping.  Perhaps Mr. Shoptaugh (see this website) has a few left, but I wouldn't count on it.

As I wrote you before in Post No. 88, the H.B. Farebrother near the bottom of the post is another rugged set.  There's a House Martin set that's nearly identical, but the aluminum board has different sized holes.  Both H.B. Farebrother and House Martin were manufactured in England, so you my want to search eBay UK starting here.

If you don't mind magnetic pocket sets that are truly meant to stuff in your pocket and are inexpensive, I'd have a look at Post No. 132 and American Chess Equipment (click here).  Their old model was rather poor and didn't hold up (see Post No. 35), but this one is nice for the price

Lastly, if you want a premiere button set check out Chuck's Post No. 70 and my Post No. 118.  These were made in Japan, Germany and Russia.  Unfortunately, you have to be patient for used models to be listed at eBay.  The zipped Russian set is still produced but Russian Chess House wants $107.  This is way too much since I purchased one for $30 plus $15 shipping from eBay in August 2013.  Unfortunately, I don't see any listed at this time.

Anyway, I hope this helps.

Best,
Bob