Bakelite Beauty

I recently purchased this Bakelite chess set. Upon searching this forum, I could not find a Bakelite specific thread and I think Bakelite pieces may deserve a thread of their own. So here it is…

Feel free to add comments, expertise and/or photos to help us consolidate knowledge around Bakelite chess pieces.

To start things off, I am really pleased with this recent aquisition that may be from the 1940’s. (Apologies to people who might have seen it embedded in another thread yesterday.)

Background: the person that I purchased it off said her elderly uncle may have bought it over Italy; he was an avid chess player who originally lived on the Austro-Italian border before migrating to Australia. She is not sure whether the booklet (from and Australian retail store in Sydney) is connected to the set and if so, possibly it was purchased in Australia?

I think the set is excellent. Quite special actually - but of course, we all have our own tastes - no drama if people aren’t so excited as I. 😉

The pieces are well weighted, felted and have excellent proportions- the king being some 4” tall. The black pieces match well with the mottled brown. The design seems modelled on an old Staunton set - I love the knights and the stocky rooks. The box is a fine storage container - I am not sure if it would have come with the pieces. The booklet is wonderful - a snapshot in time. 
Any drawbacks … yep, keen eyes will see a black king without a Maltese Cross finial…but…  through a friend in this forum, I am pretty sure I will be able to fix this with Epoxy Putty and some fine design skills.

I am excited by this set - possibly my favourite local find - and I am fortunate to have found it. I would love to see example of Bakelite pieces from others on this fine forum. Any background and context to these and other pieces is welcome.

Cheers 🍻 

Nice set. Looks great on the board you are using. I like the book to. That was my first chess book many years ago. It taught me how to play. 

Nice! I love the knights.

Love your passion for chess  and it's related products Powder. You never cease to amaze me!

oh, that's indeed a beauty

Thanks all.

This will sound odd but I hope you understand what I am trying to say … but weirdly, this set is very satisfying because I don’t think I would have found it or purchased it two years ago. I may have over-looked it, ignored it… … some may say, perhaps I should have ignored it!

But no, this set appeals even though it is not wood (wooden chess pieces are my focus); it appeals because it seems hard to come by - I am not interested in monetary value (although is it nice if it is has some value) - its a keeper, I am not selling it.

Rather, for me, the value is in its difference, that it seems rare’ish, that it is tactile and great to hold, that it’s old … this is a very, very good set, in my eyes.

If others know more about such pieces and their history - please feel free to add.

Mark, that’s definitely a keeper. It’s a lovely set, fairly obviously modeled after a Jaques Marshall set of the 20th century. The knights remind me of the Magistral knights from the 1939 Olympiad set. Since it came with a Purdy pamphlet, I suspect this set came from Australia originally. If you ever DO decide to sell it, let me know..

Thanks for the insight @madmacsback. Good to see you continuing to grow your collection … from memory it sits at around 250 sets and it means a lot that someone of your knowledge takes time to provide insight into this set. Cheers. 🍻

I'm a big fan of bakelite material for things like dominos and backgammon checkers and these look like great chess pieces, too. Nice find! Enjoy them!

Bakelite....I don't know why,but that name makes me hungry.

Interesting. There are very few sets, similar to the one above, online. I’ve seen one very similar in the UK with a broken finial in the black king.

I wonder why they are so hard to find?

My current hypothesis, after reading Holger Langer’s “on Collecting” book, is that Bakelite was an early plastic that has some manufacturing issues that required things like sawdust to be added to the process - this made making pure, clean lighter coloured pieces difficult. As technology improved and better plastics came along - manufacturers switched to these improved plastics. Holger’s commentary on plastic manufacturing is much better than mine - more eloquent and specific to the manufacturing process but … I think the above summary is a reasonable interpretation.

Hence by the mid 1940’s, when these pieces may have been made - Bakelite was already being replaced by better materials for chess pieces. Perhaps the war diverted resources to more important items … I don’t know.

So… I may be completely wrong, but I am not sure there are many sets like above - at the very least, they don’t seem widespread online.

Further at some of the online and reputable ‘museum’ sites - still little to no representation!

Now - perhaps this is because this set is not rated by collectors or too low-brow … not sure. There are other Bakelite sets pictured - so maybe this set is just a poor cousin. Who knows.

I’d love more history and to know where they may have been manufactured - for the moment I am assuming Europe and possibly Germany but who knows…. it’s fun trying to find out!! Here’s to dirty plastic … 😊

That is a fantastic set!!! Congratulations, Mark! A true gem you found there.

Thanks Holger! As mentioned above, your book remains a valuable reference for me. I recommend it to anyone interested in chess sets and collecting. Here ‘tis sitting next to my TV!

Very interesting, thank you for the reference to Ronbo’s old post, I’ll try to find it. Being Australian, I’d be delighted if the set happened to be made here!! Thanks for posting the photos too … excellent background and I love that the competition is being played with plastic pieces! 👍Or do I misunderstand, the competition was played with wooden piece and the photos are a plastic replica? 
(Edited: That's the weirdest thing - my comment above was in response to a person's comment that seems to have been deleted now.... it was an interesting and insightful comment too. Oh well. )

I read it, it was nice and well-illustrated.. maybe it got moved to plastic fantastic Re-post would be welcome!

That’s strange - I just found the link - it’s brilliant, thank you and I tried to post it here … and got a warning that I might get banned! This the second time I have had that message since getting this set! Maybe it’s cursed - if I am banned and I don’t get a chance to say goodbye… you’ll know why! 

Maybe the link is deemed insecure? Does that happen? Save the content from that page and see if you can upload the photos and text yourself.

Edit- you already did it. Or was there more content?

The OP's set, although pretty, would be difficult for me because of the lack of contrast between the white and black pieces.  I think that in a complex position I'd miss some tactics.  Maybe in person it is easier on the eyes.

@Knights_of_Doom - you’re correct, while the pieces are easier to distinguish in real life, they are both dark and I can imagine that it needed all powers of concentration to play in smoke filled and dimly lit room clubroom back in ‘46/47.

That said, and now having read some related threads (referenced above), I feel very fortunate to have stumbled upon these pieces.

I believe they are rare and hold some historical significance … at least in the context of this far Isle and my little collection. I have increasing confidence that the knights are modelled on the ‘Magistral’ knights and probably made in France and imported to Australia; I imagine these pieces being quite sort after back in the day, when they first went on sale.

I recently purchased these pieces on spec - they weren’t described as Bakelite - and may well not be - but from the grainy original photos, they appeared similar (in design) to the pieces that started this thread and I was interested enough to find out what they were.

I’m delighted. After giving them a polish they are beautiful - large and well weighted. I have no evidence but I think they are perhaps made at a similar time to those noted above … they are large and need a big board, as displayed here but I think many people would love to play with this set - (but of course, others would prefer wood and more traditional colours too). As opposed to my other black and dark brown pieces (above)- the colours here pop off the board and make playing a joy.
I have no idea if the kings ever had finials or crosses - perhaps they did but there is no evidence of a break nor any evidence of a patch - regardless, they are fine as is.