56,00 USD
Beautifully designed chess pieces in a gothic medieval style, they are small works of art in their own right. Created by sculptor, Peter Ganine. This is a complete boxed set of 32 felted pieces made of a resin material, cardboard playing board and instructions.
Ganine was born in Russia in 1900 where he studied sculpture. He continued his art studies in the U.S. after moving here in 1932. He designed several highly regarded chess sets for the Pacific Game Company of North Hollywood, including the "Gothic", "Classic" and "Conqueror".
Each of the pieces in this set is marked "1957 Peter Ganine USA" on the base, but this Salon edition dates to 1961. The pieces are solid, giving them a reasonable weight without metal slugs in their bases. They are tall Gothic heads, nicely sized - the King measures 3-5/8" tall, the Queen is 3" tall. The set pieces are complete with 1 King,1 Queen, 2 Bishops, 2 Knights, 2 Rooks and 8 Pawns in each color.
The pieces are clean and in excellent shape. The original board is made of folding cardboard, the 1-5/8" squares are exactly the right size for the Gothic pieces. It is in very good condition, just occasional small scuffs of black on white spaces. The overall size when unfolded is 14-1/4" x 14-1/2". A brief instruction pamphlet, "Basic Rules of Chess for Beginners" is also included. The box is in good shape for its age, structurally sound with no seam splits. There is some peeling of the outer covering primarily on the seams. Scuffing all around and some tape damage on the front and one side. The photos show the condition very well. The interior of the box is excellent.