Martock Chess Set
(Under Construction)
This is one of those goofy looking chess sets I found almost by accident. I can't find any mention of it anywhere online; Google searches come up nil. I guess it's just really rare, really old or both.
The first time I saw pictures of this set I thought, "Garden Gnomes Gone Wild." The auction listing said that the board and pieces all were plastic, but the board looks like real wood. It's certainly a damn fine reproduction of wood and the gorgeous board is at least half the reason I placed a bid.
Since the board is way bigger than the box and this board is not pictured on the box label, I have to assume this is not the original board that came with this set. Wherever it came from it's a welcome addition and perfectly sized for our Gnomish friends.
The pieces are rather small (2 1/8 inch Kings and 1 1/2 inch pawns), but they make up for their size with lots of character. They're so cute you almost hate to make a capture!
There is one historical design detail that may or may not have been intentional, but it is relatively rare. The Rook is a person rather than a castle or tower. The Isle of Lewis set shares this feature and the Martock set is generally similar to the Lewis set, probably inspired by it to some degree.
As usual, there's no date anywhere on the box, pieces or board. Since I can't find any information about it, I'll just leave you with the ambiguous word "vintage."
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