Description
Antique Ivory Checkers Possibly by Jaques of London
This offering is a complete set of 24 Antique ivory Checkers, red stained (Cochineal) and natural. The individual checkers measure 1-1/2″ in diameter by 1/2″ thick. These English-made Draughtsmen date to around 1850. They were found accompanying a set of circa 1850 ivory Jaques Cooke Chessmen in a Carton-Pierre box. The folding Backgammon/Chess board/box shown is not included, but a suitable board is available elsewhere on this web site or upon request. The Antique Ivory Checkers look great, but there are internal stress induced fissures in nine of the 12 Natural Checkers and four of the Red-Stained Checkers. The set comes housed in a lovely replacement hinged Coromandel veneered box with a semi-mortise lock set. Ideally, these Checkers should be used on a board with 2-0″ to 2-1/8″ squares.
Note: Several States have either enacted or have pending legislation restricting the sale or purchase of antique Ivory artifacts. Please check with your State Government before placing an order for any antique ivory from this website. International Trade in all forms of Elephant Ivory is strictly prohibited.
Cochineal Dye. To create the red dye, Carminic acid is extracted from the female cochineal insects and is treated to produce carmine, which can yield shades of red such as crimson and scarlet. The body of the insect is 19–22% carminic acid. The insects are processed by immersion in hot water or exposure to sunlight, steam, or the heat of an oven. Each method produces a different color that results in the varied appearance of commercial cochineal. It takes about 80,000 to 100,000 insects to make one kilogram of cochineal dye.
Backgammon is one of the oldest board games known. It is a two player game where the units are moved according to the roll of dice. A player wins by removing (bearing-off) all of his pieces from the board before the opponent. Backgammon is a member of the “Tables” family, one of the World’s oldest classes of board games.
Draughts or checkers is a group of strategy board games for two players which involve diagonal moves of uniform game pieces and mandatory captures by jumping over opponent pieces. Draughts developed from alquerque. The name derives from the verb to draw or to move.
The most popular forms are English Draughts, also called American Checkers, employs 12 stones and is played on an 8×8 checkerboard; Russian Draughts, also played on an 8×8. Continental Draughts (Also known as Polish Checkers) utilizes 20 stones and is played on a 10×10 board. There are many other variants played on an 8×8 board. Canadian checkers is played on a 12×12 board.
For a more detailed discourse on the history and rules for Draughts or Checkers, check out:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draughts and http://www.usacheckers.com/