German Toy Chess Set, ca. 1960
A German toy chess set dating to ca. 1960 with flat pieces made of metal, probably pewter, in a stylistic mixture of tin soldiers and nutcrackers. The pieces with a king size of 6 cm are shown as a regal court in 18th century dress. All pieces seem to be handpainted with a lot of attention to detail in polychrome colours on both sides. The white side and the black side are distinguished by pedestals in the respective colour. The set came with a small chess board with an ornamented metal surface and a wooden rim.
Even if this set is not unusual, it does have a certain charm and is not widespread. I cannot say from which manufacturer it originates and how many such sets were made. I have only come across this kind of chess set 2-3 times. In the Bloomsbury auction of 23 October 2006, an identical set was sold as lot 246.
