Some chess boards are not for high gloss pictures, but they are precious nonetheless. I found this small board by chance and discovered a real gem.

It is a board with an imprinted advertising for Ogden's St Bruno Tobacco around the rim. Ogden is one of the very traditional English Tobacco companies. It opened its first tobacconists’ shop in Park Lane, Liverpool, in 1860. St Bruno pipe tobacco was first marketed by Thomas Ogden in 1896 with the slogan "St Bruno, the patron saint of tobacco". (Please note the smoking pipe which I especially placed next to the board on the last picture for thematic reasons!)

On the underside of the board, you can find some doodles in the style of the 1930s/40s. Some of them make reference to military staff, e.g. a Sergent Major Sid Walther (?), which might suggest that the board travelled the world with the Armed Forces. You can also find reference to some "Katie May" (Ohlala...).

Total size is 330 x 330 mm, playing size is 255 x 255 mm. The individual squares measure 32 x 32 mm.