05 February 2012

Chess for Baby Boomers of All Ages

If you've been following this fortnightly series on Top eBay Chess Items by Price, you know that the majority of those items are chess sets. The set pictured in the left column of my composite image below was titled '1969 WOODSTOCK UNIQUE ONE OF A KIND HANDCRAFTED CHESS SET' and sold Buy-It-Now for $500.

The description said,

This set is in progress... Please give me approximately three weeks after winning bid... The following pictures are shown in order to give a visual feel for the aesthetics of my chess sets... I have made many of these rock & roll chess sets and thought that the ultimate set would naturally be Woodstock. Take a "Leap of Faith" and be repaid with a guaranteed unique one of a kind handcrafted and hand painted chess set.

This is a must have for any chess enthusiast/collector or Woodstock fan / collector... It is a fun, colorfully aesthetic nostalgic conversation piece... Not to mention, recession proof, chess is fun entertainment enjoyable at the comfort of home with family or friends -- a great mind stimulator... and a functional piece of art that will draw immediate attention and curiosity.

The theme is "Woodstock Performers" on one side and the "Woodstock (Hippyish) Crowd" on the other... • Woodstock Performers Pieces: King: Jimi Hendrix / Queen: Janis Joplin / 2 Bishops (playing guitar) Carlos Santana & Alvin Lee / 2 Knights (keyboards) Sly Stone... (drums) Keith Moon... Drum will have painted Woodstock logo on front... Rooks will be amps and musical instruments (bongos, congas) • Woodstock Crowd Pieces: ... Hard to describe, but will be cool.

Absolutely no molds used here -- these are each individually hand sculpted from a porcelein white ceramic clay, I then apply a hardening coat / sealer finish to give the piece more strength, then I hand paint each piece and apply a high gloss finishing coat...

There is no art in mass production... You are purchasing a one of a kind chess set... Pictures don't do justice in capturing the essence of the set as a whole... I have attempted in taking pictures of the complete set, I hope they give a good visual feel for the aesthetics of the chess set.

The 'FOLLOWING PICTURES' included the Beatles and Pink Floyd images in the right columns of my composite. These were on offer in other auctions by the same seller. I can't be sure, of course, but I don't think these will have any trouble selling. This music was, after all, part of the culture of the baby boomers.

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