Hello all and a question about Drueke No. 0

[madpoetinc]

Hello all, never knew this group existed. I have collected sets for years now mostly as a fun hobby, and the other day I ran across one I am having trouble identifying. The box says it is a Drueke No. 0. It is complete with the instructions. I am trying to find out when this was made, all of the various Drueke sites I could find on Google didn't give a lot of history. I assume this is a pre50s set since it is hardwood and the box certainly looks that old. Anyone have any pointers for where I could get more details? Are these things particularly rare? Thanks, Paul

[bulkcover]

Hi Paul, "Drueke" is an American chess set by Wm. F. Drueke & Sons Inc. Grand Rapids Michigan. Nr.0 is the size of the set, most likely the smallest available or the biggest. Look at eBay files You will have many of Drueke for sale, however not seen Nr.0.

They can be 1970s as well as older. Most likely in plastic. Cheers, Janis

[d-baron]

Wood chess sets by Drueke are hard to give/find a history on.  When Drueke first started they made their own sets, but then the company was disbanded for a while.  The company was restarted again after a number of years but at that time started importing chess sets from France, refinished them and sold them under the Drueke name.  They may have eventually started making their own wood sets again, but I don't know that for sure.  My personal opinion, for what it is worth, is that there weren't many, if any, wood sets produced by Drueke by the early 1950s on as by then the company was pretty much into making plastic sets of their own design, especially after 1954 when it purchased its own plastic injection molds.  But I also, personally, am not yet convinced that any of the above is cast-in-stone history for the Drueke company.  I think more solid proof is still needed before anyone can say we know for sure.

-- Edited by d-baron at 10/29/2012 12:17 PM PDT