Antique c. 1920s bone and bamboo Mah Jong set in sliding-lid mahogany wood dovetailed box, with four 16" wooden tile racks and hardcover Mah Jong rules book, Babcock's Rules for Mah Jong - The Red Book of Rules, 2nd Ed., published by the Maj-Jongg Sales Company of America.
The set is fully complete with all 144 tiles for play, plus four blanks; scoring counter sticks; Four Wind discs in Mingg box; and dice. The tiles are in beautiful condition and are of hand-carved bone dovetailed into bamboo, with approx. 40/60 bone to bamboo. The counters, dice, Four Wind discs, and Mingg box are also of carved bone.
Arabic numbers and Western letters on the tiles indicate the set was made for sale to an American clientele. Online research indicates this is likely a 1920s Mah-Jongg Sales Company of America set made in China for export to the United States. A small torn portion of a label is present on box side, reading"...163". The tile racks appear to be from a different set; they are decaled with Hillson Company scoring labels, but the Mah Jong tiles are not of the Hillson style.
Specs: Tiles each measure 1" x 11/16" x 7/16", with bone height 3/16" and bamboo height 4/16". Box measures 7-1/8" x 9" x 2-7/8". Tile racks are 16" long.
Condition: Tiles are in excellent clean condition, with no noticeable discoloration except very minor spots on just a few tiles. Bone into bamboo dovetailing is tight on all but a few tiles. The only damage I could notice is one small flea-bite edge-chip to each of two tiles, and chipping to the end of a few counter sticks. No damage to bamboo wood. Small stain to bamboo on one tile. Paint loss to dots on a few counter sticks and some paint loss to red tile rack. Wooden box construction is solid. Lid slides well, but has tendency to go off track. Brass handle has broken off, but is present and might possibly be repaired with new pins. Rules book is in generally good condition with clean pages, overall clean cover with one stain, heavy center spine crack, and some cover bowing.
Provenance: My mother purchased this Mah Jong set and tile racks in the early 1970s at a local moving sale, held by my then-elderly former babysitter to sell her lifetime accumulation of antiques and collectibles. Mom never used it and it has been carefully stored ever since.
Shipping Note: This is a heavy game set which needs special secure packaging. All components will be carefully wrapped in bubble wrap in separate boxes to keep the hundreds of pieces organized and protect antique bone and wood from damage. Secure packaging requires this set be shipped in an oversized box, which packed for shipping weighs over 9 lb. Size and weight of packed box will reflect in exact shipping charges to your zip code.
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