ANTIQUES: Parcheesi and Checkers Boards

Before radio or television or the internet, a checkerboard or Parcheesi set represented hours of family fun. Today these old-fashioned games remain an excellent energy-efficient choice for an evening’s entertainment. The American Checker Federation calls checkers the oldest game in the world; there is evidence that ancient Egyptians played it, and a set of instructions was published as far back as the mid-1500s. Parcheesi is the American version of an ancient Indian pastime, reportedly invented in 500 B.C.E. and enjoyed by royalty.

Before board games were widely available, crafty would-be gamesters supplied their own. The orange and green painted wood Parcheesi board (above left, $2,600), thirty-five inches square, was made in Pennsylvania circa 1890 to 1910. The more fanciful Parcheesi board (bottom, $1,400) signed by “Arthur” features rustic scenes of early Americana painted on a spruce plank and dates to the early twentieth century.

The striking red-and-black checkerboard (above right, $2,200) was crafted in Montreal circa 1880 to 1910 and would have been used for continental checkers, a game similar to regular checkers, but one with more squares on the board and more tokens to move … and lose.—LAB
[MAY 2010]

THE GOODS

Charles L. Flint Antiques
52 Housatonic St.
Lenox, Mass.
413.637.1634

PHOTOS COURTESY CHARLES L. FLINT ANTIQUES