Box of chess black and white wooden chessmen from the Rock Rest Tourist Home: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A Milton Bradley box of black and white wooden chess pieces with game instructions.

2011.12.51a: Thirty-two (32) Milton Bradley chessmen: sixteen (16) carved, wooden, black pieces and sixteen (16) carved, wooden, natural wood colored pieces.

2011.12.51b: A box for Milton Bradley chessmen. The cardboard box has a brown top with red sides and a black bottom. Printed on the top of the box is a large, black graphic of a knight piece, depicted in profile. The name [MILTON BRADLEY] is printed in an arch above the knight, and [Made in U.S.A.] below. To the right of the graphic is the word [CHESSMEN] printed in black block text. On one side of the box is black ink print that reads [MILTON BRADLEY CO. SPRINGFIELD, MASS.]. In the bottom right corner is additional small, black text that reads [4424]. Inside the box is a diagonal divider that separates the black and white chess pieces.

2011.12.51c: A Milton Bradley white paper instruction pamphlet. The pamphlet includes the rules of chess, diagrams, and graphics printed in black ink.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: mid 20th century
• Manufactured by: Milton Bradley Company, American, founded 1860
• Owned by: Clayton Sinclair, American
• Owned by: Hazel Sinclair, American
• Subject of: Rock Rest Tourist Home, American, 1948 - 1976
• Type: boxes (containers)
• Type: chessmen
• Medium: ink on cardboard
• Medium: paint on wood
• Medium: ink on paper (fiber product)
• Dimensions: H x W x D (2011.12.51.2b): 1 15/16 × 6 5/16 × 3 9/16 in. (5 × 16 × 9 cm)
• Place collected: Kittery, York County, Maine, United States, North and Central America
• Place made: Springfield, Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Amusements
• Topic: Black Enterprise
• Topic: Black interiors
• Topic: Business
• Topic: Recreation
• Topic: Segregation
• Topic: Travel
• Object number: 2011.12.51.2abc
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail, Inc.
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: Restrictions likely apply. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.