Antique Victorian Rosewood Games Compendium Box

Fantastic example of a fine Victorian Games Compendium contained within a beautiful rosewood box.

The lid of the box lifts to allow the front doors of the box to open. Contained within the Compendium is an excellent and complete carved wood chess set which is housed in the doors on individual spikes. There is a complete turned wood draughts / chequers set and a bone Domino set. There are 6 small bone dice in the top of the box and a cribbage board with 4 marks.

The top layer containing the draughts lifts out with two small brass loops. Below is a further layer with many thick red counters and many more thin red and white counters. There are also 12 small red and white counters with spiked tops and a set of rectangular counters. There are some small round coloured counters that look like tiddlywinks and also some coloured rectangular pieces.

This layer has two leather tabs which allow it to be lifted out and this reveals the final layer which houses a set of painted lead horses and jockeys. There is also a matching horse jump fence and two water jumps. There are 3 tinplate race cars. Finally there is a wooden dice roller and a number of spare dice.

Housed in the top of the box is a folding Games board with leather surfaces and beautiful gold tooling and embossed detail. On one side is a chess / chequers board and there is a backgammon board on the other side. When it is further folded out flat there is another board like a race track which could be for the horses.

There is a retailers label under the lid of the box which reads : "Cremer's. German Toy Warehouse. 27 New Bond Street. Entertainments for Evening Parties"

The box itself is made of rosewood with brass escutcheon above the folding doors and it's got a gorgeous rich patina with a dark grain.

The whole set is in excellent condition. The box has had the polish sympathetically restored and has a beautiful smooth finish. There is a small age-related split in the lid which has been carefully repaired so as not to detract from what is a stunning box. There are of course some signs of age and use but nothing major. Internally the games are in good condition. It has been used and is not like new but for its age the condition is remarkable. There is a small chip on one of the chess pawns and some damage has been sustained to the lead horses - they are pliable and susceptible to breakages and a few are missing tails or the tip of legs. The board has some crease marks along the folds but is generally sturdy and certainly usable.

A superb example of the finest quality antique games compendium. The best description comes from the photos so please look at them all carefully and if you have any questions please ask.