This interesting set with a 4 inch king is a very tactile set made by a plastics firm from Chile, sold to me on E Bay as ‘bakelite’ ?! The SHYF company started making bakelite items in Chile from1932. With these scarce plastic sets I feel as a collector having minimal damage is acceptable, as otherwise one might end up collecting nothing at all with restoration being tricky, as getting the original material can be difficult.
THIS SET WAS WELL MADE AND CAST WITH FAINT SEAM JOINS PRESENT AND POLISHES UP VERY WELL, IS VERY TACTILE AND HAS A TYPE OF CERAMIC FEEL TO THE PIECES WITH A LITTLE WEIGHT TO THEM. I HAVE CONTACTED THIS FIRM IN CHILE VIA EMAIL & RECEIVED NO REPLY TO CONFIRM THE DATING FROM THE1950’S AS THE PREVIOUS OWNER HAD THIS SET SINCE THIS PERIOD. THIS DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE A COMMONLY AVAILABLE SET AS INTENSIVE SEARCHES ON GOOGLE PHOTOS HAVE FAILED TO FIND AN IDENTICAL ONE.
Unfortunately this set had no original box with this purchase.
ANY INFO OFFERED WOULD BE MUCH APPRECIATED – I AM ALL EARS!
My father is from Santiago Chile. I remember playing with the pieces when I was a small child. The time frame seems about right for the set. I was born in 63. My father still has his set, I wanted one to add to my chess set collection and I looked at it last week and it was also SHYF. Very good quality plastic. The set is now quite old and it’s has chipped over the years. It gives one the impression that it’s a type of ceramic.
Hi, thank you so much for taking the time to post a comment about my SHYF set on the website. I am really pleased with the set and purchased it from a seller called Ravens and Rooks on ebay for about £30.00 so it was an excellent purchase! Best wishes, Guy