Rare Chess Set by Gordon Martz of Marshall Studios, Circa 1960s

We don’t often use the word rare, but this set is one of only two ever made by Gordon Martz of Marshall Studios of Veedersburg, Indiana in the 1960s.

From our research Gordon Martz designed and made only two chess sets, he used molds so both sets would be the same. It originally came with a wood chessboard and a carrying case to house all the pieces. The molds for both the lamp and chess set were 2-piece plaster molds. The chess set took a lot of time to fire, finish, and glaze, and after that work creating a board and a boxed set would not be worth the effort financially so they stopped the project. But thankfully this set was included in a few catalogs so it was recorded. We have added a copy of the original brochure with the chess set included in our online images.

This set has all 32 pieces, half in a white glaze and the other half in a dark brown glaze. Three of the pieces were broken and reglued at some stage in their lifetime, the good part is that everything was kept together and we will include images of these in our listing. Each piece is lightweight as they are hollow on the inside with a felt base. The finish is very smooth and is a match to any of the Martz / Marshall Studios lamps currently on the market today. This set does not have its original board and carrying case.

We appreciate your interest in this item and please reach out anytime if you have questions or would like more details on this set. This set is now on display in our local showroom on the 2nd floor of Bootleg Antiques located at 135 Bridge St., Columbia, PA 17512.

Follow us on social media @coolcatvintage