WWA Info Exchange

Here's a reasonably simple project idea if there's any poker players out there. Pics from a estate auction coming up here. An antique poker chip/card box. Looks pretty simple to build. This one is white oak about 5"x7"x10" . The slots on the hinge side hold 2 decks of cards. Note the corner joinery. I might make one of these since I have some oak laying around.

Not dated, but I'd guess sometime in the mid 1800's, and built with hand tools and hide glue. Could possibly have concealed a small derringer or money, etc. beneath the chip tray.

Problem with embedding the images so the links will take you to the sites.

http://www.stevensauction.com/18%20Oct% ... %2010D.htm

http://www.stevensauction.com/18%20Oct% ... %2010D.htm

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I bring to life, I bring to death:
The spirit does but mean the breath:
I know no more. (Tennyson, In Memoriam)

Gene,
That is a cool, old poker chip box. I can appreciate the age and to some degree the design however, I'm a bit more modern. After all, I'm just a kid of 70 and I really like usual things that can be done with wood working.
I made this set of chip and card boxes (as well as the table) several years ago. I have since sold the whole set-up but, I still have some very fuzzy pictures of it taken with my old camera.




I really wish I had some better pictures. I may go chase the new owner down and see if I can get some better shots of the set.

Rog

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Dont badmouth no strangers, they just friends you aint met yet.

An ounce of responsibility is worth a pound of State and Federal laws.

I spent most of my money on woodworking
tools and beer, the rest I just wasted.

Nice job. I don't have room for a table or I'd build one similar. I found out something about the original chips that come with box. Likely made from a mix of clay and shellac and pressed in a mold for the design.

Some of the old chips back then were ivory and scrimshawed one at a time or made from mother of pearl, silver, etc. ! There's apparently a good collectors market for old chips, so I suspect this set might fetch a pretty good price.

_________________
I bring to life, I bring to death:
The spirit does but mean the breath:
I know no more. (Tennyson, In Memoriam)

Gene, you find some of the coolest stuff.

Certainly looks to be craftsman made; all butt joints and such. Splined miters as well. When did that technique come into use?



As a kid I was given an old tin box of "army men" and other little odds/ends. Included was about a half dozen or so poker chips just like these.
These made a very distinct clatter when tossed together. They went with the tin box when it was sold. Wonder how much I gave away?

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~Dan.

I think like many joinery types these probably came into use maybe 5000 years ago. The ancient cultures like Egypt, India, China had hundreds of different joints.

No telling what your old chips may have brought. Maybe nothing, maybe hundreds. Depends on condition, rarity, etc. like most other collectibles. Kinda like stamps. There's a number of chip collector web sites if you're interested. Here's one site: http://www.collectorsweekly.com/games/poker-chips , and of course they're sold on Ebay.

_________________
I bring to life, I bring to death:
The spirit does but mean the breath:
I know no more. (Tennyson, In Memoriam)