Posted 9 years ago
hks
(1 item)
This was one of my mother's Mah Jongg sets. There are 4 trays of tiles but as you can see one tray has changed color even though they have all been in the box in a closet since 1984. The box has a paper on it that has a circle which looks like a stamp that is printed in red in Chinese. The metal closure says CHINA WOSHUNSING FACTORY. The box and closure are leather and in very bad shape. My father must have used masking tape to hold it together. It looks like it is dark brown leather. The inside is lined in red material. The box is 9x13. Can anyone tell me something about how old this set might be and what the tiles might be made of. I know my mother never used it. She played Mah Jongg for at least 40 years with another set that had racks and a much better case.
I hope someone can solve this mystery for me.
I hope someone out there has some knowledge about this set
Hi there. It's a bit difficult to say without seeing it in person of course. I had an old set a while back and the research took what seemed like forever. These could be ivory, they could bakelite that's assuming they aren't from 1984 which by the looks of them they are much older than that. They could be plastic but I doubt that too.
I bet the set is really heavy too, right? I found a great number of sites on the internet with loads of info. What I'll do is see if I can find them again and get back to you as soon as I can. It may take me a couple days to get back here...
Just by looking at your photos and taking a wild guess, I would say 1950's. I'll be back with a link for you soon.
Here's one I found I think you may find useful.
http://www.mahjongtreasures.com/getting-an-idea-of-your-mahjong-sets-value/
If you do plan to sell them, don't try to repair the box. Just leave it as is. It's the tiles people are after. Because of the color of yours they are more than likely Bakelite. It looks like you have some desired pieces in there from what I can tell. Good luck ;)
Thank you for your help. I will start my search. I will start with the company who has their name on the closure.
I forgot to say, yes it is very heavy.
Hi, that's my website credited. it is hard to really see the tiles, but it looks like you have a super set! I am not sure I have seen that One Bam before (the bird) the scenes look unusual too (tho I can't be sure given the fuzziness of the images on my computer) This is Chinese Bakelite, probably made in China or Hong Kong in the late 1920s, 1930s or early 1940s.)
kuanyin, I appreciate your comment. I know my family moved here from New York in 1949 so it is older than that. I checked out the website with the other sets and none of the pictures matched my tiles. My bird has a very thick beak and the figures are all doing things like writing, I think playing an instrument, or carrying things. I am still puzzled why one tray turned dark when the other 3 trays didn't since they were all in the same box in the dark. Any other suggestions?
Chinese bakelite (different from bakelite) can change colors, and we don't always know why. The bird does remind me of the bird in Rottgames sets, altho yours is a hand-carved set made in China: http://www.mahjongmahjong.com/vintage_mahjong_pc/rottgames_mj50.htm
I can't comment on the Flowers because I can't see them clearly.