| Description: | Outstanding Deluxe "Universum" Space Age chess set designed by Arthur Elliott for Anri, Italy, c. late 1950s/1960s. There were very few cool true mid century modern chess piece sets and even fewer crafted of solid wood. This is an exquisite design and extremely modern in every respect. No details were left untouched from the amazing crafted pieces to the equally stunning wood presentation / storage box. Sale.
This set was originally sold in two variations. The deluxe (shown here) in its wooden case and the standard, which had the same chess pieces, but was packaged in a heavy-board card-stock box. The chess pieces are crafted of solid wood and are heavily weighted for comfortable play. One half being a natural tone finish and the other a darker brown finish. All the pieces have felt lined bottoms and the King and Queen have the same Anri label on the bottom as inside the box. The box is also labeled with the Anri stickers. The pieces are so unusual and intricate, yet a joy to handle and use.
When you unlatch the brass hasp and open the box you will find a removable wood top tray that contains half of the pieces, each situated within its own divided custom crafted section, each made for the shape of each piece. Under the tray is the second half of chess pieces. The bottom of the box mimics that of the tray with divided custom crafted sections for each piece. The pieces are all shapes of various space-age related objects such as space ships and rockets (unbelievable considering that the set was designed in the early fifties.) |
