Pre-Owned. Help me overcome my confusion." to the West were made in 1919-1920. What's the condition? I recently purchase a Mono Bridge Inc, NYC, 144 tile set. When you email me for a free mah-jongg set age evaluation, you thereby give me your implied consent to publish your descriptions and photos on this website. And of course eBay can't go after every seller who ages sets of recent origin so they look ancient, whether or not the seller claims the set to be from the Qing Dynasty. Tell potential buyers or appraisers an exact breakdown. As far as the formula of each, they are very similar, however they look quite different. I love your website. If there are joker tiles that match nicely so that your set can be played with according to National Mah Jongg Leagues rules, you can easily add a minimum of $60 to the value of your set, and much more the thicker the bone on the tile. Complete Mahjong Set. Vintage boxed mah-jong sets - price guide and values - Carter's (If you are asking about the value of your set and not its age, use the valuation checklist in FAQ 7h if that's what you want to know. Ive got one that has a Chinese antiquity seal on it that looks like a book. The set came with 8 well matched tiles to be used as the 8 jokers; however, the ends of the tiles are very light so they are very evident when playing; therefore, the set is of no use to me unless I can find 8 matching Bakelite tiles. Your best bet is to lay out the tiles on a table in 4 rows of identical tiles (as is done in our FAQ 7a), then you can just multiply and arrive at the number. FAQ 7d http://www.CHarli.org HE SAID As far as games go, this one is pretty expensive, so be prepared to make an investment. The Sloperama Mah-Jongg Zone That seller should be reprimanded by eBay, but eBay would have to be convinced that we Western mah-jongg researchers (and some whom I've met in China) are right, that the seller should know better (and intentionally perpetrated a fraud), and that a grievous wrong has been committed on buyers. The most frequently asked questions are already answered therein. What can you tell me about a black enrobed ebony and bone set? there were no instructions written in English until then either. Pre-Owned. What kind of Therefore mah-jongg sets were made for domestic (Chinese) use only, before Babcock. Old Mahjong Set 144+3 spare tiles green colour #185 ad vertisement by MahjongMCR. Advanced features of this website require that you enable JavaScript in your browser. Do you have any opinion on caitlin? This one has carved scenes but a wonderful dragon handle. See our FAQ 11 before you make any unsupportable claims (such as "this set is over a hundred years old!" Mom and Dad bought a mah jongg set, probably in the 1940s. Once it made the trip across the ocean it shrank and dried. I imagine that the 1915 patent application was for some kind of game tiles (which probably didn't yet have mah-jongg designs on them in 1915). If that is not acceptable to you, then the age evaluation will not be free. Do the Flower images go from one tile to the next? Harper: No. The intricate and colorful designs on the tiles drew me in and I have been on a quest to find a set just like it ever since. If the set has jokers, and if the jokers are manufactured/carved/embossed (not stickered), then count how many natural (not stickered, and not nail-polished) jokers the set contains (and how many flowers it contains). It is no surprise this box auctioned on Liveauctioneers holds an ivory set. Thank you for any assistance/information you may have. POOR But if it's fishbone, it's quite modern (1990s). The first step is to use the following checklist. If you want information about the company that manufactured your set, I can't help you. At the very bottom of this post you will see the news about my newest book that will help you understand the value of your vintage plastic sets. Harper: There are always people who want ivory more than anything else. (See our I am curious to see if there is any value to it? If the set is cowbone and bamboo and came in a wooden box, the slide-front type of box (with drawers) is older (early 1920s) than the slide-top type of box (late 1920s - 1940s, maybe). Describe all the contents, listing all dice, chips, racks, etc. Hope this helps. So you can see how a wonderful box can add value, hundreds of dollars, to your set's worth. Email to inquire about pricing. Vintage and antique sets sell from $100 on the very low side to well into the thousands. 2. Ive only seen one of those. 4. The next one still looks pretty good, especially for being about 90 years old, and the bone is at about 50 %. But not all. The designs run the gamut from being the more common peacock One Bams and floral Flowers, to being more unusual. . I even saw a seller claim that his "elephant bone" set was "about 170 years old"! But don't be tediously attentive to detail ("four 1-Dots, four 2-Dots, four 3-Dots"). Distributors and retailers added all the accessories and then sold the sets as we know them today. The game was often played in mahjong dens or parlors and linked to prostitution and opium. or Best Offer . Thank You Spencer, hi Spencer, Any information would help! Is the bone dovetailed into bamboo, or ebony or horn? I saw the set the asker was talking about, and it didn't look older than 70 years to me (much less a hundred and seventy!). For bone and bamboo sets, bone counting sticks are used instead of coins. Provide a picture of the - Item is worn but reasonably attractive; any normal person would notice the defects without having to look for them. Mahjong sets are relatively inexpensive since most of them cost between $50 and $150. Hi Julie, FAQ 7g: Determining the Age of a Mah-Jongg Set - Sloperama As mentioned above, there are ALWAYS mah-jongg sets for sale at One of the best mahjong museums in the world is in Japan. My secret wish has always been to have a museum where all my sets would have a permanent home, with lots of visitors to appreciate their diversity. Mahjong has been played for centuries, and it is older than chess. Even sadder, that seller was in China, and should have known better. Do you know anyone I could contact who could maybe help me? The far left tile is from a beautifully carved very thick bone special set. Thank you! All sets that have Arabic numbers were made for export to the West. Piroxloid was known for French ivory, Pung Chow for Pyralin, and Milton Bradley for wood. documented writings of Mah-Jongg are in the 1890's. (Same goes for ivory & bamboo tiles.). Red with the original plastic, now yellowed by age, is most desirable. Bone can range from being about 1/10th the thickness of the tile to being close to 9/10ths at the bottom of the dovetail. Is this a vintage set? I recently purchased a set from Ebay called gold medal crisloid. 100 tiles Mahjong, craft, scrapbooking, journal, Australian seller (413) AU$25.00 Not being psychic, I need clues. Enrobed sets were originally called Border Tone because there is a frame around the tile itself. I have been a Player for over 50 years. Portable 144 Tiles Mah-Jong Set Toy Vintage Mahjong Rare Chinese W/ Leather Box. That's a tough question, and there are many things to consider. >I have an old Mah-Jongg set passed down through my family who lived in Hawaii at the turn of the century. Please contact me through my web site. Vintage Mahjong Set (279 relevant results) Price ($) All Sellers Pink backed rounded corner mahjong tiles for replacement or craft / orphan mahjong tiles / choose your tiles (352) AU$1.00 Part vintage Mahjong set, approx. >Sent: Monday, April 6, 2009 7:20:25 AM Southern Baptists Move to Purge Churches With Female Pastors > "When you email me, I own it." $89.95 $99.95 Save 10%. These sets rarely sell for less than $200, and often more. FAIR I just posted a picture of a mahjong set passed down to me from my grandfather. Rare 200 Tiles Vintage Old Mahjong Set Very Fine Hand Carved - Etsy So you have to do some homework. Some sets have sold for more than $1000 if the Flowers are of special significance, historical or otherwise. After that I would say the most sought-after sets are Enrobed sets, Two-Tone sets, and Chinese Bakelite sets. See FAQ 7e. There are extra blanks, but no white dragons or jokers. grade Also avoid terms like "vintage," "antique," "unique," "one-of-a-kind," and "I've never seen one like it!" They seem to be appreciating in value as of late. - Item is not usable, or is only just barely usable, or is unpleasant to use. FAQ 7c Provide a picture of the dragons too. A very sought after "talking hawk" although other hawks are sought after too. I have not found much documented information about MonoBridge, sorry. CHarli, Hi Philippa, So there can be a lot of variety within one label. Are there discolorations, markings, dents or flea bites? Early on in China, only upper-class men were allowed to play mahjong. That's impossible. Harper: You are right to call the extras accessories because they arent always necessary. Which kind of Most early (1920s) sets used the simpler-style crak character. 10. Be sure you group your tiles by color of the Chinese character, (on the above tiles they are red) and 1234 and 4321 to see if you have a continuous scene. Brand New. $299.99. Hope this helps I don't care if you've got four seasons and four flowers - for our purposes, that's eight flowers. If the set is bakelite and does not have any actual jokers, it's probably from the 1930s to 1960s. A next good step is to go to ebay to look at the sold listings. Sets made prior to that didnt have them. Then there are house rules, which are adaptations of other rules. set's age. Read FAQ 11 to learn about the history of mah-jongg. There are other two-tone French Ivory tiles made by Piroxloid that also have good value, the more brilliant the color of the backs (green or orange bring more than black) the greater the value. Her patience, her generosity, and her efforts to help me replace missing tiles in various sets is outstanding. 8. Harper: Yes. I will attach photos. Prices paid for some sets featuring ornate mahogany, walnut and ebony boxes containing painted, carved ivory or Bakelite tiles have ranged from $1,400 to $3,750 during the past several years. your completed checklist into the body of the email, and include the photos as attachments. Normal Flowers but beautifully and delicately carved, with green backs, making this set desirable. I collect miniature dice, too. My first love has always been bone and bamboo sets. Once you have completed the age checklist, you can either compare it with similar sets on other websites (see link below and see links in FAQ 4a), or you can send your completed checklist and your photos to an appraiser. The most valuable types of mah-jongg sets are the ones made of unusual or rare materials (genuine ivory, genuine jade, hollow tin tiles, for instance). After years of answering questions about identifying sets, I started THE BOOK. I put it online to help collectors learn more about their sets, and so newcomers could become more familiar with the vintage sets still among us. If you think of a mahjong set as a deck of cards, then maybe its a bit easier to understand. $49.99. In Asia, the only suit with numbers is the Character suit. condition Harper is working on a book for mahjong collectors, which can be viewed at www.charli.org, her website for all things related to the game. As near as I can figure out, Craftmaster Corporation made that set in 1923 (the date on the instruction booklet). genuine ivory Of course, I return the original tile in the end. As with the boxes, sometimes the bamboo shrinks and becomes detached from the bone. Is the box as rare as the set, expensive, and hard to find? The seller of that set said that it was 170 years old, but your FAQ 11 says mah-jongg didn't even exist yet in 1834! Opens in a new window or tab. If they are not discolored, and if they don't have mildew, you will get more too. I have a 144 set in a c rude tin box. Sets from before 1920 are fairly rare. of I have no idea what "vintage" means to you! Vintage Old Antique Travel Size Bamboo Bone? Thank you very much and have a nice day. Thank you! Art Interpretations: Books, Magazines and Websites, antiquegamblingchips.com/distinguish_iv_bon_cel.htm, amazon.com/Mah-Jongg-Collectors-Guide-Tiles/dp/4805313234/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1414844427&sr=8-7&keywords=mah+jongg, Wonderful Version of the Travel Size Bone and Bamboo Sets, Celebrating 2019 with A Fully Carved Ivory Set. Then I go through my buckets of orphan tiles, looking for extras to make jokers or replace a tile thats been lost or destroyed. Pre-Owned. 12. What are the tiles The top layer of tiles were unwrapped but the bottom layer still had the plastic coverings around them. What kind of container does the set come in? They are all hand-carved, and there is a delightful quality to them. $49.99. These defects must be described in detail. vintage mahjong set bone bamboo for sale | eBay The only attachments I open are image files (not documents). I love to hear personal stories. 6. Vintage MAH JONG Game Set W/ 149 Bu. One of the most popular boxes for bone-and-bamboo sets is a five-drawer rosewood box. Mahjong organizations like the National Mah Jongg League and the American Mah Jong League also sold sets. I am not at all interested in selling it as it is a beautiful piece that I would like to hold onto. $25.00. CHarli, I have a set of Bakelite, Butterscotch/Burgundy, Dovetailed tiles. They had a door that slid down the front to cover up the drawers. IMPORTANT: Describe the I can't! http://www.ebay.com/ If so, there are people who might be able to sell you with extra matching tiles. Most of those came in cardboard boxes styled after the more expensive rosewood boxes. If you have just learned to play, you are probably very attached to the designs on the set you learned on. The price of bone and bamboo sets was determined by the thickness of the bonethe thicker the bone, the more expensive the set. I do have a question that I am hoping you can answer. It looks a lot like one I've seen for sale on eBay. If it's wood, is it one of those flat boxes with a sliding top, or is it one of those squarish boxes with drawers, and if so how many drawers? If the set has the Babcock red book in it, it's from the 1920s. the set was made or purchased, if you know. There may have been someone there even before that, but I havent found proof yet. It is very hard to find really good ones now unless they are coming from collectors. CHarli. If you're not sending pictures, please read all of FAQ 7 and learn what constitutes a good question that I can be helpful with. ? Give descriptions and exact counts. I am not a professional appraiser, I am just passing along some of what I have learned by studying sales and sets. They look vintage, and they may be quite old, but they are usually not original. Are they clean and attractive, like new, or are they dirty, mildewed, smelly? of There were also flat-type travel boxes. The newer tri-color tiles are having a comeback too. She has been absolutely invaluable to me in my research of mah jongg tiles. The game includes a tile that refers to a 1915 patent application. I am not sure if they have the hollow tin set though. Tracing them in China is nearly impossible because most of the people from the 20s or 30s arent around any more, and after several political upheavals in China the documentation has been lost forever. In this interview, mahjong (also known as mah jong) set collector Carol Ann Harper looks at the variety of materials used to make the games tiles, boxes, and accessories. 5. Other distinctive designs included a Sparrow with two Chinese characters, a Peacock with two mahjong tiles, a Pagoda, and there are several Dragon sets. What are the If you want to identify an item, try posting it in our Show & Tell gallery. Catalin tiles tend to age more uniformly than Bakelite, which can get a bit crazy. container The next tile is about 40 % bone, but it is from a special set with animal Flowers so it can be forgiven its somewhat gaping dovetail (there are ways to fix it so that it looks all right.) My novel Clattering Sparrows ( Mahjong translated) was published in 2010 and the storyline centers on the ancient and addictive Chinese Game of Mahjong. I have emailed you and would love to see pictures of your set, I will need those to help you with an approximate value.