a-san-francisco-chess-board-1884

A rare find. This board is gilt-stamped "San Francisco, May 20-31, 1884" and is most likely, I think, to commemorate a chess tournament. I've made preliminary enquiries with the Mechanic's Institute Chess Club of San Francisco, but as their records were destroyed in the Great Fire of 1906, we are currently unable to pin-point the exact match date. An intriguing relic of American chess history.