Pixie Chinese Checkers/Brown Manufacturing

[delfii]

[updated:LAST EDITED ON Oct-24-04 AT 11:55 PM (EST)]I found a Pixie Chinese Checkers Board, with box, #101, no date listed, Manufactured by Steven Mfg. Co., Hermann Mo. Below is pic of one side of box, which is a picture of the board. No room in box for marbles, which came in a separate tan cloth bag, Brown Mfg. Co., Clinton, Mo., copyright 1937 by L.W. Brown.

1). Anybody know anything about this/these companies?

2). Value of this find???

Thanks
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[Al]

I think Stevens was a Toy Manufacturer in the 70's and I think they board is from that time frame. Below is a picture of one of the Stevens types of chinese checkers bags that has Pixie Toys on it (the other two just had Stevens - different style label but from the 70's).

I've seen pics of the Brown Manuf. bag (drawstring type?). I would guess it is under $50 in value (prob. $25 - 30)but not sure since I don't collect that type of bag.


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[delfii]

Okay, thanks, but I'm a little confused. Bag says copyright 1937 and I doubt they mean the marbles within, so copyright must refer to game board?? So does this mean the board was produced as far back as '37? How do you know to date this board as 1970's? Note board box has a product number #101?? Or maybe the marble bag was not original with board?

Thanks
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[Al]

Sorry, a little confusing. I don't think the marble bag is original to that board. Brown was one company and Stevens was another. I don't know when Stevens actually started packaging toys, etc. I 'think' most of the boards from the 30's, etc. were wood and not metal but, obviously, there metal toys and stuff back then. I picked the 70's because the Stevens Chinese Checkers bags that I have seen have had dates like 1978, etc. on them.

[spara]

[updated:LAST EDITED ON Oct-27-04 AT 02:51 PM (EST)]Brown was from Topeka, KS and made the 'ChinkerCheck' boards in the 30's. The bag of marbles is supposed to go with one of the original 30's wooden Brown chinese checker boards. And yes, the marbles would also be dated from that time period if in that bag. Possibly Akro marbles.

The pixie game and marbles are from a later date as stated. Two separate games with two separate bags of marbles to go with.

Craig

[delfii]

Okay, makes sense. One last history question, however: marble bag says "Brown Mfg. Co., Clinton, Mo." Did they relocate from Kansas to Missouri?

Again, much thanks for your expertise.

[spara]

DOH! Sorry, I meant Clinton, MO. Oops. I attend estate auctions in Clinton, MO. quite often and find these boards and bags at almost everyone. They made a bunch of them.

Craig

[delfii]

[updated:LAST EDITED ON Oct-28-04 AT 11:21 PM (EST)]"The following was pieced together from various newspaper articles recently received on the life of Lawrence W. Brown and his invention of Chinker-Chek.

Lawrence W. Brown of Brown manufacturing company, Clinton, Missouri, experimented with a variation of Chinese chess starting in 1935. The game he came up with allowed one to six players to be involved. In 1937 sales of this new game were limited to the Midwest and western states. At that time, Ohio was the furthest state to the East that was supplied.

The boards were manufactured by Brown manufacturing company while the marbles used on the boards came in 100 lb. cartons and by the car load from one of the marble companies in West Virginia. At one point Brown manufacturing was turning out 4,000 Chinker-Chek boards a day. The game board was manufactured with a patent pending but they were unable to obtain a full patent, for some unstated reason. When the 7 year patent pending period ran out, other toy companies began making the game. Chinker-Chek is more commonly known as Chinese checkers.

Mr. Brown was born in 1881, East of Clinton, Mo. and died tragically in a gas explosion at his factory on April 4, 1960."

Marble Mania®
http://www.marblecollecting.com/mcsa/mania/MM0797.HTM#mm0797c

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I have checked the bag of Brown marbles i have against Vitro and Akro chinese checkers sets and colors do not match, though red & green are very close to Akro's. Brown marbles are slightly larger than my Akro set. Perhaps Akro used different marbles for those sent to Brown?(Or, I suppose, someone could have substituted another set of marbles).

Incidently, bag I have does not say that they are ChinkerCheck marbles. Only other Brown cloth bag I was able to find on internet had the chinkercheck logo.


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[Al]

Good research - thanks!