To whom it may concern
The President of the Club Argentino de Ajedrez, Mr.Jorge Guelman, and also the library and records officer and Club historian Mr.Norberto Rial, let it be known that the clock that at this moment of signing that is located in the clubs museum was an official clock used during the Match for the world championship that took place in the year 1927 between the Masters Jose Raul Capablanca and Alexander Alekhine and only with the express authorization of the assembly of members of our entity was sold.
Also they let it be known that the clock marked Jaques of London Congress Chess Timer that Mr. Berky Bendeck and Ms. Courtney Bladridge acquired from us is of the clocks that were part of the official clocks used during that match according to the the records transmitted by the members of that era.
The clock itself is is c.1900 – 1920 vintage. This beautiful chess clock is has a frame made of mahogany and most of its metal parts are brass. It also has the official club logo on the dials. The Jaques clock breathes history and exudes prestige and mystique, having been handled by chess legends Jose Raul Capablanca and Alexander Alekhine, among others.
This clock is for sale on ebay by House of Staunton. Click here for more info.
About the clock in itself, the CLUB ARGENTINO DE AJEDREZ acquired it circa 1905 when the club began. The clock has been recently restored and serviced by the top clocksmith in Argentina. The Clock is one of three Jaques Congress timers to have been used at the CLUB ARGENTINO DE AJEDREZ for the 1927 Match of Capablanca and Alekhine, which they hosted. The Congress Timer being offered here is one of the original three used for the Match in the Club Argentino de Ajedrez and the only one of the remaining two that will be offered for sale. This particular Congress Timer, according to the club, was used from games 15-34. The Congress Timer used for games 7 – 13 sold last year. The Congress Timer used in games 1-6, will not be sold. It was the match opener and will be retained by the club.
The Clock comes with a letter of authenticity from the club. Included is the club’s phone number, email, and fax. The letter is signed by the President of the club as well as its historian. The Club has kept records of all the equipment used in their tournaments. This clock was also used in various simultaneous exhibitions including those given by Lasker, Capablanca, Alekhine, and Tartakower. The clock was retired in 1955 after the Club aquired a new home and it was placed in a safe.
This makes me sad, a clock of such historic significance going from proud placement in the chess club that hosted the matches, where it was visible to chess fans, into the private collection of some ebay dork. With due respect for the very nice chess equipment sold by the House of Staunton in general, this particular sale doesn’t make me think well of them. It’s as if the Baseball Hall of Fame sold Babe Ruth’s bat on ebay.
Very nice clock. I wish I can afford it.
Could I bid $1 just like The Price is Right? 🙂
I bid $1,000 on Babe Ruth’s bat.
It does make me pause with sadness at the sale also. In the future it would be worth so much more. These items just always go up in value.
The bid is at $1,025 and has not met the reserve. I hate reserve bids. I refuse to bid on reserve bids unless the seller will tell me the reserve. then I will be willing to bid the reserve or skip it but I will not play games with bidding and not have it accepted.
Beautiful indeed.
Careful on Ebay, I think there is a fake “bidding war” started already.
It is highly unusual, that when there is still 6 days left, people would enter a bidding war. That’s got to be fake.
This is part of chess history. The amazing equipment used in the historic Alekhine vs Capablanca match. I just saw on ebay and the highest bid is so far 2,000+.
Ugly thing…
But has historic value, yes.
They sell it now, before it won’t be sellable anymore…
Who would care about it in 100 years? in 200 years?
right: nobody!
That’s why they sell it now…
These are legitimate comments, but there are legitimate answers to them as well. Just as background, I was the purchaser of the 1st Jaques timer from the Alekhine-Capablanca 1927 WC match, which was sold to me from the Argentine Club last year. This 2nd timer from the match is the only other one that will be sold by the Club.
Responding to the question about eBay’s role as an auction place for historic items — in the past, eBay was more-or-less relegated to a role of “lots of dubious stuff, with scams galore”. That’s still true today, but it is also true that eBay is now considered to be a fully legitimate place for auctions of valuable and historic items.
The current “bidding war” is not fake at all. I am one of the bidders so I know that. (However, I am bidding only up to a certain point, which I have already done, so if my current bid is exceeded then I’m stopping because I already have a timer from the match.)
In my opinion, this is a historic, important auction, just as last year’s was.
Lastly, regarding the comment that “nobody would want to buy it in 100 or 200 years” — I think that the timer’s value will continue to increase as time goes by.
If anyone is interested in more detail, I can be reached via e-mail from my website http://www.chessantique.com (antique chess collection). For the record, I am a solely a collector not a dealer, and I do not have any financial interest or stake in the current auction.