The Tartajubow Chess Clock

The Tartajubow chess clock

     A few weeks back I posted about how I made my first chess set. In those days I didn’t know where you could buy chess books, sets or clocks. My main source of information was the encyclopedias at the library and Hoyles book of games. 
     Sometime in the late 1950s I wrote a letter to the chess columnist of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, David Robb, asking for information on where to buy books and equipment and he referred me to the USCF.  Robb was mentioned in a 1956 issue of Chess magazine as being the editor of "one of America's greatest chess columns."  Today you can't find any information on him.
     I do remember finding a real set at the Ben Franklin Five and Dime (aka “the dime store”). To see an incredible array of stuff they offer visit the website of the store in Oberlin, Ohio, venue of the 1975 US Championship. The set had a three inch King and the pieces were hollow and light as a feather. After filling them with plaster of Paris and gluing felt on the bottom they were usable though. 
     After reading about chess clocks somewhere, I constructed my own using an Erector set, two old alarm clocks and a wooden dowel. The clock didn’t have flags, but the rule was that if a white space was visible between the minute hand and the 12 o’clock mark the time limit had been exceeded. 
     The closest thing on the market with a similar start/stop push rod was the Sutton Coldfield by the publisher of Chess Magazine, B.H.Wood. As you can see, it was push lever action and is composed of two alarm clocks. 

Sutton Coldfield

     My clock wasn’t nearly as beautiful as this Dutch Koopman clock, but for me and a couple of friends, it served the purpose. The Koopmans were produced in Dordrecht from the 1940s till the end of the 1990s. 

the Koopman

You might want to visit the Chess Museum’s website and browse their fantastic collection. It’s too late, but the site notes that Mikhail Tal's chess set, owned by his heirs, was for sale for $108,362 or 95,000 Euros.