1934 Lutz Sheinkman Buck Rogers 25th Century Triple Board Game in Orig.Box
One of the earliest and most difficult to find Buck Rogers toys is this Buck Rogers 25th Century Triple Board Game. And with 55 pieces including the boards it's also difficult to find complete! Somehow here's an example that has survived intact. Although the boards are warped slightly open the contents are near mint and look like they were never used. The superb full color box with illustrations by Dick Calkins grades VG+ to excellent. It still even has its original parts box with cover....in near mint condition! The three magnificent 16" square game boards, red (Atlantis), green (Gigantica) and blue (Cosmic Rocket Wars) are literally covered with full color illustrations drawn by Dick Calkins (the original comic artist). Instructions for each are printed just below the playing fields. I've shown each board below separately. To avoid cracking I didn't want to lay them flat. The colored surfaces on the back are textured. The illustrated surfaces on all three are pristine without a single nick, scratch, scuff, or spot of wear. Even the board edges and spines are perfect without any wear or cracking. Although each is slightly warped open (shown below) they're the best set I've ever seen. The green has a couple of faint age spots on the back side and the blue has one as well, but these are really minor. Any other discrepancies you may see were due to uneven lighting. Then there's the 4¼" x 3¼" x ½" parts box covered with red textured paper. It's in near mint condition and doesn't have a single repair! Inside are all 40 playing cards; each without a single crease or tear. Plus all 12 wooden bowling pin markers; also in perfect condition. The glossy full color box cover definitely gets your attention with "Buck Rogers" spelled out in large "3 dimensional" perspective letters. Each game board is separately identified inside a large circle. No less than 10 rockets streak across the surface. The cover edges are also covered with glossy illustrations showing planets and shooting stars. And amazingly one of the side panels still has it's original Gimbel's price sticker on it for 89¢. The edges of the box bottom were covered with red matte paper (not glossy) and is nearly all there. Three of the four original 90º corner staples are still in place. Only one has fallen out along with a tiny notch of paper. And although each corner is worn, the one with the missing staple is the only corner repair I can see. The other repair is on the front apron where it was split in the center and then reconnected (try to find it in the second box photo). There are some short splits in the seams adjacent to each corner, but the paper is still in place. The edges, in particular the right one, does have some scattered light chipping as well. It is faintly soiled as you can see, especially near to the edges and in some of the white colored areas (such as the letter "U" in Buck). And because the boards are warped open slightly the cover won't close down completely flat. I also wouldn't recommend shutting the cover with the parts box inside. It'll bulge. And the box bottom is intact, but worn on all four corners. It had two arc-shaped tears in the center, but these have been repaired. Overall despite these "minor annoyances it's really in incredible condition. Sold: Jul. 2014
Price Sold: $ 867
