Vintage — 1920s Hong Kong Bone & Bamboo Mah-Jongg Set

A marvelous survivor from the first great Western mah-jongg craze. Made in Hong Kong for the export market, this circa-1920s set contains 148 hand-carved and hand-painted bone-and-bamboo tiles, including the traditional suits, winds, dragons, beautifully illustrated flowers and seasons, and four spare blank tiles.

The charmingly individual carving is exactly what makes early sets like this so appealing: birds stand in for the One Bamboo tiles, concentric circles form the dots, and the painted characters retain the gentle irregularity of work done by hand. The Arabic numerals and English wind letters were added for Western players.

The original fitted red case survives with scoring sticks, four dice and its wonderfully evocative instruction booklet, Directions of Playing “Chinese Game of Four Winds,” issued by W. Minnan & Co. of Hong Kong.

Why we like it

It is equal parts game, social history and miniature work of art. The worn case tells the truth about its travels, while the complete group of hand-carved tiles remains wonderfully decorative—and very difficult to resist arranging. *Note: This was made for traditional Chinese mah-jongg. It does not contain the eight jokers used in modern American National Mah Jongg League play.

Details

• Circa 1920s
• Made in Hong Kong for the English-speaking export market
• 148 bone-and-bamboo tiles
• Standard 144-tile Chinese game plus four blank replacement tiles
• Hand-carved and hand-painted decoration
• Includes four dice and bone scoring counters
• Original W. Minnan & Co. instruction booklet
• Intended for traditional Chinese mah-jongg; no modern American jokers
• Original red fitted case base
• Case lid and carrying handle are no longer present
• Expected surface wear, paint loss and age-related marks throughout
• Case lining and booklet show considerable age and wear
• Sold as a complete vintage tile set with accessories, exactly as found in Maine