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Here Ladies and
Gentlemen we have a classic case of supply and demand.
2 days ago I valued this board at approx. £650 though I wasn’t
overly surprised to see the sale price climb to the figure it did.
Yes it’s staggering to some but to those who have played upon a
David Naylor and loved the experience – it is understandable and I
would go as far to say that this was a good investment by the
buyer. As many as 3 years ago I predicted that David Naylor boards
might, given a favourable seller’s market, exchange hands for this
sort of price. My valuation the other day was based on the fact
that I have not known of a David Naylor coming on the open market
for at least 2 years. I shall now value any maxi David Naylors I
notice, or bought to my attention, in accordance to what this one
has sold for.
It’s once in a blue moon that David Naylor boards come on the open
market. I know people that spend hours upon hours checking Ebay to
see if one does come on the market. This is generally a complete
waste of time. Most David Naylor boards are never sold. They
generally are handed down as family heirlooms. The best method of
obtaining a David Naylor is to inform a current owner of your
willingness to buy it if they should ever need to sell it. But
don’t hold your breath and be able to produce cash upon that call.
So why else did this board go for so much? Mostly because this is
a Maxi board made by David. David made two sizes of boards – the
Maxi and the Tournament. His son by his first marriage - Genesis
Naylor – has now taken over the business but he does not currently
make a maxi size board. Hence Maxis are very rare. Further there
were never many of them made. David told me that he made upwards
of 50 boards per annum though I think this figure was in truth
slightly inflated. He made boards first in San Sicario in the
Piemonte region of the Italian Alps then later in his workshop in
Stoke Newington, London. All told he probably made no more than
300-400 boards. I often urged him to number stamp the boards he
made to increase their value but he hadn’t done this when he
started and saw no reason to start doing so later. As many an
artist is he was dismissive of commercialism. Maxi boards were
about 25% of sales. So there are probably no more than 100 maxi
boards in existence.
I had the rare honour of watching the man work – he loathed people
coming to his workshop and as such kept the location of it quite a
secret. If people asked him to see his workshop he would hold out
his hands and say “here are my tools.” The ease and skill with
which he performed tasks such as cutting leather to an exact size
was remarkable. He could look at a piece of leather, cut it with
the use of a scalpel and metal ruler but no measuring device and
it would be the exact size to the 10th of a millimetre that he
required it to be. His eye was astonishing but he just considered
it par for the course.
He was fastidious in the sourcing of materials for his art. And
yes, he viewed his work as art – the sub-title of his business was
“The Art of Backgammon.” Leather came from Tuscany, Italy which
meant he would travel there to buy in person so that he could
ensure top quality. Brass hinges came from Germany. Even though
these were factory made by a precision tool that made one after
another to the exact same mechanised specification he would travel
to Germany to buy. I spoke to the factory who told me that when
the David went there for consignments he would insist on
inspecting each hinge before he paid for them. In other words even
precision German engineering wasn’t taken for granted by David.
Fastidious is a mild word to use when describing David at the peak
of his skills.
David also made a few table top boards, baffle boxes, dice cups
and a travel board. The table top boards are still in use in
exclusive hotels in the French and Italian Alps. The baffles boxes
(dice tumblers that attach to the side of the board) he called
“the acrobat.” 1 client has a board with two of them – one each
side. If this item were ever to come on the market it would fetch
a really pretty price – far more than the Maxi went for today I
think. Though having said that I fully expect this will be handed
down in the owners will. The dice cups are really lovely to handle
and play with. There have been oval ones and round ones. Some even
had a lower ridge in the base of them to ensure a fair roll. I
think all cups were lipped. The travel boards were not big
sellers. The concept was excellent but the end product was, by
David’s high standards, slightly disappointing.
There has always been a lot of debate about the style of checkers.
First there were “sandwich checkers” then there were “ringed
checkers.” The sandwich ones were three layers – leather base,
brass middle, leather top. David liked the brass because it
produced a satisfactory click when one checker was pushed against
another and he liked the leather because “nothing glides on
leather like leather does.” But they were heavy and made carrying
a board equipped with them harder work than was desirable. To
combat this problem the brass sandwich was hollow in the middle
but this cause another problem in they had a tendency to fall
apart. So he altered the design to the ringed checker. These were
very slightly taller and so the side troughs of the boards had to
be altered by a millimetre or two to accommodate them when in
transit. Which was the better? The debate was a common one. Some
people didn’t like the checkers at all and asked for “bakelite”
type checkers. They got short shrift from David and if they did
place an order would often be left wondering why their order was
taking so long.
If you went to a Biba Tournament in the early to mid 2000s you
would see more and more of them and as more and more players
played upon them so more and more people wanted, desired,
hankered, yearned and craved one of their own. In the corners at
tournaments there would be cliques of people discussing Naylor
boards. Ever wanted something so badly that you just can’t get off
to sleep? That’s the effect that a David Naylor can have on
people. So over the years more and more people saved their pennies
until they became pounds and then became hundreds of pounds and so
we saw more and more incarnations of David Naylor Backgammon
Boards.
But then David had a bicycle accident in the summer of 2004. He
landed on his head and was in hospital for months, in a
recuperation home for as many months, was then moved to the
healthy air of San Sicario and came home to London shortly after
his mother died about two years ago now. However he has never
fully recovered and is no longer able to do his craft. It’s all
very sad and a cruel state of affairs for such a talented man to
have to endure.
Gabriella de Mattia – David’s second wife – took over David’s
business while he was in recuperation. The workshop equipment was
moved to Italy and Gabriella, also a leather working artist by
trade (it’s how she and David met) took over the making of boards.
However the quality of Gabrialla boards was not the same as
David’s. I shall not repeat my opinion of her work in detail here
because it is not very complimentary. Suffice to say it was at
this time that I withdrew from having any involvement with
“Naylor” boards. Shortly after that Gabrialla stopped attempting
to make boards.
Meanwhile Genesis Naylor has been making his version of backgammon
boards in his workshop in Toulouse, France for a number of years
now. The component parts (frame, bounce board, leather, brass,
hinges etc.) are mostly exactly the same as David used to use and
as such the boards are very similar. Genesis used to favour
“bakelite” type checkers instead of brass sandwich or ringed
checkers that David insisted upon but recently Genesis is
advertising ringed checkers. Genesis also used to make a table top
board though this type is not currently featured on the website.
Currently Genesis does not make the maxi size board. I have heard
tell of a rumour that Genesis boards are not up to the standard of
David boards but I currently have not heard any factual basis for
this so am treating this with some reservation. The ones displayed
on the website certainly look excellent.
Either way the Naylor name lives on but David (the accepted master
craftsman of the Naylor family) is not able to make boards
anymore. Are Genesis boards up to the mark of David’s? Not sure.
There is a club here in London who have placed an order recently
and I shall be able to view his work in detail shortly. What is
certain is that the brand name is still good even if it has had
its highs and lows of late. Genesis could take it to new heights.
This sale of a maxi board says there is indeed a market for the
making of two sizes of boards – Tournament and Maxi. The sandwich
versus ringed versus “bakelite” checkers debate is one that will
go on and on so cater for all tastes by offering a choice of all
three. Given that boards are generally bought for life offer the
service of the owners name discreetly stamped on the board. Start
re-advertising the table top boards which are now coming back into
fashion as more and more venues are supplying boards to entice
players in. And last but not least, sell sets with board matching
colour precision dice rather than optional extras.
Will second hand David Naylor boards continue to sell at the sort
of price this one did today? Unless Genesis steps it up a gear I
very much imagine so. They are Art. Usable Art. That’s a potent
combination and the market value will reflect that.
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