Bone and Bamboo (1.1)

This rather rare set is for Chinese players. Wilkinson/Laufer suits tile pattern. Medium sized b/b tiles. Stylised String of Cash on number 1 String of Cash/'Bamboo'. Pointed 'bamboo' rods. Single circles for Cash/'Circle' suit. Four small circles inside one circle on number 1 of 'Circle' suit. Absence of Flowers/Seasons although these may have been present but were not used.

Simple slide top box. Probably not original to the set.

Another rare set for Chinese players. Wilkinson/Laufer suits tile pattern. Medium sized tiles. Presence of Honours/'Dragons' and four framed Seasons tiles sporting one large red sinogram each. This Seasons' pattern is seen in the Glover tile sets and is therefore an early feature. Note the slight difference in the green Honours 'fa' character.

Small, cubic, slide top box, probably not original to the set, but style is reminiscent of early boxes from Wilkinson and Laufer sets.

Another set of the Wilkinson/Laufer suits tile pattern. Large red Seasons sinograms but without frames. Again, this is the pattern seen in the Glover sets and is an early feature. The 'Green Dragon' is also of the early Wilkinson type.

Small leather box containing felt-lined trays. Embossed decorative corners on the lid.

Wilkinson/Laufer suits pattern. However, the style of the engraving on the West and North Directions is identical to that found on the same tiles in the Glover and Laufer sets. Large Seasons sinograms with frames of smaller circles. No 'Flowers'. Concave tiles with no dovetails. Early form of green fa Honours tile. Multiple circles on each Cash/Circles tile. The presence of Arabic numerals and English letters suggests this set was for the Western market. Large sized tiles.

Tiles showing concave feature and lack of dovetail joint.

Box with five trays and slide front. Typical box of export market tile set from the 1920's.

Similar set to set 2a. Presence of Arabic numerals and English letters suggesting export set. Multiple circles on Cash/Circles tiles, commonly found in sets from the 1920's. Style of West and North sinograms similar to Wilkinson/Laufer tiles. Large sized tiles.

1920's slide front box with metal ornaments covering corners. Five trays.

Early features of concave tiles, style of West and North tiles similar to Glover and Laufer sets plus Seasons tiles reminiscent of Glover sets but other suit features similar to Wilkinson/Laufer sets. This may suggest a form of 'hybridisation' between two styles of engraving design. Multiple circles on Cash/Circles suit tiles apart from number 1. Large tiles. Presence of Arabic numerals and English letters suggest an export set.

Tiles showing concave feature with lack of dovetail joint.

Slide top box. Probably not original to the set.

Another example of the Wilkinson/Laufer pattern, but with the addition of the Flowers and Seasons.

Side view of the tiles showing the absence of a dovetail joint, as in the previous set.

Wilkinson/Laufer suit pattern but with the presence of multiple circles on Cash/Circles suit tiles. Early String of Cash style on number one String of Cash/Bamboo suit. Glover and Laufer style of West and North sinograms.

MJ Sales Co of America wooden box with five trays. Slide top front. Box probably not original to the set.

Courtesy of a private collector. This is a very important example of a type of tile set that sported alternative designs on the Directions/Winds and sometimes the Honours/'Dragons' group. In this set the Directions have been replaced by Duke [gong], Marquis [hou], Marshal [jiang], Premier or Minister [xiang]. The Honours/Dragons tiles are White , Dragon [long] and Phoenix [feng]).
Note the presence of the 'pin' [rank] sinogram for the wan/Character suit and the presence of 16 Flowers/Seasons tiles.
Aside from the 'pin' suit, the basic design of the remaining two suits appears to be based on the Wilkinson pattern.
In their two books, the Japanese MJ Museum display two versions of this type of set.