John J. Gredler Works of Art

19th Century German Dice Gambling Game, Brocken Hotel

Vintage 19th century hand held dice game with three dice in a round fruit wood container with green felt bottom and glass top. By tilting the game the three dice tumble. Likely a gambling game to keep the inveterate gambler occupied on his way to and from the casino in the carriage of the train. Maybe Dostoevsky owned one! Cool and unusual item for the collector of games and gambling items.

It doesn't appear that there was a casino at Brocken, though there was a hotel.

Brocken is a 1,141 m (3,743 ft) mountain near Schierke in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, between the rivers Weser and Elbe. The highest peak in the Harz mountain range, and in Northern Germany, it is subalpine, yet has a microclimate resembling that of mountains nearly 1,000 m (3,300 ft) higher. The elevation above its tree line tends to have snowcover from September to May, and mists and fogs shroud it up to 300 days a year. It is the easternmost mountain in northern Germany.

Brocken has always played a role in legends and has been connected with witches and devils; Johann Wolfgang von Goethe took up the legends in his two-part tragic play Faust. The Brocken spectre is a common phenomenon on this misty mountain, where a climber's shadow cast upon fog creates eerie optical effects.

Wear consistent with age and use. Crack on one side top to bottom. Various scuffs and dings.

1" h  x  2.2" diameter