Syndicated articles such as this one from the NEA reporting on the vogue for backgammon in New York and Long Island could be picked up by papers across the country, alerting hostesses to the social cachet of the game: “Dragging out a backgammon board when a new young man calls is now considered not only a fine way to get a slant on his I.Q. but also to rate him socially.” The article also attests to the popularity of the game on commuter rail cars, something frequently alluded to in ads and articles of the time.
The photograph, supplied by A.G. Spalding (see additional publication below), shows off an elegant table of the day and features the first dated photograph of a doubling cube. Spalding offered backgammon items for sale in The New Yorker for the 1930 holiday season. That they helpfully provided the photo for this feature might suggest that the board pictured is one of their offerings. The article also goes into some detail describing a variety of expensive sets currently available, as well as related paraphernalia, from backgammon-themed china and glassware to “smoking things.”
