Scarce and Prized First Generation (1930) Engraved Bakelite White on Black Backgammon Doubling Cube clown Wonderfully painted figures--I especially love

Wonderfully painted figures--I especially love the treatment of the head scarf and skirt on the kneeling woman

Beyond that

and with quite an outsized presence

soothing sort of sound when shaken

(As with most everything

Scarce and Prized First Generation (1930) Engraved Bakelite White on Black Backgammon Doubling Cube clown Wonderfully painted figures--I especially love2,4,8,16,32,64. Though clearly a (very excellent looking) die, with each side a mathematical doubling of the next, I did not know exactly what this was when I found it. Didn't take long to learn that die like this were and are made for use in backgammon specifically for raising (doubling) the stakes in a game. I've learned with a bit of research that the first doubling cubes were introduced in 1930, and this is an iconic very early example, perhaps