14 June 2015

Capablanca to His Son

Here on Top eBay Chess Items by Price, Capablanca autographs aren't exactly a novelty. Last year we saw Capablanca Letters++, and a few years earlier Capablanca Signs His Feet. Why feature another? Because it was the *only* item over the past fortnight that made my short list.

The eBay listing was titled 'Cuba World Chess Champion Capablanca Signed Autograph Book', subtitled 'dedicated book to his son Raul'. It sold for around $1000, 'Best offer accepted'.

The description added only,

Book (GLORIAS DEL TABLERO) signed by Capablanca dedicated to his son Raul.

plus some biographical info about Capablanca copied from Wikipedia. The real Wikipedia page tells us,

In December 1921, shortly after becoming World Champion, Capablanca married Gloria Simoni Betancourt. They had a son, José Raúl Jr., in 1923 and a daughter, Gloria, in 1925. According to Capablanca's second wife, Olga, his first marriage broke down fairly soon, and he and Gloria had affairs. • José Raúl Capablanca

Various web references tell us that Glorias del tablero : "Capablanca" was authored by Jose A. Gelabert, ex-president of the Havana chess club, and published at Havana in 1924.

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