The Magic Librarities

A former WotC employee would like to know more about this and, if possible value:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/dwtjx7a3jd1dz ... d.jpg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/gof4kpg4vl5an ... n.jpg?dl=0







She worked there around 1996~98(?) and is of the opinion that here were not many of these put out.
Any information would ge appreciated and value.

She doesn't want to part with it but things are tight.

Thanks in advance.

Gary

While not identical, judging by the knot-work on the lid, I'm going to assume this was made by the same people and around the same time as the box in this topic viewtopic.php?f=34&t=6046

I have never see this particular style of box though, with a purple dot and a lid that pulls lifts off rather than slides. Check the inner walls, bottom and under the lid for any words etched into the box. The ones in the topic above had "Wizards of the Coast, Inc." on one inner wall, and "Magic the Gathering is a trademark of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. 1995" on another. The edge of the lid also said "1995 Wizards of the Coast" on it.

Maybe, this is the prototype of the finished version and looks like there's a logo inside that different box. The Resin/Ceramic deck box were sold at WOTC Game center, it was also a price at UK Nationals. They were made by a UK former WOTC employee either at The Armory or Chessex in the mid-90's. They originally came shrink-wrapped and distributed via Diamond Distributors. There were 5000 resin boxes made to give out in the UK in the mid 1990s. Of these approx 3000 were distributed, and the other 2000 destroyed by WOTC. One of the reasons for them being discontinued was that they were impractical, you couldn't fit a deck+ sideboard in and the resin was so brittle they kept breaking/chipping and being returned.

As Tim mentioned look for this:

I can't add a lot more to this, when I worked at a gamming store in the late 90's I did see someone with one of these there, while looks cool and all wasn't very practical, couldn't fit deck with sideboard and did feel brittle like it could chip or crack rather easily. I don't have a clue on current value though.

WOW this is great. All news to me. I was still in Korea at the time and have never heard any of these things yet.
OK,
1) nothing written inside or on the edge of the lid. Bearly visible in the picture above(and for the life of me I can't get a better shot) is a "logo"? with two mountains and a globe above them.
2) a 60 card deck with sideboard fits fine(without sleeves--we need the historical perspective here). a sleeved card will fit but not a sleeved deck and sideboard.
3) This one seems to have quite rough (thumb notches?) on each side they appear to have been roughly ground/carved out, not like a finished product.
I surely appreciate your insights and pictures. I am going to speculate the following, please show me errors in my assumptions.

1) this was 'given' to an employee.
2) Apparently not a polished/finished product.
3) No trademarks/copyright/company information.
My SWAG it is a sample piece for a product that just didn't make the grade, Was laying around the product room (there was a LOT of junk in there) and in a clearing space time was offered to employees as a way to get rid of them.
My daughter was never one to turn down a free "neato" item.

Thanks again for all the research and information. I'll share that with her and try to convince her it isn't really a rare artifact.

Gary

mystical_tutor wrote:WOW this is great. All news to me. I was still in Korea at the time and have never heard any of these things yet.
OK,
1) nothing written inside or on the edge of the lid. Bearly visible in the picture above(and for the life of me I can't get a better shot) is a "logo"? with two mountains and a globe above them.
2) a 60 card deck with sideboard fits fine(without sleeves--we need the historical perspective here). a sleeved card will fit but not a sleeved deck and sideboard.
3) This one seems to have quite rough (thumb notches?) on each side they appear to have been roughly ground/carved out, not like a finished product.
I surely appreciate your insights and pictures. I am going to speculate the following, please show me errors in my assumptions.

Two mountains and a globe above them logo. It might be possible to retrieve if this "logo" was used by a company in the 90's

mystical_tutor wrote:1) this was 'given' to an employee.

Yes, was it for gift purpose or as a prototype for a future MTG product (Resin Box)

mystical_tutor wrote:2) Apparently not a polished/finished product.

It's so similar to the Resin Box in so many ways, might be a prototype version, therefore not polished/finished.

mystical_tutor wrote:3) No trademarks/copyright/company information.

Except the logo

mystical_tutor wrote:My SWAG it is a sample piece for a product that just didn't make the grade, Was laying around the product room (there was a LOT of junk in there) and in a clearing space time was offered to employees as a way to get rid of them.
My daughter was never one to turn down a free "neato" item.

Either a prototype, a gift version of the "Resin box" or else

mystical_tutor wrote:Thanks again for all the research and information. I'll share that with her and try to convince her it isn't really a rare artifact.

Gary

It might be a very unique piece of MTG history so it can be very rare, who knows...

mystical_tutor wrote: offered to employees as a way to get rid of them.

I read this as "offered to annoying employees as a bribe to get them to leave the company"

LOL well, at least to keep them out of the products room so George could do his job....