(Update: Jim May has broken the silence)

HAZELWOOD, MO, United States - It is very hard to estimate the real value of the collection of the Mah Jong Museum. Dutch collector Adrie van Geffen says; “At least thousands”, but this seems a very modest estimation. There must be sets which are worth thousands of dollars alone. “For me it is very, very difficult to even guess what the collection might be worth”, Adrie admits.

Mr. Van Geffen thinks that the most important about the collection is that it is documented so well. Jim May took beautiful pictures of each set he exposed on his website, with an extensive description. Adrie van Geffen: “To me, the collection was a reference. Not only it contains very special imperial sets, but it is also important because it is more or less complete: it covers sets from all over the world, where mahjong is played.”

The collection contains some ivory sets. (Unlike what many people think, who take their bone/bamboo set for an ivory one, ivory mahjong sets are extremely rare.)

Japan

Mr. Jim May’s collection is so famous, since it is exposed on the internet. Almost every mahjong website in the world contains a link to the museum and its outstanding collection, where mahjong lovers used to gaze at the splendid tiles.

In 1999, the collection drew the attention of the Japanese collector Kyoichiru Noguchi, the general director of the Japan Mahjong Organizing Committee (JMOC). Mr. Noguchi just had accommodated his collection in the first Mahjong Museum in the world, in Chiba, a couple of hours drive from Tokyo. Mr. Jim May was the guest of honor at the Grand Opening of the museum, and he could give Noguchi-san some invaluable advice.

Contractor

Jim May is a building contractor. Being interested in mahjong, he started collecting sets. In an 1999 interview with MahjongNews, he told that at the time it was not so hard to buy special sets for a reasonable price.

But after a while, this changed. People became aware that grandpa’s old dusty set which they had found on his attic after he had passed away, might be worth a lot of money. Also for Jim, the value of the collection became a problem. At first he had stored the sets in his study, his bedroom and his garage, but later on he had to look for a safer place to keep it.

For the visitors of his museum, this was not important. The real collection never could be seen, but, from the beginning, Jim May showed his sets on the internet. Initially on a site which, after the old American name of the game, bore the name ‘Pung-Chow’, but later on the domain name Mahjongmuseum.com. Collectors from all over the world could lick their lips just by watching the site. Dutch mahjong author Jelte Rep (‘The Great Mahjong Book’) remembers that he got a lot of help from Jim when writing his book, and he also used a number of pictures which Mr. May sent him.

Mystery man

Later on, Jim May became some kind of a mystery. He rarely made updates of his website anymore and he stopped answering e-mails. On the usenet discussion group about mahjong, there even was a discussion that he might be dead, since, apparently, either the telephone number which was displayed on his website was taken out of service, or it just was not answered anymore.

Apart from the announcement that the museum is for sale, the last update of the site is from July, 2006. This week, some of his friends received a short e-mail: ‘Just a note to let you know that I've recently decided to put my mah jong collection up for sale, all items are for sale through my website at www.mahjongmuseum.com if you know anyone that might be interested.’ Now, in an interview with MahjongNews, Jim May has finally broken the silence.

Collector Adrie van Geffen: “I wish I had the money to make a bid on some pieces. But, apart from that, also transport from the United States to Europe is expensive. There is an obligatory insurance, and packages like that are likely to draw the attention of the customs.”