Antique Chess Data Base

[dermotr]

Hi Robert Heartiest congratulations on developing such a fabulous site. I believe that, as collectors, we should attempt as far as it is possible, to develop a comprehensive data base on antique chess sets which could answer a range of questions such as; - what are the main styles/patterns in which antique chess sets were produced - when did each style first emerge and when did they go out of fashion - what materials were used for each style - where and by whom were particular patterns made - in what quantities were sets, of different patterns, produced - etc. etc. This would be a mammoth task but with your site its now possible to contemplate such a project. It would be interesting to hear if other collectors feel this is a worthwhile proposition and the extent to which people are prepared to get involved in making it a reality. Regards Dermot ChessAntiquesOnline

[r.van.der.veur]

I agree we need a administrator to update the selection lists. I can be that administrator if everybody agrees. I will add the references as you suggested.

[r.van.der.veur]

All, Great news. We are going to build the database! We have more then 8 volunteers including some real chess experts. Dermot Rochford (dermotr) will be our project leader in this adventure. Kind regards, Robert ps: You can still join, if you like.

[dermotr]

Hi All I have now sent out a suggested plan of action, by direct e-mail, to all members of who expressed interest in working on this project - if i missed anyone please let me know. regards Dermot

[dancing_with_volves]

Seems to be that you have missed me 🙂

[dermotr]

Hi All Here is a brief update on the plans for this Project. 1. 12 members have expressed interest in being involved 2. following inputs received on the earlier Draft Action Plan, we are going to approach the Project on a 'Clssification' basis rather than the original proposal of a 'Period/Country of Origin' basis. 3. Frank Camaratta is prepared to take the lead in a small Working Party which will do most of the groundwork required in developing this Database. 4. Robert will undertake the technical design work and I will act as overall co-ordinator 5. Because Xmas is a busy time, we wont get fully started till the beginning of January.

[computojon]

Dermot, thanks for the update. I (and I'm sure others) will happy to contribute content for the database. My main hesitation so far on the proposed database is that I know how time-consuming it is for me to maintain my own database, so for a worldwide database, it sounds like such a daunting task that it's a little scary.

[clgray2001]

I concur with disphania and pdoc2. I would be very interested but my knowledge/contribution would be limited.

[jvreij]

I found the following link: http://www.antiques.dk.com/ then selecting "Toys and dolls" and "Games and Puzzles" and "Chess sets" you are in: http://www.antiques.dk.com/browse.php/Toys%20and%20Dolls/Games%20and%20Puzzles/Chess%20Sets/1 From here you have a pretty nice way of looking at chess sets, which could be an example of how the database can be accessed. At the right side you see categories. In this case when you select chess sets it is chess sets on country (so the category should be country). In my opinion it should be possible to look at the database not only on country (origin), but on several other categories (or characteristics) as well, like e.g. manufacturer, material, age (in periods), types, etc, etc. Robert and Dermot, what do you think of such an interface?

[jvreij]

To make things more clear, here some remarks about my thought and likes: 1. our database should work subtile different: at the page were you see the categories "Board games".."Chess sets"... you should see "Material"..."Country"... (while the left looks like it is shown now, assuming "Country" is highlighted; the subtile difference is that we do not have the weird home menu structure and have the same items in all categories, but only differently ordered/filtered). 2. If you select a country you should see the sets of that country with a list of countries as categories at the right side (just as is now) 3. I like the way the sets are presented as thumbnails, divided over pages 4. I like the "You are at : Home › Toys and Dolls › Games and Puzzles › Chess Sets " line where you can ge back in the menu (each is a link back) 5. I like the presentation of a single item with options to go up in the menu or to see previous/next items 6. Also the keywords list shown at a single item is very pleasant, but maybe the usage could be a bit different (now you get a list of links, but in our case it could be an overview of chess sets (thumbnail presentation) having that keyword)

[dermotr]

Hi All Im concious that we have not started the DB Project as we planned in Jan. - mainly because at my end I have become involved in a business project that is taking up most of my time -and it looks like my time pressure is going to last for about 6 months . I discussed this with Robert and as I will not be able to give as much time as might be needed to the Project, he has agreed to take on the role of Administrator ( with whatever assistance i can provide) - so we should be hearing from Robert shortly with information on the next steps. Regards Dermot

[r.van.der.veur]

Hi Dermot, Thank you for all your work so far! I will continue where we stoped before the holiday season. I will contact all project members this week for an update. Kind regards, Robert

[dancing_with_volves]

The database application has gone live and there is a special thread for it: The Chess Collector's Knowledge Base. This thread will be locked.