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Hi! Wondering about this set.

Hello! 

 

I'm new to this community, to ebay and to the world of chess set collection - having loved chess when I was a kid and taught by my father; and now teaching my own 5 and 2 year olds.  So I started down this path, my passion ignited....all the more after reading the articles and videos by Alan of Chessspy that gave a witty advise on collecting sets - "Don't do it!" - well I did it and now I'm checking out antique shops, ebay stores and all the links I can find and reading Alan Fersht guide, chess museum site, etc.

 

Such wealth of information out there!

 

Well, using the web, and curious with a set I have, I tried to find out on my own, but I am stumped.  I took pictures of it and posted it at photobucket, link below; and would like a kind advise or two from the community about this set.  It has very nice patina and old feel to it. Is it from early 20th and from which possible maker could it be...?

 

http://s1375.photobucket.com/user/ptr16jp/library/Staunton%20Chess?sort=3&page=1

 

The king is about 8.5 cm in height, has a crown instead of cross.

Queen's coronet is quite smooth, doesn't seem to have a ball.

Rook has 8 crenellations, Knight is a bit thin, very flat at the top head, distinctive triangle at the chest,  and the base is quite slender and tall.  No box, nothing to indicate any maker. 

I'm not sure if it's weighted or not - it got small hole at the base except the 2 kings, which reach a bit of a 1-2 centimeters deep.

 

Oh well, this may be just one of unknown later sets but I do love the warm color and the old feel the set has; and while playing different sets with my daughter she taken an interest about where they are from, why they look different, so it would be nice if we can know a bit more about this one.

 

Thanks in advance and warmest regards!

 

-pete

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Message 1 of 14
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13 REPLIES 13

Hi! Wondering about this set.

Pete,

Sounds as if you are heading in the right direction if you are going to delve into collecting more seriously. I personally would recommend many of the books that are available on the multitude of different sets (about 5 feet worth) as a good place to continue in the beginning. You may find that you want to "specialize" in one style or another or one material, et cetera.

 

The advice that I was given long ago is to collect what you like. The sets that I have collected are very eclectic, this and that, although I also personally lean toward more modern just by coincidence because I never focused in on one specific style or material. I find the variation to be more interesting than any one in particular.

 

You have also guessed closer than you might think about the set in question. Almost definitely European, probably and IMO you are also correct that you will never learn exactly who made it, when and possibly where. There appear to be different elements in design that I would normally attribute to one area or another but in combination it is a little harder. My guess would be more northern European but that would be far from conclusive. IMO what you have is an extremely nice little set. The holes appear to be irregular and are too small for any kind of weighting to have been used. My best guess is that they are from previous repairs (using dowels) at some time in the past.

 

If you have additional questions you may contact me directly at:  noybear@hotmail.com

 

Good Luck !

Clay Neubert  (co-leader)

Message 2 of 14
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Hi! Wondering about this set.

Hi Clay,

 

Thanks for the reply and great advice; and the kind offer to contact you.  It does get overwhelming at the start, wondering which set to go after, so I'll surely take your advice to specialize. (Besides almost all the sets I've been eyeing here at ebay are quite expensive!)

 

About my set, thanks for sharing.   Not knowing exactly is part of what fascinating about this also!  😃

 

-pete

Message 3 of 14
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Hi! Wondering about this set.

Pete,

Possibly more than specializing in one style or material is knowing what appeals to you. In almost every material there are almost every style, figures, abstract, Staunton, et cetera. One of my problems is also cost so do not feel alone or let this keep you from looking further. I think that most group members have missed out sonner or later on one or more sets that were going in a higher direction and ended less than one might predict and too often a bid ends up midstream in bidding. On the other hand, bargains do appear from time to time.

 

An example might be a Tarascan style Mexican set I just got that arrived with a knight and pawn damaged. The knight is an easy repair because it broke right at the joint of the bone horse head and the body. The pawn is a different story because it is hard to repair such breaks but I do have extra partial sets that I can replace that bone piece with. In this case I got it inexpensively and such sets have typically sold for several times this. Also, in this case the repairs required are easy enough and no one will ever know that they had been made.

 

Patience for what you are looking for is key. As they say, "sooner or later, everything ends up on eBay" and this is also true that duplicates will reappear sooner or later as well. Beware this "one of a kind" or "handmade" overworked phraseology. There was 1 set that appeared this past year that I had never seen before or since and that appealed to me but that does not mean that it was the only one ever made. Some day another will appear and maybe it will be offered for more or maybe for less.

 

Unfortunately this group used to be much more active but since eBay revised its format last it has become more difficult to get to the group and it is the biggest reason so many members have dropped from sight IMO.

 

If you can locate a mentor you can avoid many mistakes but even so, accept that hindsight is flawless and that a mistake or two will be inevitable. Previous postings have a wealth of information but almost need to be printed out in book form to achieve max benefit. 

 

Good luck !

Clay Neubert

 

 

Message 4 of 14
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Hi! Wondering about this set.

Good Evening Clay! 

 

(Evening my side of globe since I'm in Japan, and I think you're in US).  Thanks  for the insightful sharings and advice. It's very helpful!

 

Right now I am going after particular styles and sets that somehow I can share to my kids with a story  - thus I'm particularly interested in antique wooden sets such as St. George's, Regence, or Staunton, as starters, going to possible future heirlooms (maybe get a Jaques?! I hope!) in the future that they can then pass them down and tell the stories about it.  Being in Japan, the exposure is different, and kids here are all into DS, playstations, robot toys, etc.   While they are helping me clean some old sets, or when we play a bit, I get them hooked with stories about it, spiced it up a bit...hehe. 🙂    So whenever I see a nice set, I'll also do research about it and now I'm keeping an eye out for old boards too, especially the old book board type.

 

That's a good advise and example there on the Mexican set.  I'll keep that in mind. 

 

"Hindsight is flawless and that a mistake or two will be inevitable." - quite true in all our experiences in life!   And yes I also dug up some of the old discussions here and its great to have access to shared knowledge; as well as the links that pointed me to chess museum, Guy Lyons gallery, etc. such wealth of information...I guess the web now is my mentor!  🙂     Thanks again for the replies.

 

Message 5 of 14
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Hi! Wondering about this set.

I have two sets that I suspect are by the same maker - see the sequence beginning here

 

https://picasaweb.google.com/102034963874507604520/OtherStaunton#5473417316460345154

 

I have also seen others in this vein - they are ALL different, but bear certain similar characteristics. As you will see from the end of the sequence, there is good reason to believe that these sets may well be quite a bit earlier than you (or I previously) thought.

Message 6 of 14
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Hi! Wondering about this set.

Thanks for this!  Indeed they do look quite similar!  

 

Finally! I have been searching the web for a similar looking set.    Thank you!

 

And going over your pictures also solved another mystery for me - the Jaques Cheap series.  I've been wondering about the chess set I got with that label.  It  was quite small (King at 62 mm),  weighted, but quite detailed.  The knight is similar to the label but not as finely carved. 

 

Thank you again and  I book marked your picasa album site for future reference!

Message 7 of 14
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Hi! Wondering about this set.

You're welcome! I'm pretty much convinced that these sets - and the others I've seen, despite the differences - are by the same maker.

 

All the Picasa sites have something to offer - work your way through the links on each.

 

Could you post a photo of your Jaques cheap series and the box/label, please?

Message 8 of 14
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Hi! Wondering about this set.

Hi!  I posted the pictures here: (same album as in previous posts)

 

http://s1375.photobucket.com/user/ptr16jp/media/Staunton%20Chess/IMG_2955_zpsebeb9353.jpg.html

 

It's quite stained with grease-like thing or something.  I tried cleaning it, so as you can see in the close up pictures, the White King, Queen, Bishop colours are a bit darker since I used  lemon oil to try to clean it.  

 

The felts at the bottom in the succeeding pictures show tear and mostly were just hanging on in bits and pieces.

Message 9 of 14
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Hi! Wondering about this set.

Hi! Wondering about this set.

The links seem to relate to the 'unknown' set only - did you post images of the Jaques Cheap series please?

Message 11 of 14
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Hi! Wondering about this set.

Hi! Wondering about this set.

Thanks. I was hoping you might have been talking about the early 'cheap series' from the 1850's.

Message 13 of 14
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Hi! Wondering about this set.

Oh..sorry to disappoint.  Wish I have that!  Don't have such sets yet as I'm just starting.  (I referred to the CH333 in your album.)

 

https://picasaweb.google.com/102034963874507604520/Jaques#5656390335103846690

Message 14 of 14
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