Very Nice chess set Ciaran , Rich with History , Wow a set used by François-André Danican Philidor , That a very special gem .
Antique Chess Set with Philidor connection
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May 10, 2023
0
#3
Thanks yes, nice to have a bit of the background - most of the time there is nothing when you buy an antique set, hopefully if I play with the set some of Philidor's skills will be transferable by osmosis!
Regards, Ciaran
Very nice. Clearly, they didn't play rapid chess in those days. 
May 11, 2023
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#6
Wonderful. These old sets have style. I understand that they may not be functional for fast play - and at times a little confusing on the eye but I think they hark back to a slower time and I think the pieces are beautiful.
Hi Ciaran, extremely wonderful set, congratulations! And congrats also for the other things you and your father acquired. I particularly like the board - what a beauty!!!
Thank you for pointing out the article your father wrote. An interesting topic. I have a few thoughts about this myself, as I am convinced that the descending order by height is a rather moden concept that was only developed in the 19th century. The problem is that we are so used to it that we tend to apply it to any and all sets in which we cannot readily identify all pieces. The image from Gareth Williams' "Master Pieces" is an excellent example. I am convinced that the order is wrong and that Knight and Bishop were mixed up. The same picture that is included in the book was used for the below stamp.
Btw, the set is now part of my collection. And this is how the setup should look like in my opinion.
This would probably be an interesting topic for an article in The Chess Collector magazine. Wouldn't your father perhaps be interested in publishing it there? I could probably contribute some thoughts, if you father is interested in having a co-author. (1) There are a lot of examples from other sets showing that in the 18th and early 19th century sets were not made in descending order of height, but that knights were frequently larger than bishops and (2) there are other clues that the smaller piece in the so called "Directoire" sets is the bishop.
May 11, 2023
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#8
I wasn't even aware of a magazine called The Chess Collector. Quite intriguing.
magictwanger wrote:
I wasn't even aware of a magazine called The Chess Collector. Quite intriguing.
It is a magazine published by Chess Collectors International for its members along with the CCI USA Newsletter. If anybody is interested in joining, please get in touch with me.
May 12, 2023
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#10
EfimLG47 wrote:
Hi Ciaran, extremely wonderful set, congratulations! And congrats also for the other things you and your father acquired. I particularly like the board - what a beauty!!!
Thank you for pointing out the article your father wrote. An interesting topic. I have a few thoughts about this myself, as I am convinced that the descending order by height is a rather moden concept that was only developed in the 19th century. The problem is that we are so used to it that we tend to apply it to any and all sets in which we cannot readily identify all pieces. The image from Gareth Williams' "Master Pieces" is an excellent example. I am convinced that the order is wrong and that Knight and Bishop were mixed up. The same picture that is included in the book was used for the below stamp.
Btw, the set is now part of my collection. And this is how the setup should look like in my opinion.
This would probably be an interesting topic for an article in The Chess Collector magazine. Wouldn't your father perhaps be interested in publishing it there? I could probably contribute some thoughts, if you father is interested in having a co-author. (1) There are a lot of examples from other sets showing that in the 18th and early 19th century sets were not made in descending order of height, but that knights were frequently larger than bishops and (2) there are other clues that the smaller piece in the so called "Directoire" sets is the bishop.
Hi Holger, Thanks for your detailed insightful comments. That sounds interesting, I will pass on your idea to my father and discuss it with him. He is actually completing a related article for CCI currently, I am sure he would like to send you a draft and get your feedback in the next few weeks. Thanks Ciaran www.chessantiquesonline.com
May 12, 2023
0
#11
PrimeMinus wrote:
EfimLG47 wrote:
Hi Ciaran, extremely wonderful set, congratulations! And congrats also for the other things you and your father acquired. I particularly like the board - what a beauty!!!
Thank you for pointing out the article your father wrote. An interesting topic. I have a few thoughts about this myself, as I am convinced that the descending order by height is a rather moden concept that was only developed in the 19th century. The problem is that we are so used to it that we tend to apply it to any and all sets in which we cannot readily identify all pieces. The image from Gareth Williams' "Master Pieces" is an excellent example. I am convinced that the order is wrong and that Knight and Bishop were mixed up. The same picture that is included in the book was used for the below stamp.
Btw, the set is now part of my collection. And this is how the setup should look like in my opinion.
This would probably be an interesting topic for an article in The Chess Collector magazine. Wouldn't your father perhaps be interested in publishing it there? I could probably contribute some thoughts, if you father is interested in having a co-author. (1) There are a lot of examples from other sets showing that in the 18th and early 19th century sets were not made in descending order of height, but that knights were frequently larger than bishops and (2) there are other clues that the smaller piece in the so called "Directoire" sets is the bishop.
Hi Holger, Thanks for your detailed insightful comments. That sounds interesting, I will pass on your idea to my father and discuss it with him. He is actually completing a related article for CCI currently, I am sure he would like to send you a draft and get your feedback in the next few weeks. Thanks Ciaran www.chessantiquesonline.com
May 12, 2023
0
#12
Only issue with subscribing to a magazine like that is,knowing me,it will definitely not be kind to my pocketbook.
May 12, 2023
0
#13
magictwanger wrote:
Only issue with subscribing to a magazine like that is,knowing me,it will definitely not be kind to my pocketbook.
Yes definitely understand that sentiment. It is a very slippery well oiled slope! For us goes like this, have set A but now see set A+, a slight variant of set A, - that interesting - should try and acquire that, then see a set that is a variant of A+ .... !
Jan 4, 2024
0
#14
Hi all,
Just thought folks might like to see this other early french set.
If interested there are more complete photos here : https://www.chessantiquesonline.com/rochford_collection/WhatsNew.html
Again probably not ideal for a blitz game! Take care Ciaran
Hi all,
My father and I collect chess sets, we recently acquired this French 18th century playing set, photos attached.
The most interesting part is the pieces are dated and inside the box lid there is a series of 19th century notes explaining some of the history of the set and its use by Philidor in Oct 1765.
Thought it might interest folks here because of the Philidor link.
You can see more images of the chess set on our site and an article my father is working on in relation to French chess set design here : Rochford Collection Whats New
If anyone can add any more info that would be great.
Regards, Ciaran Rochford