Identify the chessmen: Horn McCrillis?

Hello everybody,

Recently I bought these beautiful wooden chessmen: they are very old according to the previous owner.

They also look old. They are not felted, not weighed.

The king is 95 mm / 3.74 inch.

To me it looks like a Horn McCrillis. There is no text or logo on the box.

Does anyone know if these are Horn McCrillis chessmen? and if so, which year or which model?

Kind regards,

Philippe (from The Netherlands

No I did not used google translate. I like chessmen more than chesspieces

I think Drueke sold sets like this in the 1920s. Doesn’t mean it wasn’t made by Sterling or Horn though, I can’t remember. Is the queen shorter than the bishops? Nice chessmen!

It looks like a Horn set to me but Robert (@madmacsback) is one of our most-knowledgeable members and will know for sure. Hopefully he'll be along shortly. Nice set!

I vaguely remember reading somewhere that this is indeed a Drueke set but which was sold through resellers at that time (1920s). However, I can't remember the source so I can't really verify if my memory still serves me well 😱

Either is acceptable in English. "Chessmen" is perhaps slightly more old-fashioned but still valid.

Aha, here it is if you are in that group: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CU4PJjR2d/

(Post by mr Grau, believed to be manufactured by Drueke and marketed by Horn in the 1920s)

Ah, Thank you all very much!

This is indeed the set I have. The sticker is no longer on the box but it looks just like that!

I am very happy with it.

@BrownishGerbil pointed to the same resource I would have sent you towards. One caveat — the sets were most likely MADE by Horn and MARKETED by Drueke, not the other way around. Drueke likely sourced their early 20’s sets from both Sterling and Horn. Drueke’s main games business began with cribbage boards, and they outsourced much of the manufacturing for those at first as well. The first sets they definitely made themselves were the plastic “Modern” series, patented in 1941, followed by the Players Choice series in the very early 60’s.

Thank you for the correction @madmacsback!

One thing I’ve noticed after studying chess improvement is that many players work very hard but still improve slowly. The reason is usually not lack of effort — it’s studying the wrong things in the wrong order. Here are three common mistakes many players make: 1. Memorizing openings without understanding the ideas Many players spend hours learning opening lines, but without understanding the plans and typical structures, the knowledge quickly collapses once the game leaves theory. 2. Playing too much blitz Blitz is fun, but relying on it too heavily often prevents deeper thinking and long-term improvement. 3. Consuming too much random content Watching videos or reading tips can be helpful, but if the learning isn’t structured, it becomes scattered and inefficient. What helped me the most was focusing on a clear training structure, including: Tactical pattern recognition Understanding key positional ideas Reviewing games effectively Studying the right material at the right stage Once I started studying in a more structured way, improvement became much faster and more consistent. I recently put together a short guide called “How to Improve Faster at Chess – What to Study, in What Order & Why It Works.” If you're interested, you can check it out here: https I'm also curious: What do you think slows down chess improvement the most?

One thing I’ve noticed after studying chess improvement is that many players work very hard but still improve slowly. The reason is usually not lack of effort — it’s studying the wrong things in the wrong order. Here are three common mistakes many players make: 1. Memorizing openings without understanding the ideas Many players spend hours learning opening lines, but without understanding the plans and typical structures, the knowledge quickly collapses once the game leaves theory. 2. Playing too much blitz Blitz is fun, but relying on it too heavily often prevents deeper thinking and long-term improvement. 3. Consuming too much random content Watching videos or reading tips can be helpful, but if the learning isn’t structured, it becomes scattered and inefficient. What helped me the most was focusing on a clear training structure, including: Tactical pattern recognition Understanding key positional ideas Reviewing games effectively Studying the right material at the right stage Once I started studying in a more structured way, improvement became much faster and more consistent. I recently put together a short guide called “How to Improve Faster at Chess – What to Study, in What Order & Why It Works.” If you're interested, you can check it out here: selar dot com / improvefasteratchess I'm also curious: What do you think slows down chess improvement the most?

AI slop isn't needed here. Also reported for spamming.