Yes, magictwanger, you are right! The same goes for grand pianos - the ones dating back to about one century ago have a wonderful "singing" tone (as can be heard, for example, in old recordings by the Italian master pianist Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli) that nowadays simply does not exist anymore.
Another aspect that initially caused some irritation is the degree to which there is deviation in the same pieces from one original set. See, for example, the difference in shape of the two kings in the "Pre-Hartston" tournament size set below which I bought from Tim Millard last summer:
At first I thought that there was a replacement piece in this set, but meanwhile I have learned that differences in the same chessmen such as these are well within the norm - most strikingly there are considerable differences in very early knights (see Sir Alan Fersht´s guide for reference!).
Quite frequently, the middle stems of the ebony kings and queens are longer than the ones on the boxwood side - as Frank Camaratta explained to me, this is due to the fact that the turning profiles became dull more quickly in the process of turning the ebony pieces than in the turning of the boxwood pieces (see the kings and queens in one of my early "Anderssen" club size sets below):
A particularly aesthetic early Jaques type I consider the "Paulsen" one (with its beautifully shaped, distinctive knights) - as is my observation (and as much as I regret it!), they crop up only very rarely for sale (as basically all pre-"Anderssen" sets do). The two sets shown below were sold by Tim Millard (a considerable time ago) and by Frank Camaratta last year...
Jaques "Paulsen" Club size, 1853
Jaques "Paulsen" tournament size, unweighted, ca. 1853
Superb....Thanks for posting.
Very nice , You know after looking at soviet chess sets for sometime or at least photos of them , Jaques really standout as a class of there own , even when in need of repair for 100 + year old set's . Did you change your name ?
I absolutely agree - the Jaques sets set the golden standard, and you never become tired of their classical beauty. The fact that they still are the point of orientation for tournament play today says it all, I think. Yes, I have changed my name - after having found out that a number of my students kept following every step I took here...
Who's going to argue with a 1600 rated guy?
Oh, magictwanger, there must be an error in the computer rating - my rapid rating is just 1246! 
Ha! You're still an impressive player.
Just being a supportive forum brother.A pleasure to hear from folks like you.Btw,you are a pretty good player and I'm sure a fine collector of sets as well.
What a lovely surprise, Castletohorsey!! I somehow suspect who I owe this fact to...
Here are some photos of my latest acquisition - a Jaques "Anderssen" Club size set (ca. 1862-1865). I hasten to add that the chessmen are still on their way to me...
Thank you, Castletohorsey! And an extra thanks for your priceless assistance in the purchase of this set!
That's a very good point you make.One reason why old/classic acoustic guitars are so desirable,compared to the better mass market models.
Of course they sound better due to the aging of the wood,but they were completely hand made and people like that.