Austrian Coffeehouse 3.5" - available anywhere?

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Avatar of harthacnut

I'm looking for a Vienna Coffeehouse set to add to my collection. Specifically, one with the "inverted T-shaped" hats rather than the ball-type hats: this type of design

rather than this one:

I've found what seem to be four different versions currently around, available from House of Staunton, Chess Empire, Royal Chess Mall, and The Chess Store (among others selling the same sets). But all of these are at minimum a 4" king, which is larger than I would ideally want in a set of this design. Especially if it's going to see use, something like a 3.5" or 3.75" set would work a lot better for me.

Does anyone know of anywhere selling a reproduction coffeehouse set within that range, or will I just have to keep an eye on the vintage market and hope one shows up?

Avatar of Call_me_Ishmael

These are great-looking. Do you, or does anyone else, have any background on this design? 

Avatar of harthacnut

I'm not an expert, but from what I understand they developed in the Habsburg Empire in the second half of the 19th century, and seem to be an evolution of the Biedermeier style but with influence from Staunton. I think that, like Stauntons, they were designed to be produced fairly easily and therefore sold relatively inexpensively. Their heyday was in the years leading up to WW1, but they remained in use during the 20s.

They're more robust than Biedermeier and, like Staunton sets, are more obviously one piece with the base, rather than having a connecting stem as is common on Biedermeier pieces, but the ancestry remains visible in the prominent rings on the king and queen. Usually the bishop and rook have these too, and the rooks often have lateral grooves around the body of the tower. Staunton influence is visible in the knights but they tend to remain more stylised. The most obviously distinctive feature at first glance is the prominently contrasting hat on the bishops.

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