Chavet N° 8

@Ziryab hey nice set. I would suspect this could be a Chavet, the fat-necked bishops, along with the knight head and low knight pedestal, and the king's cross in particular does not look Lardy-esque to me. I have a few similar sets that I suspect the same. It is so hard to make sense of many French Jura sets, especially the 1960s and earlier, so my own confidence is low. But I suspect that many French sets people simply label "Lardy" are actually not.

I don't like to write this but in this photo I don't see anything that I know of Lardy or Chavet...if not the knight who has a family likeness.

I also have a few photos from the 50s of the Lardy workshop that I can post at the moment, but then again, it's not that style of set at all.
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Lardy 1977

Here is a new discovery that will appeal to those who appreciate green and Chavets size 3.

Then this Regency set. The profile of the knights, I would see it being used as a logo on a box…

The Chavet family is growing.
In the back left, a large box containing a size 1 set with its foldable chessboard (next to a box n°6)
Then another knight who must be compared with all his cousins.

4------------6-6-5-4-3

Or maybe we've been seeing it all wrong and this style of knight was actually invented by Chavet! @Walterbiensur is this the style of knight that Lardy copied in the 70s?

Beautiful set & patina. Here are two similar ones. Each with subtle differences. One came in an orange box and one in the typical red box that was used in the 20s/30s/40s. Do you know if Chavet also used these boxes? Or was it typical of Lardy?

I think there are two things to know:
- Lardy copied one of the knights of Chavet, before 1980. I think that's the one.
- Chavet bought Lardy's machines after 1990, so that they wouldn't end up in the hands of a new competitor. I don't know if he used them to sell "Lardy de Chavet".

On the basis of a 1932 catalog, Chavet offered "mahogany" style boxes. For me, the mahogany "style" had to be red...

Regence Chavet 1932 :

Staunton style 1932

This telephone numbering corresponds to the period between 1912 and 1928 ;-)… and Chavet was founded in 1912.

and that Mr. Rollin took over the store (Pussey) at this address around 1923.

That's a great insight. So the red mahogany boxes were already used in the 1920s.

I wonder if the kings crowns in your ad are unique for Chavet. They are different from many of the regence kings i've seen. The king in the second ad you posted looks like the king in your set.

That's great research. So you narrowed it down to 1923-1928.

I seriously want to put all of this knowledge in a database some day..

@MCH818

A little more than two years ago, I didn't even know that the set I had owned since the end of the 70s was from Chavet... and I think that knowledge is shared.

@broomstuck

For the store, it seems to be closed, but it's straight down the road on the right side ;-)

You're a legend.

Super cool sets! It's really amazing how you guys come up with these.

Personally I'm a little addicted to these Regence sets with elaborate knights. There's something magical about them - the beautiful wood and perfect French polish that was applied + the huge oversized knights. And I learned the game with the most basic of Regence type pieces when I was 10 or so. Unfortunately that OG set has been degraded by my sisters enthusiastic puppy's..

These elaborate sets hardly ever pop up locally here in the Netherlands. They can still be found for less than what you would pay for a reproduction though. I suspect that Walter has a few good local connections 

I have no proof that my pieces are 1932 Regence Chavet but I like convince myself that they may well be! 😉😊Regardless, their quirky design and interesting wood make them a wonderful set - I am glad they are in my collection.

It's a really beautiful and unique looking set Mark....I love that you have a nice wide variety of styles in your collection.