Harking back to days of yore…

Two stunning sets that have always been on my radar.Sir Digit shows great taste,as usual.

They look so pretty on either board, imo! 

Some exquisite sets done in marble or stone, but for me, wood sets have that craftsmanship combined with warmth that make losing a zillion games still worth it. 

In acquiring these chess pieces, I wanted to increase the historical ‘flavour’ of my collection. Of course, I understand that these pieces are reproductions - “inspired by” rather than exact replications. As such, they are of no historical value other than keeping these older designs circulating and in view. 

It was important (to me) that the sets that are playable rather than purely display. For example, I think my reproduction French Regency period is more a display set than playable. 

Further, I at least one of these sets to have quite a small footprint to fit some of my older boards. 

I landed on the Vienna Coffee House from chess Bazaar and the Reproduced English Playing 3.5" Vintage Chessmen from Staunton Castle.

Both these sets were purchased after deep discounts available during Black Friday and pre-xmas specials. I have ordered numerous sets from Chess Bazaar in the past. This was my first order from Staunton Castle.

Both the sets are marketed as boxwood with an antique finish and ebonised for dar side. I didn’t really intend to purchase two sets but I thought that comparing the antique finishes would be interesting.

to that end, the Chess Bazaar coffee house pieces have a distinctive apricot/honey colour and the grain of the wood can be seen through the stain. I like it, a lot. Yet, I don’t think it reflects the colour of the antique Lardy and Dog Face sets that I I have. It’s closest to the Lardy. Regardless - I am not fussed, I think it is a beautiful and different colour; it adds a new colour to my collection.

Staunton Castle has a far more consistent application - perhaps machine it’s applied - I have no idea but it is super consistent; almost clinical. I think the colour is closer to what antique pieces look like but the application is so consistent it almost betrays the antique look - if that makes any sense - it’s so smooth it that it’s clearly not antique.

I have provide a couple of photos of the queens from these sets and my Lardy and Dog Face sets for comparison.

Aside from the finish, both sets have interesting attributes.

I like that the knight in the SC set is one piece and sits upon a stand. I find the carving of the king to be different and distinctive - as too is the bishop. It is a balanced and playable set and all pieces are easily recognisable. I think it reflects an amalgam of Old English sets from the late 1880’s. It doesn’t have the finesse of the wonderful Hallet pieces - but nor is at the same price point. 

Regarding the Coffee House set - again, for my taste - beautiful, balanced, different, distinctive and wonderfully playable. The king is truly majestic, the bishop stylish with its Biedermeier cap and the knight powerful and a strong rook too. This set has quite a presence on the board - the pieces are weighted but not too heavy. Very cool. 

Both sets are excellent. The service from the suppliers was prompt with hassle-free recognition of flaws in a few pieces and with an immediate agreement to replace them from both organisations. Yep, it’s a bummer that the quality control process didn’t pick this up prior to dispatch but not a dealbreaker, given the after-sales recognition and service. I am satisfied and I would order from either supplier again. Indeed, I was impressed with the chat function within Mandeep Saggu’s, Staunton Castle website - it was through this function that I was able to get confirmation of replacement pieces - rather than waiting for an email response. From CB’s perspective Vik and Vishal have been responsive as usual, in my experience.
Overall, I’m a delighted that these sets add diversity to my collection and continue to be impressed with the ability to acquire so many different designs from across the globe.

It’s a good point…. playing or studying with pieces - which I do - will dull the gloss; it’s an unfair comparison - straight out of the box … I’ll try and circle back in a few years. 😊 It makes me think how clever people are when they make direct replica’s - for example, people pay a lot of money for a guitar made to exactly replicate the one of Eric Clapton’s old fenders … even replicating scratches and dings, etc…
… these relatively inexpensive reproductions are not that but I like ‘em nonetheless!

woah

i like this post

The Vienna pieces are brilliant - they have leapt into my top two or three sets. That said, these Old English pieces are a joy too. They are great to play with - and that’s what I wanted …, something that was inspired from a few hundred years back, different but still easy to play with - and these are that; well balanced and each piece distinctive on the board. The highlight remains the King and the Bishop and while I like the one piece knight - there is sort of too much going on the with jawline … the poor knight looks a tad underfed and gaunt. An excellent set though and one that has already created much chat with friends and family.

MC, I think there are numerous variants from the time but the best (from reference pictures in Holger’s book and online) have a simplicity and subtlety about them - with some beautiful manes and narrow faces. I think the Hallet pieces, also by Staunton Castle are better. That whole set is more elegant and refined. This is a good set and I am impressed but it doesn’t have the same level of refinement  that I can see in photos of the Hallet set.

Mainly cost - the Hallet is at a different price point - well over double the price. The craftsmanship is probably worth it but if I had chosen that I would have missed the Vienna - and to my surprise, that set is a highlight that I’m glad I found. The two sets listed here in this thread were under the cost of one Hallet. Of course, I could purchase less (and less often) and get a better version of the Vienna and the Hallet … but… in this phase of my collecting - I am trying to get a sense of different sets. I may trade up to a Hallet in future - for example, after buying the Biro Romanian, I traded out the CB version that I had previously purchased. That said, I truly like this set and will probably stay with it - I don’t hate the knight - it could just be better.

Don't get me started with the Hallett set from S.C.......I keep going back to the site daily,to make sure the sale is still on,but after just dropping a nice amount of money on the S.C. Ceska set and JLP board the guilt factor is too much......I need to hit Lotto.

P.S.

Powder,you are smart to develop an assortment of different sets at this point.You've put together an enviable/varied collection no matter what the costs......Good job!

A quick update to say that I have now received the replacement pieces from both suppliers - hassle free and I’m appreciative that they noted and accepted my concerns. Today I received the replacement queen from CB. 👍

Interesting… I am taking a break from work and to give my mind a rest over lunch, I was looking at these two knights.  Basic. Lovely.

And yet, I noticed they are slightly different - the knight on the right has a slightly pointier mane at the base and also - see first photo - tool marks under the chin of the knight on the right. 

For my taste and expectations - this adds to the piece - it’s not an ugly scratch nor scar - it’s recognition that it’s a hand made piece and such perfect imperfections are part of the character. 

Don’t get me wrong - if I felt this was something that was a scar, blemish or mistake that related to poor workmanship or a critical flaw in the piece - like there was a scratch on the queen that they acknowledged and replaced - I would have complained but these are different, I think. This shows they are hand-made with ever so slightly different carving outcomes. Others may have different thoughts but I like ‘em. 😊

 

I see what you're talkng about,but you are correct the there are subtle hand carving differences....Minute!...No biggie.

Nice Knights by any standard.

It is nice to be able to revisit old threads with an update. I really like the Chess Bazaar repro noted above and for fun, here’s one of its inspirations - an Austrian coffee house set from around 120 years earlier than the repro. 😉

Glad that your search was rewarded @Powderdigit. Very interesting photo of the new and old "meeting" one another. The vintage (antique?) Knight intrigues me... its looks make me think of either a wolf-like figure from old, illustrated fairytales or maybe even a focused hound of some kind. Very cool find!

You might have to rent some extra space soon, to display all of your wonderful sets--do I hear musings of your very own museum taking shape??!

Curious, what do you think of felting the old chessmen? (If you do, maybe it's time to try on black shoes.) Appreciate you sharing the fruits of your searching.

It’s an interesting question @Pwalker1 regarding re-felting.
On some vintage sets I have re-felted with lovely English baize.
However, on very old sets - such as a Regence set that I have and I think this set is very old too… I am less inclined - but I may.
I’ll take a photo later but the existing felts are very thin and worn … and some have holes in the in the centre of the felt punctured into what I think are the small lathe holes when originally made.
However, the pieces are stable and the thin felt is part of the charm… part of the essence of what I think is its 100+ year history… so I am inclined to leave it be, in this instance.
Thanks as usual for your supportive feedback, I am glad you enjoy the various posts.

Here’s a photo of the felts - thin and old. New baize would be beautiful but perhaps it would take away from the overall feeling of age with these pieces.