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Looking For Info On Civil War Period Style Sets

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Rikhardr

Thank you all for your help with my question regarding period 1960's chess sets.  I believe at this point that my basic question has been addressed so thanks again for all the wonderful information.

The_Ghostess_Lola

(kinghunter75) I am an a rabid historian of American culture

Then enlighten us....

GeorgeNC

Well, I guess the key question is really style and not manufacturer. What would a period piece look like whether made by Horn, Jaques or even Milton Bradley for the matter. Obviously Horn was using the Staunton style very early so Staunton would not be out of place and would fit the time period. I would think any Staunton set made of wood with simple carvings would suit your need.

But it was not at all unusual for sailors to have chess sets during the Civil War. Aside from the very excellent article by Batgirl on this site which dealt with Civil War chess in general, I found two articles that reference chess as one of the forms of entertainment for sailors during the time period: "Sailors would play cards, dominoes, chess, checkers or play on whatever musical instruments they had, like flutes or violins." The National Park Service website that refers to chess as one of the forms of entertainment used to relieve boredom.

Finally I ran across this quote from Robert Critchell, acting Master's Mate aboard the USS Silver Cloud: "The service commenced to grow monotonous and irksome to me, meeting the same men and seeing the same faces day after day, and, when off duty, playing the same games of checkers, chess and backgammon (cards were not allowed), It was therefore a great relief for us to land at a city and have a few hours 'shore leave.'"

The nice surprise was finding the below picture of a period chess set of Union General Abner Doubleday. Note the color of the dark pieces which, I believe, was common for the period. So perhaps a peg chess set with red and light colored pieces would fit your need better? It would also make sense for a sailor to have such a set since it would pack easier and the pieces would not move around when the ship rolled. Or did Confederate ironclads roll considering they were inland most of the time?

Another option would be a pocket chess board which "was perfect for the life of a solider because of its portability and inability to be disrupted by closing the game at any given moment.. . . During the Civil War, its invention was created for the entertainment of travelers, soldiers and sailors who were always on the go during the Civil War.. . . It wasn’t uncommon for a civil war soldier to have such an item." Below is a picture of the pocket chess board described.

I would think any of the above three options would be appropriate to use. Btw, thanks for the question! I learned alot Smile

Rikhardr

Thanks GeorgeNC for some outstanding information and no ironclads did not roll like a salt water vessel being inland and river craft, most with flat bottom hulls.  Great work Sir!

Rikhardr

The Chess-Player's Text Book

1849 London by H. Staunton

https://archive.org/details/chessplayerstext00stau_0

bigpoison
Rikhardr wrote:

They did have indian slaves in early colonial periods but changed to purchasing blacks as the then cost per black during that time period was cheaper then that of the price of an indian.  Again, my point that slavery was not a Southern invention regardless of what the current Orwellian school/college texts of U.S. history of that time period may claim!

  Slavery was a terrible activity practiced in both our colonial and northern pre-civil war periods by most sections of this country.

   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_among_Native_Americans_in_the_United_States

No.  Native Americans made poor slaves because they died off in droves due to European diseases.  Africans had long been exposed to the diseases of Europe as well as tropical diseases.

The_Ghostess_Lola

Also, I would think indian (men) were a threat to escape and do very well with their survivalist skills....I don't know....

baruchyadid

I have this set:

I realize it's not a CW era set but it's still a CW set :-\

Rikhardr
baruchyadid wrote:

I have this set:

 

I realize it's not a CW era set but it's still a CW set :-\

Nice looking set & thanks for sharing!