Nathaniel 1849 by Staunton Castle

I recently purchased the boxwood and ebony set with the 3.75" King.  My initial observations during the unpacking:

• The pieces are very heavily weighted, more so than I expected.
• The rooks are THICK, reminding me of NOJ Minceta rooks.
• The cut on the bishops' mitres are w-i-d-e!

I bought this set because of another post on this site, inquiring for the reason of king side stamping.  I'd known about king side stamping for quite some time, but never owned a set with it.  However, I own quite a few older games collection books using descriptive notation, and suddenly wondered why I have been punishing myself for years, playing out these games without a proper set with the stamping.  The first thing I did was pick a book off the shelf, flip to a random game of reasonable length and play it out.  Sure enough, the issue of which rook is the king's rook came up, and with this set, it was no problem at all.

I wanted a set that was close to the original Staunton design, as it feels appropriate to replay games from the late 1800's to early 1900's with a set that may have been popular at that time.  I also had a price range in mind, and that is how I happened upon this set.  This is the first time I have dealt with Staunton Castle.  I ordered from their Ebay store, and the package arrived within the original estimated delivery period.  Based on this, I wouldn't hesitate dealing with Staunton Castle again.

This is the first ebony set I have owned, and time will tell how it stands up.  I live in a dry area, particularly in winter, so I purchased Boveda humidity control packs to store with the set.  Unfortunately, I have noticed a hairline crack on the base of one rook.

Below are some pics of the set.  My apologies for the quality of the photography.

nice!

really beautiful!!

The bishops remind me of hungry birds wanting food.

oh haha

Beautiful set and one I have admired. The knights are quite elegant. Is the board from SC?

Thanks. The board is a Rechapados Ferrer in Macassar Ebony & Maple that I purchased from House of Staunton last year.  I'm sorry to read of your problem with Staunton Castle - hopefully you get that resolved to your satisfaction.

Thank you for the review. Very nice set indeed.  I've been thinking about aquiring an 1849 Nathaniel in 3.75" or a the 1849 Cooke in 3.5" . I think this kind of leans me towards the  Nathaniel.  

If you get a chance, would you mind posting a photo of the knight’s full profile (90 degree angle)? I have been considering this set -  I really like it - but I do not want a knight with a short jawline. I see that you have one posted but because it is off to the side, it is difficult to determine the jawline in proportion to the rest of the knight. Thank you. 

• thanks so much for posting this. I think I like the jaw of the OS knight better. You referred to the “SC Morphy.” Is that the design of the Nathaniel set?

@MCH818 I am now looking at the SC Jaques 1850-55 and Anderson sets. I lean toward the former because of the workmanship on the Knight's jaw. I just wish the nose was slightly sloped downward. 

@MCH818 Hah! That is exactly my analysis of the pros and cons of the two sets. Actually, the proportions and slope of the knight's nose bone on this set make it a contender for first choice: TCE Collector II Series (click to enlarge). What do you think?

@MCH818 Okay. You have sealed the deal - for TCE. Your comments, the fact that we both focus on the same factors and the photo of the 4" knight have brought that set to the top of my list. Thank you for your insights and photos.

The towels remind me of a corner in a boxing match. Do you work up a sweat for each round (opening, middle, end)?

This is interesting.  I agree about the pawns looking too big for that square size,  In my opinion the King and Rook size look a bit too big as well.  The Queen, Bishop and Knight look kind of just right on that board.

Update to my original post:

March 11 - I messaged Staunton Castle about the cracked ebony rook via EBay (which is how I purchased, and where I had been in contact with Mandeep regarding shipping details) - No reply.

March 21 - I emailed Staunton Castle again, using the email account listed on their website - No reply.

March 28 - I used Staunton Castle's website chat feature.  Mandeep responded immediately, and said he had received my emails and that he would confirm the following day that my replacement rook had been produced and shipped.  Over seven weeks have passed since this exchange, and I have heard nothing and received nothing.

Staunton Castle may well make quality chess pieces, but the after sales service is terrible.  I doubt I will ever see a replacement piece.  Personally, I have no interest in dealing with them again.

Damn. You had 30 days to use eBay's Money Back Guarantee. And eBay ALWAYS sides with the buyer. Now you are at Staunton Castle's mercy.

If you have the patience, publicly rip them a new one on the forum once a week, every week until you get your replacement piece. Waiting two months is plenty. The vendor is hoping you go away quietly. 

I received the set in late January, but didn't notice the crack until early March, so the clock had already run out on eBay's 30 day deadline.

@Northof50 - At about the time period you are mentioning, there was another thread about SC that I brought to Mandeep’s attention. Those problems were resolved. However, Mandeep kept writing to me, asking me to help him find out about someone who needed his rook replaced. I thought he was referring to that thread and sent a message to someone in the thread, who did not respond. I never did figure out what complaint about a rook Mandeep was referring to. Now I wonder if he conflated a complaint in that thread with your separate complaint. Based on that, I just sent him an email about your post here. Before taking any further action, I would suggest you wait a little longer and see if he responds. What I don’t know is how Covid has affected Mandeep or his operation.