Post your library size set

I'm a sucker for dogface knights so I got myself another one, a smaller one. 7.5cm king on 42mm board.

Just realized something, set all together (pieces, board and clock) are approximately 110 years old. Talking about old school  

Where did you purchase your dogface Knight set from?

local craiglist, this set is run off the mill pieces you find here.

Hahaha, your set looks much like mine!  Do any of the pieces have a slight lean that makes it easier to play uphill?

Of course! It had to be the king too

This is the set I use for analysis and reading. I'll probably get a non-coordinate board at some point, but this is what was in stock when I needed 1.75" squares. And actually, for analysis and reading I kind of like the "games room" look of this board even if it would get on my nerves if I was playing on it.

The pieces are House Of Staunton Zagreb '59. I'm waiting for delivery on a World Chess Studio set which will be my second analysis set. And I've also got a HOS Circa 1925 set that would fit on the 1.75" squares, but I use that one on a 1.875" board to actually play games so I don't really think of it as a library/analysis set, even though it could be.

For casual playing I think library size sets are just fine. They're easy to grab and bring along too and don't taking too much spare to store, what's not to like?

Here's another library size set I put together from several places. And yes, I've got another 3.1"  dogface knight. Board is 30 years old, quite hefty for a small one. It's 40mm squares and came in thick layer of unevenly applied lacquer or something like that. So I sanded it down and put oil on it. To top it off, I found this half broken Mom chess clock for 7 bucks in a thrift store, in living room decoration section. I'm a happy camper

Nice job with the board - that looks great!

Certainly is, you got cute sets

Hi everyone, I re-up this topic because I was thinking that I don't have a library size set and it's a format that I really like. My principal question was: which square size can be defined as a library size board? 30, 35, 40mm? Because my board are all with 50mm squares and I know they are called tournament size. The pieces I think that I understood that, more or less, must be around 7 cm for the king height and a little less than 3 cm width. If I'm incorrect, please let me know, and thank you in advance for clarifying my doubts, in case of a response. 

Actually I don't think there is a written rule the size that defines a library set then the general consensus the king is 2.75" and smaller then tournament size set. So it can be anything in between 2.75" and 3.5" is my guess. The majority of my library size sets are around 3" and they fit perfectly on 1.75"(45mm) size squares for my taste. 

edit: if you decide to go for 1.75" board, go for thin boarder(or boarderless) otherwise it would defeat the purpose to have a smaller set then your full size set.

Here’s one of my library sets (I think) 2.5 inch king, good for travel and analysis:It’s wood and weighted, and I got it for pretty cheap, but it only shows in the slightly imperfect knights and the occasional loosely glued felt base. Otherwise, it’s a very nice set. I have this set in 3 inches as well, but I don’t have it with me right now.

A friend had what I called a half Staunton set,,,,, perhaps half the size of a three and a half inch Staunton king set.  The set was possibly from around 1900 , very beautiful and very playable. The sets origin was probably England. Library ??  Sometimes smaller English Staunton sets come in small folding boards that are disguised as library books. Handy for storage if someone doesn't like the set out on display. I think Jacques still sell a nice example

Thank you Michael, do you think that 40mm square size boards would be too small for pieces with a 2.75"-3" king?

Mister Fabreis, it depends on the base size of the pieces but French pieces should be fine. I have here 3.1" French set on 40mm board and it's bit tight but doable. 2.75"-3" should be fine.

Perfect! Thank you again mister

As we discussed, I have similar American Chess Company "Pony" knight variation sets that are dated to the 1920s.  Let me know should you wish to part with yours. 

Here is my preferred library set: 40mm squares board (bought used, glossy varnish removed, then beeswax polished) and CB's Collector Series 2.8" King. The chessmen perfectly fit the board size to my taste, the price is rather fair and the carving nice; and the Knight features a great care for many details one usually only finds with larger, more expensive pieces. The whole set is so cute!