Reproduction and Real Jaques of London Chess Set - II

I am starting this topic or thread to replace the original.  In this thread I am blocking the trolls from posting in it.  Therefore you will read no writings from Stauntonmaster or any other troll in this topic.

I recently bought a new tower board from Brad on Etsy.  I am going to use my HoS Fischer Spassky set on it.

AT this time I am busy in an office so I will post pictures later.

Hi Eyechess, in the old thread you said you knew some restorers in Europe, could you share the names here? thanks!

@UK: I saw that set on a Facebook thread somewhere. I think the pieces are a little bit too caramel coloured for me. I prefer the usual antiquing but perhaps with the added dirt lines. Then again I'm generally not a big fan of antiqued wood. On the one antiqued set from OS I have, I can blindly tell light pieces from dark ones based on feel alone. The antiqued ones feel slightly rougher to the touch. Also, I don't know what happens to that antiquing as it ages..

Oh, I was just giving the possibility that there might be some professional chess restorers in Europe and other lands just to disagree with that claim that there are dozens of professional restorers.

I only know of 2 and those are both in the United States.  I have a friend that has started buying antique chess sets and I kind of think that he mentioned a third, but I'm not sure of that.

For me, Alan Dewey is the main restorer that I would use.

I do know that there are some that use the guy in Florida, but I am not sure of his quality.  I am not saying he has poor quality just that I am not sure of it.

I just received my Official Statunton 1849 Antique Lacquered Limited Edition 4.4" set. So far I'm extremely happy with the set and customer service from Carl. I'll right a review up a bit later. Here are some pictures. The board is a HoS board, I'm awaiting an MTM Wood board. 

Here is the final position of the Aron Nimzowitsch Immortal on a Jaques Nimzowitsch set:

Gorgeous set board combo! @liml

@TheJackalC4: Wow! I'm truly impressed with the antiquing of the boxwood pieces of the 1849 set from OS. It is a very exquisite reproduction, Congratulations on your purchase. I have to wait another 5 months for mine to arrive with the matching OS Ochre board to give it that "museum quality" appearance. Do both kings have the OS stamping on their respective bases?This reproduction may fetch some serious $$$ in the years to come knowing that only 50 sets are to be produced, it's that good!

@QtoQlevel3 I'm very happy with this set which is easily my current favorite. The Official Statunton stamp is on both kings however the antiquing does make it harder to see on the light king.  

The set has what I call the WOW FACTOR.  You getting the Ochre board with it will take it to the next level. Congratulations, it will be well worth the wait. 

It really is a head Turner. I'm sure the ochre board will magnify the wow factor as well. I kind of regret not getting the board but for me storage space is at a premium. I live in NYC and have an MTM Board coming soon. Sets are not big space eaters but boards are.  However, I look forward to seeing @QtoQlevel3 post pictures of the set with  his board. QtoQlevel has so many amazing boards and also lives in NYC. So I'm going to assume that he lives in  brownstone and that he's super rich.

Not quite and thanks for the kind words JC4 & wiscmike.  I live a very modest life in a typical small NYC apartment in Ozone Park NY. Space is an important factor in my place for I only have 3 closets and a utility room that's it. How's this for size scale. My stove only measures 20" wide talk about needing space I'm there! I'm been retired from the workforce (a forced issue due to medical aspects) so I live solely on what Uncle Sam provides me. One thing my mother taught me when I was young and hoped she was still with me, was if you want something you desire put a little away each month until you can pay it full. That little priceless nugget of wisdom from her surely has "paid" itself off numerous times over. I'd wish someday I would be as lucky as that guy in N.J. Richard Wahl who hit the Mega Millions jackpot alone for $533 million. That would be some payday for certain. As joeukchess posted in post #3, I too just saw a new entry from Official Staunton today that has also peaked my interest. This set 1849 Cooke Morphy 4.4" King Edition Distressed Antique & Natural Ebony. This is another beautifully antiqued set that looks extremely authentic as if it came from that period of time with the distressed patina finish they've mastered. On my wish list for sure. Some photos of the set.

I too like that set and a picture of it now resides in my "possibles" folder.

I do have a question though, and whether it has been answered before somewhere in the hundreds of pages of posts in the original thread I will never know... the curse of unwieldy forum threads.  The question is "any guesses what these antiqued finishes will look like in 20-30-50 years when they get their own patina?"... I would love to own an original with a patina that began with my g-grandfather.  Any guesses what these might look like to my grandsons' children when they are passed along?  @maik1988 mentioned this further upstream and it's an excellent question.

A logical guess would be that they would darken a bit more but not to the extent of losing what the original wood grain is but a richer deeper hue of the patina currently shown, of course usage of the set in games would also accelerate the formation of more wear to pieces deepening the dirt and grim in the intricate features of the knight's face and mane, rook's turrets and all collars on all pieces.

Thanks

A bit of inaccuracy Morphy set I think, I thought the black king stamping was never introduced until 1885. Morphy set is circa 1850.

I've always loved the lines of c.a. 1850 sets. They are just too big for me though. I've expressed this elsewhere before, but I really wish OS would make a set with the pieces of 1850 style sets in 3,5 inch king or 3,75. It's more tournament standard, for those that care about these things, and easier to visualise the board for inexperienced players. I think I would buy a smaller version in a heartbeat.

I remember messaging Carl whether they would come out with a 3,5 inch king 1850 and he said maybe. But this is at least a year ago now, so I'm not keeping my hopes up.