Great set! Sound67 a few days posted pictures of the same set, bought from also Staunton Castle. It is on sale I believe and would go now for about $200, so a very good deal!
I have already a good 3.5 inch king set and informed Staunton Castle if they make the same in 4 inch king (they do make 4.5 inch for this Morphy set). So far they’re a little slow with replying.
So, I am not a serious or big fan of all these Jaques reproductions, especially these earlier versions. So, I don’t have a horse in this race.
forked_again has been on this forum for quite awhile now and I like him. His posts make sense and are good.
My opinion is that a number of newer people here, him included, did not experience the history of the manufacturers and sellers. They see the final product at a better price direct from the manufacturers.
What they did not experience was the particular sellers, Carl of OS and Frank of HoS, creating the set designs that were made by the manufacturers. These sets were unique to the seller.
Yes, there were some sets the manufacturers originated and offered to the sellers. Examples of this are the Fischer-Spassky set and a 3.5” set HoS called the York and OS called the Murphy. The sets were identical across the board. And Carl mentioned the manufacturer had offered the sets to them both.
But the manufacturer(s) decided to go direct, selling some of these exclusive sets as well as others.
This is why Carl has gone to China for his manufacturing and HoS has found another, unknown to me, manufacturer where both seem to respect the seller exclusivity.
Those older, exclusive designs are no longer sold by OS, so I see no problem with people buying from the manufacturer direct.
I also see this as being good for the consumer in that there are now more nicer sets on the market. HoS has some really nice sets they released in the last number of months. And Staunton Castle still produces these very nice sets.
Alas, the honor of the industry has diminished quite a bit. I remember Carl complaining that one of these guys actually took the pictures of the sets direct from Carl’s page to put on his own.
They took the pictures off the website of the people who commissioned them to make the set in the first place lol? maximum disrespect, wow! :dead
Does OS or HOS have copyrights to the design of early Jaques sets? I don't think so. Besides, copyright has most likely expired after 100 years. If the issue of manufacturers selling direct to consumers is breach of contract, resellers should dispute it in court. The fact that they have moved to different suppliers indicates it was either economically more reasonable to switch suppliers when relationships went south or that it was not a breach of contract.
Does OS or HOS have copyrights to the design of early Jacques sets? I don't think so. Besides, copyright has most likely expired after 100 years. If the issue of manufacturers selling direct to consumers is breach of contract, resellers should dispute it in court. The fact that they have moved to different suppliers indicates it is either economically more reasonable to switch suppliers when relationships go south or that it was not a breach of contract.
As I recall Frank a number of years ago sued someone for Patent or Copyright Infringement by copying a HoS Original Design. I don't know what became of that lawsuit. I do recall it made some news, but that was YEARS ago. If you went dumpster diving I bet you could unearth the case.
It appears Alan Dewey had already answered my question on Jaques design rights... four years ago in this very thread!
Despite our differences, mandeep is undoubtedly a superb artisan. Those sets shown here are miniature works of art, it's not a simple process to deliver such high standards, enjoy your fine collectibles
Looks like eBay caught that this set was ivory and removed the auction - along with a few others the same seller had listed that were clearly ivory.
https://www.houseofstaunton.com/genuine-staunton-and-the-camaratta-collection-the-definitive-morphy-series-luxury-chess-pieces-44-king.html
Take a look at the distressed version. Very similar to the Staunton Castle's effect.
Probably just reselling the Staunton Castle product, with the usual tricks of tripling or quadrupling the price and throwing in a goofy plaque and box to give the illusion of some higher value.
I would like to share some photos of my 1849 custom club size reproduction.
@forked_again and in the link below we can see the exact same set being sold $500 less.
https://www.houseofstaunton.com/the-camaratta-collection-the-first-american-chess-congress-series-luxury-commemorative-chess-pieces-44-king.html
@forked_again and in the link below we can see the exact same set being sold $500 less.
https://www.houseofstaunton.com/the-camaratta-collection-the-first-american-chess-congress-series-luxury-commemorative-chess-pieces-44-king.html
Your set looks more like the Official Staunton offering, with the 1849 stamp, going for 600 GBP, with box, here:
https://www.officialstaunton.com/collections/luxury-chess-pieces/products/1849-early-4-4-edition-staunton-boxwood-ebony-chess-pieces-mahogany-box
Both OS and HOS seem to have very similar sets at different price points. The $500 set you showed comes without a box, but the piece quality looks nice. It is different however, than this new "definitive Morphy" set they are now offering, especially w.r.t the knight style.
@forked_again actually I asked the maker to stamp the kings with "1849".
The other two HOS sets are exactly the same. The differences on the knights are insignificant.
@forked_again actually I asked the maker to stamp the kings with "1849".
The other two HOS sets are exactly the same. The differences on the knights are insignificant.
Not insignificant at all. Different knights, insignificant?? One is the Morphy style knight, the other is the 1849 Cooke style. If you call that insignificant you are showing that you are talking out of your league here. As far as the rest of the pieces, of course they look similar because they are all reproductions of early antique Jaques sets. But it is impossible to say 2 sets are identical from pictures alone. Weighting, quality, proportion, finish, etc. can be very different from sets that look the same on the internet.
The 2 HOS sets in question are different. My guess is that they are probably even from different manufacturers. The Morphy set is a new offering from HOS and looks like they bought it from Staunton Castle.
The HOS and OS sets look very similar. I have no idea if they share common suppliers. You said your set was custom stamped 1849 per your request. Who did you buy it from?
@forked_again out of my league? Take it easy. Where exactly did you see the Cooke knight? Both of them are Morphy knights. And they are almost identical.
@forked_again you should also check out the specs of the sets. The only difference is that the one weighs 66.1 ounces and the other 65.8. What could possibly explain the $500 difference? The finishing? The ebony selection? Please, enlighten me since you seem to be way more experienced and knowledgeable.
Actually, that's a pretty good set.