Some Chess Sets from a Humble Collection

I recently posted some pictures of a Knubbel chess set I'd acquired and an interesting thread developed. So, I thought I'd widen the scope of discussion about collected chess sets.

I'm a tiny fish in a pretty big pond, I realise, but I've been fortunate enough to acquire some interesting sets over time. The one I'm showing here is a St. George's style set, made in England, probably 19th or early 20th Century. I understand these chess men are called St. George as they are named after the St. Georges's Chess Club, London,  England. My set was a gift from an elderly neighbour, we played many games with this set. The White King is a bit "drunk" which, to my mind, indicates age. The Black King and one of the Black bishops have seen better days.
I'll post again shortly with another example of sets I have.

Beautiful set. I love the rosewood grain of the dark pieces!

I love the rooks and the queen without crown is also an interesting design adding to the uniqueness of the set.

Do you know what wood was used for the black pieces? I love the the brown streaks coming through in places.

Having another look I also like the knight’s mane, the cross directional carving makes it very eye pleasing

I think EfimLG47 is right, stained rosewood is probably most likely. This style of chess men was pretty widespread in England, even after the advent of Jaques's Staunton pattern sets in mid-19th century. I understand the St. George's sets were in common use in chess clubs at least up to WW2. So, unlikely that they'd be expensive and made of ebony!

Here's a view of the knight from the other side.

Very interesting, smooth on the one side , carved on the other. Personally I love these unique little details some sets have that give them personality. 

Do you find the knights are stable in play? The base seems slightly small to me compared to the top section, maybe it is just the angle of the photos. I would assume as club pieces that would see a lot of use they are stable?

( are the knights stable? No, but they do live in one ) 

Very good! Actually the knights are stable, even though the set is unfelted. I think, in terms of design, the drawback with this style is that you can't always see the pawns in front of the major pieces. Believe it or not this became a very contentious point in a game many years ago! No takebacks,even if you didn't spot your own pawn.

I bought this set some years back in France. I was at a pub and got talking to a guy about chess, as luck would have it there was a chess and games shop right across the road from a pub I was in. 
I popped over the road and got this set and board so we could have a few games.

Maybe I could have bought something a little more simple but by now we had a few beers  
Could anybody please identify the style for me? Is it based on another style of set or something on its own? 

I love playing with this set and maybe it is just the back story that makes it special for me but it is definitely a favorite.
I should add I have very little knowledge about chess sets ( expect some stupid question) but I do love reading about and seeing the sets you folks post. 

I would like to respectfully disagree. Rosewood is correct, but (1) it is not less valuable than ebony (in fact the dark pieces in valuable St. George sets were made of either rosewood or ebony and in the less valuable sets the dark side was made of ebonized boxwood, i.e. stained) and (2) the rosewood in your pieces is not stained. This is the natural look of rosewood. I have a ca. 1820 Calvert set made of boxwood and rosewood in my collection and you can see the beautiful rosewood grain in there as well.
The rosewood in 19th century pieces is usually much darker and more finely grained than in today's rosewood sets, which are usually made of Indian rosewood. This may be due to age, but I assume that the wood used for 19th century pieces was also of a different type of rosewood, perhaps Brazilian rosewood. Anyhow, here is a contemporary set made recently from Indian rosewood for comparison.

Last but not least, it should be borne in mind that ebony timbers have a visible grain as well, even though we are often made to believe that they are all pitch black. This is not the case. Only 10% of the Indian ebony wood is really pitch black with hardly any visible grain, whereas the rest does have lighter streaks visible in the dark heartwood. Today's manufacturers in India often ebonize the wood (i.e. treat it chemically) in addition to the natural colour to make it even more black and make all grain disappear. This is foolish in my view, because the natural wood grain is lovely. It appears slightly greyish in the Indian ebony types, but can be very lively, e.g. in the kamagong wood from the Philippines. Here is a visible grain in the ebony used for my Augustea reproduction and, for comparison, a lively wood grain in a Philippine Staunton set made of kamagong, an ebony type only to be found in the Philippines.

EfimLG47 thank you for the info on rosewood and ebony and the lovely pictures showing the different types of grain, you certainly know your stuff! I have to admit that I always assumed the black chess men in my set were stained and where you pointed out evidence of rosewood grain I thought it was fading caused by sun damage. The chess men where the graining is visible, if that's what it is, have the effect like a stripe down one side. That's what led me to speculate that the chess men had been on display and the sun damage had faded a specific area. Getting very detailed now!

What do you make of PLausiblepenguins set?

That is very difficult to say, as I am not an expert on modern Staunton sets. My collection is almost entirely antique. I doubt that it is based on a particular set, but appears to me more like a modern Staunton type of its own. The proportions are nice and the pieces seem to be very solid and good for play. A great set, in particular when bearing the story behind it in mind.

The look of these very light spots and stripes can easily be mistaken for fading caused by exposure to sunlight, but in fact, this is a very typical and characteristic trait of rosewood. I just remembered that I have another antique rosewood set, where you have an even more visible grain. Look at the light, almost yellow spots on the bases of the pieces in this picture! The set is an 18th century English chess set.

Yes, I agree it looks like a great paying set, particularly if it's weighted. And the story behind it does make it special!

Here is another set, St. George in style, I believe, that I inherited from my grandfather. One of the black knights has been restored with a knight's head from a different set (more like the knights in the previous set I posted about). Black Queen and bishop have not escaped the attentions of time and probably my mother, as a child, as so often happens with the older chess sets. It has it's original slide-top mahogany box. I was wondering if the black chess men were ebony this time. I would speculate that this set is the older of the two, due to the more ornate design.

Yes EfimLG47 I see what you mean about the rosewood grain, how pleasing to know that.  And what a wonderful 18th century English chess set!

I do have a couple of chess sets in the St. George pattern in my collection as well. King sizes (in the order of appearance) are 4", 3.6" and 3.75".

Beautiful sets @EfimLG47 ! And a beautiful box in the first photo too.

The knight in the last photo is my favorite.

They are really nice sets! I understand Jaques, who made the first Staunton pattern chess men also made the St. George's chess men as well.

Do you have any Austrian Coffee House chess men?