Staunton Castle's Superlative Northern Upright Set

Yesterday, I had the great pleasure of unwrapping my new reproduction chess set from Staunton Castle – the Northern Upright. It took less than a week to arrive in the UK from India, freepost with only a small fee for import tax.

This is the first set of a limited edition; which derives its design and precise dimensions from an original set from the 1840’s.

Referring to many photographs and working with the exact specifications and proportions of the original chessmen, Staunton Castle have succeeded in creating what I consider to be the most authentic and accurate reproduction of the Northern Upright on the market.

Reproductions of this style, even the most expensive sets from prestigious makers seem to come with several significant design errors and simplifications; corners are cut and original curves are turned into straight lines. What tends to be lost in the manufacturing process is the slender curvaceousness of the original design – its elegance.

So I am really delighted with the authenticity of this set which is impressively true to the original.

This particular set is made of boxwood and ebony, and though most people seem to prefer an antiqued finish to the boxwood pieces, I chose a plain natural finish. The grain shows through beautifully with both woods, the ebony being a lovely colour.

The King is 5” tall and the overall proportions of the set are faithful to the original with a pleasing gradation of height from the King down to the Castle.

The height of the pieces could have made the chessmen unwieldy, but they are heavily weighted and are stable and perfectly balanced.

There are so many accurate design features of the set; let me draw your attention to a few:

All the pieces have slender and curvaceous stems with lovely shapely domed bases,

The Kings and Queens are both imposing and elegant, with full domed bases which lend gravitas,

The Bishops have tall and fulsome tulip-shaped heads,

The Knights have very finely carved and asymmetric manes and slender columns,

The Castles have a very distinctive shape and have concave flared tops with four crenellations,

The Pawns have a balanced geometry with stable wide bases and spherical heads.

All the pieces are felted with green baize and the finish is very fine not over varnished. My perfectionist’s inspection revealed not a single flaw.

I would not hesitate to describe the Northern Upright by Staunton Castle as world class, with a level of craftsmanship that is off the scale.

The word best used to describe this reproduction chess set in my opinion is superlative.   

If you are interested in ordering one of these rare sets, please contact Mandeep Saggu of Staunton Castle.

Note: the individual square size of the board is 55mm or 2.25 inches

Stunning workmanship...that set should give you a lifetime of enjoyment. Congrats!

Cheers michaelcausey7! And it's great to look at even when a global pandemic makes a live chess game with another human being a remote possibility!

Yes, it's rather depressing. Nice composition on your pics, btw. I love the fifth shot where you can really see the grain on that ebony. I hope it's as weighted as you say...five inches...whew!

sound67 you're right, of course; but I suppose I was admiring the precision of the woodcarving which is faithful to the geometry & elegance of the particular original set we chose for this reproduction.

michaelcausey7, yes, the ebony is a very subtle colour, mostly looking matt black but in certain lights the brown shining through. The pieces are massively weighted and with wide bases so they don't feel unwieldy or top heavy - they feel balanced and stable to move, even the tall 'Royals'.

Very nice set! I was always afraid that such tall and upright pieces may be unstable but I'm sure they are nicely weighted. 

Have you seen HoS Northern Upright set? It also very pretty but very expensive

Yes, Prince_of_Bohemia, the pieces are very well weighted so they are stable and well balanced - a delight to move. I think the elegant design of this set is less angular and more curvaceous than other sets on the market including the HoS pattern. There are cheaper sets available in the general Upright style, but they tend to lack the precision of this 'true to the original' design; the woodcarving skill and the finish of the pieces is of a very high standard. It is worth noting that customer care is exemplary with Staunton Castle: on another set I purchased a few years ago from Mandeep, one of the pawns developed a hairline crack - a replacement was immediately sent out to me free of charge.

Problem with Staunton Castle replica of Northern Upright is that the bases of the chessmen  look very staunton in design. They also look like a hybrid of staunton and Northern Upright. Chessbazaar also sells the Northern Upright set which in my opinion is more accurate although the knights seem somewhat out of proportion. 

I know I shouldn't feed the troll but I'll make it short. The bases are probably wider, you silly little man, in order to help with the stability...an inherent failure in the original designs. So it's actually BETTER. Of coarse, you couldn't make a post without a back-handed compliment of CB as I can only guess you must have been fired from there.

No hybrid - the domed bases & all dimensions and geometry from an original antique set. michaelcausey7 is right that the bases contain a lot of weight which means these tall pieces are not top heavy to move but are superbly balanced and stable, whereas I think the original antique pieces are unweighted. It's about a balance of ergonomics and aesthetics

The original vintage Northern Upright set as anyone can notice are more sleek than Staunton Castle’s copy. Also, the copy of the knight’s head is not good enough and it looks toy-like and funny. Obviously, the original one is more elegant and more correct in shape and proportion. Besides, to spend over $400 on a copied chess set is madness.

Good news for Chess set collectors! Mandeep at Staunton Castle has reduced the price for the Northern Upright set from $500 to $400. Please note that the black pieces are genuine ebony and with a 5" King there is a lot of wood used to create this imposing and elegant set. Dispatch from India is incredibly quick and secure. One reason for my brand loyalty with Staunton Castle is their great after-sales service; when I found a hairline crack on an ebony pawn from my earlier Danum set, Staunton Castle replaced it immediately free of charge.
 

5” is way too big for practical chess but for display seems good. 

Thank you rcmacmillan for your always constructive insights. I respect your respect for the originals; what fascinates me with reproductions is that with care and skill they may be true to the original symmetry of the historic set.