Staunton Chess set ID
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Yes those black pieces are ebony except for the knights, which are almost certainly ebonised boxwood. The set looks like a lardy
You can fix the loose weights yourself if you can get the baize off. I’ve managed to remove baize by keeping the piece upside down and putting a few drops of water onto the baize. Keep adding a few drops periodically to keep the baize wet for 2 or 3 days. Hopefully it will then come off easily, depending on what type of glue it is
IpswichMatt wrote:
You can fix the loose weights yourself if you can get the baize off. I’ve managed to remove baize by keeping the piece upside down and putting a few drops of water onto the baize. Keep adding a few drops periodically to keep the baize wet for 2 or 3 days. Hopefully it will then come off easily, depending on what type of glue it is
Thanks for the info, its probably time to re-baize the set anyway as the original baize is pretty mucky.
If you’re able to remove the baize using water, they’ll probably clean up ok. Old is usually better than new when it comes to antique restoration
I am leaning towards a set from the Lardy family of sets. Not 100% certain but the King and Queen sure do show a French design to them.
Lardy - Welcome to the Chess Museum (chess-museum.com)
I wonder if anyone can help me identify a possible manufacturer or origin of this chess set and give me a little advice with regard to the whether the black pieces are ebony or ebonised. The king measures 3 11/16" (93mm) and the set is quite heavily weighted with olive green felts on the bottom. The black knights are obviously ebonised as the lighter wood can be seen on the worn edges but when looking closely the finish is different to the rest of the black pieces.
Another thing I've noticed is that only the black pieces have slight splits and chipped collars on two black pawns, also all of the weights in the black pieces rattle when you shake them which is not the case on any of the white pieces. I've taken two pictures of a black pawn, one in natural light and one with a bright light shining on it.
