What is it about House of Staunton Sets - Chess Forums - Page 2

Eyechess · 2014-11-23T19:05:00-08:00

There is quite a bit of discussion about the Chess sets The House of Staunton has made and sells. I started buying their sets back in 1998 when Frank Camaratta was just getting the company going. I got to know Frank pretty well as I would talk with him at least 4 times a year or more. He would te

Gomer_Pyle

Nov 26, 2014

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#21

MaximRecoil wrote:

I don't think you read my entire post...

You're right. I had little time and was just skimming through the longer posts. My apologizes.

goodknightmike

Dec 16, 2014

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#22

Just for clarification on the W.T. Pinney sets and its replicas. First of all, the Pinney "Liberty" sets were used in the 1941 U.S. Championship and are not from the 1930s. The name "Liberty" did not originate with HOS and Frank C. Pictured below is an ad published in the October 1943 issue of Chess Review Magazine for the Pinney "Liberty" sets. As far as the Pinney "Liberty" replicas are concerned, ChessBazaar is not "copying a copy" as you mentioned. In fact they are using my original Pinney "Liberty" sets along with other historical information to make their replica.

Eyechess

Dec 16, 2014

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#23

This is very good information.

It was Frank Camaratta that told me the Pinney sets were from the 1930's. He said this a few times when he was describing the set as he was having it made for the first time, for him and HOS.

It is interesting that they were called "Liberty" originally.

As a note, I gave my first set of these to an adult that I was mentoring and bought a newer one of the same design from Sean Sullivan's HOS about 2009 or so. The newer set had pieces that were more robust than the original. When I called and told them this, they said there were new manufacturers because the old ones weren't doing well overall.

These sets can certainly take it as the above article states. I use mine for skittles and/or blitz and it has no chips, dents or anything on the pieces. I have it in the Rosewood.

goodknightmike

Dec 16, 2014

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#24

Eyechess wrote:

This is very good information.

It was Frank Camaratta that told me the Pinney sets were from the 1930's. He said this a few times when he was describing the set as he was having it made for the first time, for him and HOS.

It is interesting that they were called "Liberty" originally.

As a note, I gave my first set of these to an adult that I was mentoring and bought a newer one of the same design from Sean Sullivan's HOS about 2009 or so. The newer set had pieces that were more robust than the original. When I called and told them this, they said there were new manufacturers because the old ones weren't doing well overall.

These sets can certainly take it as the above article states. I use mine for skittles and/or blitz and it has no chips, dents or anything on the pieces. I have it in the Rosewood.

Agreed, one of the best chess sets for speed or blitz play. Also suitable for tournament play. Its one of my favorites.

TundraMike

Dec 16, 2014

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#25

Eyechess wrote:

This is very good information.

It was Frank Camaratta that told me the Pinney sets were from the 1930's. He said this a few times when he was describing the set as he was having it made for the first time, for him and HOS.

It is interesting that they were called "Liberty" originally.

As a note, I gave my first set of these to an adult that I was mentoring and bought a newer one of the same design from Sean Sullivan's HOS about 2009 or so. The newer set had pieces that were more robust than the original. When I called and told them this, they said there were new manufacturers because the old ones weren't doing well overall.

These sets can certainly take it as the above article states. I use mine for skittles and/or blitz and it has no chips, dents or anything on the pieces. I have it in the Rosewood.

They no longer have the lacquered Liberty set which is how many were made back then. I was told they won't be making it again but who knows for sure. I do know the Liberty set they have isn't selling like hot cakes.

If someone wants to make a hit on the Liberty set IMHO I would go 4.4" club size and do it in old fashion white and black lacquer then have a a more expensibe set in rosewood or blood rosewood not sheesham as I am told Pinney once made a set in rosewood.

My opinion...if CB makes a small club set as HOS already has it will flop. They have to make something different that you can't buy anywhere else.

RobertoLM

Apr 25, 2023

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#26

WandelKoningin

Jul 29, 2024

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#27

MaximRecoil wrote:

The other thing which has to happen, is the wood needs to be properly sealed from moisture once the chess pieces are made, which I mentioned in my previous post. If areas were missed during the finishing process, or have worn off since the pieces were new, the wood can take on and release moisture (unevenly in the case of pieces only being partially sealed), which can cause cracking. Ebony is more vulnerable to this than many other types of wood because it is relatively brittle, thus more likely to crack under stress than e.g. boxwood. Using weights with reliefs in them may help if the wood wasn't properly seasoned or sealed, but otherwise it is irrelevant.

Fascinating discussion! I know your post is 10 years old, but I would like to share that hours after reading this thread, I took pictures of a chess set I gifted my wife a few years back to show a friend, and I suddenly noticed in a photo of the ebony knight that it had a crack in the base. I later had a look at all the chess pieces, and found that all the major ebony pieces (king, queen, bishops, and knights) had a cracked base.

So this seems to confirm not only that ebony is more brittle (the white pieces had no cracks), but it also seems to suggest something about how the pieces are weighted. Because why are the ebony rooks and pawns still intact?

Rookium

Feb 3, 2025

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#28

I own several HOS sets, the Renegade (1891 reproduction of British Imperial Chessmen by Camaratta) - two sets with Rosewood/Boxwood, and two with Ebony/Boxwood. I initially fell in love with these sets due to the Rooks being taller, which I prefer - a more significant Rook to emphasize its relative value. I also have two Boxwood/Ebonized Bedford Staunton sets which have a nice set of flared crenellations on the Rooks, and nice Bishops as well. Knights are very functional without being too fancy - I really like this set:

I have also two reproductions of an 1848 Imperial Library set which I also like - pretty close to a Staunton set, but Rooks are more like parapets than straight towers.

The long and short are these are superb sets, somewhat unique in many respects and often copied. But you CAN see the difference.

BTW, tip from a chemist: For cracked pieces, if you catch them right away, use a damp Qtip into the crack to start to close it (as the wood swells) and add 50% white glue like weldbond - will seal the cracks and if done carefully, look almost invisible! For dark pieces, like ebonized or ebony, use semi-gloss (SG) black acrylic enamel or mix of SG-flat enamel in the Weldbond mix, and dab it into the crack before it seals with a fine finishing brush. Wipe excess off top of crack. If Crack is still open a tad, hit again over the crack(s) and use WB or SG+WB just over the crack to fill it in. Let dry well at least 24h-48h, then buff with a polish on a microfiber cloth. Ta-Da! Good as new. Try practicing on a cheaper set first, then do what you need to on a good set. Amazing results!

Cheers, and good chess!

DH, Canada.