Collecting Antique Chess Sets in the 20th C

by Alan Dewey

Antique chess set collecting

in the twenty first century.

With the Internet now all pervasive there are opportunities for collectors of all kinds with, for example,

e-bay, (a double edged sword).

Auctions online (chancy, unless you can view in person)

Online dealers, (good, but can be pricey).

Chess set collectors have to make several decisions each time they look at an antique chess set. they are, in no particular order.

Is it desirable?

Do I want it?

Will it fit into my collection?

Is it in good condition?

If not can it be fixed, and for how much?

Can I afford it?

There are many different styles of set available, and many different kinds of collectors.

some have a theme collection, e.g. Indian sets, English sets, and so on, some collect only wooden sets, some only ivory, some collect everything they can find.

So, leaving aside the personal requirements of the individual collector, I propose to explore what kinds of set one can reasonably expect to find, where, and

how often one might get the chance to buy such a set and for how much, assuming the set is in good condition.

Also, most importantly, which sets are most desirable for 'bragging rights' with other collectors. This is an important consideration, nobody wants to spend good money for sets over several years, and then find that everyone else has better, bigger or bought the same thing more cheaply etc.

Lets start with a decent Staunton pattern set, this should be by Jaques, if you have any aspirations to be taken seriously as a collector. however a collection of non Jaques sets is just as valid, see. http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/chesspurr

A signed set in boxwood and ebony with 3 1/2" kings, weighted, in the original box with label, can be regarded as the minimum requirement, and will cost around £800 as of 2008.

Beg borrow or buy a copy of Prof Alan Fersht's monograph on Jaques sets, so you can see if what you are offered is the right set, in the right box etc.

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/Fersht

Buy from a reputable dealer and get a receipt stating exactly what you have bought, if it turns out to be a marriage, you can take it back for a refund or swap.

If you buy off e-bay, or from a market stall in anytown, be prepared for disappointment with no chance of any recompense.

however it is possible that with the changes e-bay are proposing to the feedback system, that e-bay buying may, (and I say 'may') become less problematic.

Above is an example of a superb, top of the range Jaques Ivory 4 1/4" king set in a rosewood box, an early example and perfect, expect to pay £20,000+. (if you ever see one)

If you are a potential 'real' collector you will by now be drooling. If the above chess set leaves you cold, stop reading immediately and go and collect garden gnomes, or razor blades or some such, put one in the garden and use the other.

The picture above shows a reasonably good Barleycorn set, however the carving of the knights leaves something to be desired, however these knights are 'right' for this set.

Other sets with poor knights are the Selenus and Toy co. sets from Germany, however as this is how they were made there is nothing to be done about it.

There is only one good general guide to antique chess sets which is easily available, and that is Masterpieces. by Gareth Williams. It has information on most of the chess sets you can hope to find and quite a few you will not, and the things Gareth says are accurate as to dates and makers etc.

Other earlier books are either difficult to find,or written in a 'foreign' language (Shakpartie Durch Zeiten und Welten, 'The Hamburg chess club catalogue') or hopelessly inaccurate, (Keats, World Chessmen), or just plain hopeless, (Mackett-Beeson, Chess sets).

The best place to see sets on a weekly basis,is Portobello Market in London on a Saturday morning.

Otherwise look for sets in auction catalogues on line.

There are occasional dedicated chess sales, where well known collectors meet in the flesh, at the moment these are hosted by Mr. Luke Honey at Bonhams auctioneers.

There are various chess dealers and collectors online, and entering 'Antique chess sets' into a search engine will catch most of them.

Mr. Jon Crumiller, ( Jon's chess sets' ) stands out amongst these for several reasons, he is a collector, not a dealer, and all his collection is online and regularly updated, his descriptions are as accurate as he can make them.

http://www.crumiller.com/chess/chess_pages/jonchess.htm

The dealers captured as above are a valuable resource, but remember, the descriptions are likely to be optimistic, as are the prices, and discounts can often be negotiated.

If you would like to start a chess set collection without breaking the bank, a good representative collection can be started for a couple of thousand pounds, and this can be spread over purchases made over two or three years, so it's not beyond the means of most people.

Above is a fairly standard Old English bone set, should cost from £100 depending on size, anything under a three inch king should be regarded as too small.

What should I buy first?

Look first to buy reasonably good examples of easily acquired sets, these are, (again in no particular order, and apart from the already mentioned Staunton pattern), Barleycorn bone set, Old English bone, St. George pattern, Burmese ivory, Cantonese puzzle ball,and Indian ivory.

A word about collecting antique ivories is probably appropriate here.

collecting and owning antique ivory objet d'art is not yet illegal neither is their sale or transportation, although this is now becoming severely restricted, particularly in America.

In effect the movement of ivory in and out of both Europe and America is forbidden, there are CITES certificates which can theoretically be issued to allow this, but until someone tells the morons who work at the airports and borders this is irrelevant.

The tree huggers responsible for this state of affairs will not stop until we are all prevented from, smoking, drinking,driving and living, we will live in a perfect green paradise, but will all have died from boredom. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

You will find some dealers sites which claim to have George Washington sets on them, this is because G.W. owned this set,

Any set which is substantially different to this should not be so described, and indicates the dealer concerned is 'fluffing' his sets and caution should be used before quoting anything said on such a site as fact.

However sets like these with contrasting brickwork on the rooks and urn stems, were made in the 18c, but also through into the 19c and guessing which is which is not easy.

This St. George pattern set above didn't sell at auction, estimated £120 -£160 and only achieved £55 on the day and consequently was marked unsold, but it's more than possible there were replacements or other faults which were not noted in the catalogue.

That is of course just one reason why you should always view and handle lots you are planning to bid on.

This handsome ivory Hastilow set would cost around £2000 at auction (£1700 was the hammer price, and commission of between 15%-30% must be added depending on which auction house you are bidding at)

no one is really sure if Hastilow really made this style of set, but once the name has appeared in print the label tends to stick. (There are serious researchers who are working on problems such as this and scholarship and knowledge moves on.)

As a very general guide, you will very rarely be offered an 18c set, most 19c sets are actually early 20c. so exercise some caution in buying, however dealers and internet sellers are all covered by the same sale of goods act that all retailers are, so make sure you get a receipt stating exactly what you have bought. If it later turns out to be substantively different to described, you can reasonably claim against them, (although this is not straightforward).

Chinese and Canton sets.

hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of these sets were imported into the UK in the 19c. and because the Victorians kept them under glass domes, (for the most part) a great many have survived, so if you like this sort of thing, (I don't)

You don't need to buy the first one you are offered, as another better one will be along in a minute.

Apart from lot 21, the above sets are reasonably common examples, buy them if you like them, but never buy a set with pieces missing, as you will never find any matching pieces, as these sets were made to suit the materials and sizes to hand at the time of making, and always vary slightly from set to set.

Try to buy Chinese sets with well made pawns, carved in the round, not hacked out as most 20c ones were.

The best way to start collecting chess sets, is to surf the net, starting with my picasa site,

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/chessspy

then move onto my scribd site.

http://www.scribd.com/people/view/85927-frank-alan-dewey

As I stated earlier, typing 'antique chess sets' into the search engine of your choice, will return a sufficient number of relevant sites to keep you amused for weeks if not months, just don't believe everything you read.

As with any other avocation, there are highways and byways. there are for example those who only collect famous chess players signatures, and those who are interested mainly in travel sets etc.

My personal interest is turned chess pieces, but for anyone with a computer, (or access to one) there are enough collectors and dealers online to satisfy all tastes. Have fun.

Antique Lamps by Edme Samson of Paris

by Maurice Robertson

Porcelain, along with many of our day to day products, was discovered in China over a thousand years ago during the Tang dynasty. That is why, in fact, in the West, we call it “China”, because that’s where it came from!

The discovery of porcelain in Europe, however, did not occur until the early 18th century in the German Princely Electorate of Saxony. The demand became a flood and vast amounts began to be exported from China.

The wealthy classes sent orders for dinner services via ships’ captains, who, twelve months later, would collect the service from the southern Chinese trading port of Canton. Many of these services were decorated with the family coat of arms of wealthy patrons.

They were produced for coffee and tea sets as well as complete dinner services and were known as “armorial” services. Very few have survived, complete and in original condition. As pieces became lost and broken, so the demand for replacements developed.

Edmé Samson specialised in the reproduction of Chinese export style porcelain from the period when it was fashionable for aristocratic families to order their services and shapes from southern China.

Edmé Samson, born in Paris in 1810, established the porcelain company of Samson-Edmé et Cie in the 1830’s. Samson began his career by producing replacement pieces, but it soon became obvious that his skill at reproduction resulted in superb copies of the original.

By the middle of the 19th century Samson was producing porcelain in all shapes and styles in imitation of all the major European factories, as well as Japanese Imari and the famous Famille Rose and Famille Vert styles produced in China between 1720 and 1790. In the 19th century Samson porcelain was considered as copies only, but now, Samson copies are antique, being over 100 years old.

The Antique & Vintage Table Lamp Co specialise in antique table lamp lighting with an on-line range of over 100 unique, antique and vintage lamps on view.

Lamps are shipped ready wired for the U.S, the U.K and Australia.

You are invited to visit their web site at www.antiquelampshop.com

© The Antique & Vintage Table Lamp Co 2009

Antique Lamp - a Rare Yongzhen Jar Table Lamp

by Maurice Robertson

There is a point at which art can become practical and we illistrate this with a rare, early 18th century jar and cover as a lamp.

This little jar and cover was produced at the famous Imperial kilns at Jingdezhen in Chinas Jiangxi Province. The major output of the kilns was to supply porcelains of fine quality for the Emperor, the Imperial family and the court circles.

"A very fine and early, 18th century Chinese Yongzhen period jar and cover as a table lamp. The jar and cover enamelled in a very pretty, harmonious combination of pastel colours. The Yongzhen reign is renowned for this pastel palette and this is a very lovely example.

Both sides of the jar with white reserves very delicately painted with Chinese antiques, flower filled vases, Buddhist text, an altar offering of a large fruit filled dish and a smoking sensor in a butter yellow. The ground of the jar and cover decorated with a formal floreat design. The ground, pale mauve, the floreat design, a pastel lime green. The rim and base of the jar with a segmented border in pastel lemon and sky blue.

The decorative pastel palette of enamels including orange, turquoise, green and touches of red. The low drum shaped cover of the same style. The decoration of this jar and cover of Imperial quality. The jar and cover on a turned maple wood stand, water gilded. As this jar and cover is free standing, it can be removed from the stand at any time."

The jar and cover in perfect condition." Circa 1723-1735

Overall height (including shade) 17"/43cm

Most of what we know about this “porcelain city“ comes to us from the letters of Pere d’Entrecolle, a French Jesuit missionary who travelled to China at the end of the 17th century. He detailed what he saw in a long series of letters written between 1712-1722.

He described in detail the vast factory and kilns at Jingdezhen.

He tells us of how the “kilns roared all night and how the town was illuminated by the flames from the vast number of ovens”.

This enormous Imperial production was ultimately overseen by the Emperor, Yongzhen, who ruled from the dragon throne from 1723 until his death in 1735.

The Yongzhen Emperor was the first true art-lover from among the long Qing dynasty of Manchu rulers. He passionately cared for and lived with works of art.

The Emperor knew many of his artisans by name and it is well known that he rewarded creations that he considered outstanding.

The Yongzhen reign is attributed with the development of a wide range of pastel colours (or enamels, when referring to ceramics). It is this delicate palette of colours which decorate our subject.

This style of lamp has, of course, a rather impressive list of benefits:-

1. A functional table lamp.

2. An antique work of art, complete with it’s original low drum shaped cover, even 270 years later!

3. An asset which will continue to add to its value.

4. A constant visual pleasure.

5. Table lamps are not meant to illuminate a room as per overhead lighting, but are selectively placed to provide a softer pool of light accentuating and complimenting the décor and “feeling” of a room.

The Antique & Vintage Table Lamp Co specialise in antique table lamp lighting with an on-line range of over 100 unique, antique and vintage lamps on view.

Lamps are shipped ready wired for the U.S, the U.K and Australia.

You are invited to visit their web site at www.antiquelampshop.com

© The Antique & Vintage Table Lamp Co 2009

Antique Lamps - Outstandingly Rare Minton Lamps

by Maurice Robertson

In 1793, Thomas Minton, now a master potter having just finished his apprenticeship with Josiah Spode as a copper plate engraver, opened his small Staffordshire pottery at Stoke-on Trent, the very heart of the English ceramic industry. This small beginning was to grow into a major ceramic manufacturing company with an international reputation.

Everyone knows of the famous “Willow” pattern, but did you know that Thomas Minton is regarded as the one who first engraved this well known print! Minton is said to have been inspired on hearing the old Chinese legend of the rich Mandarin’s young daughter eloping with his secretary. As the pattern shows, the young lovers are pursued by the enraged father, however, the goddess of mercy, seeing the drama, turns the fleeing couple into swallows who fly away together.

Thomas Minton’s son, Herbert, (1793–1858), succeeded his father as head of the firm and to him was due its development and reputation as a leader of porcelain production.

In the 1820’s he started production of bone china. This early Minton is regarded as comparable to French Sèvres, by which it was greatly influenced.

Our Minton lamps shown were made in 1863 and are typical of the very high standards reached by this time.

An extremely rare pair of 19th century, English Minton vases as table

lamps. The lamps imitating the design of oriental water jars.

The lamps glazed in an even pale celadon with moulded and applied white porcelain “rope”. The necks of the lamps with a continuous band of open cut-work in the style of traditional Chinese window screens,

the lamp necks designed to allow the celadon glazed porcelain

to be viewed through the screens!

The lamps skilfully modelled to appear as if tied in white knotted rope.

The bases of the lamps with a continuous band of scrolling cut-work,

with evenly spaced round headed pegs as ties for the rope.

The lamps with gilded, turned, solid bronze bases and caps.

This stunning pair of lamps, the quality of which is self evident,

are in remarkable condition considering the complexity of the design.

In private correspondence with the UK Wedgwood/Minton museum, this

pair of lamps were described as “highly important”.

The shape was exhibited by Minton at the 1862 London International Exhibition where they were described as “a pair of vases, glazed celadon ground, rope festoons in white, perforated neck and perforated foot”.

The vase shape was registered in 1863 as “in the Chinese style”.

Overall height (including shades) 25"/63cm

The Antique & Vintage Table Lamp Co specialise in antique table lamp lighting with an on-line range of over 100 unique, antique and vintage lamps on view.

Lamps are shipped ready wired for the U.S, the U.K and Australia.

You are invited to visit their web site at www.antiquelampshop.com

© The Antique & Vintage Table Lamp Co 2009