Item: Antique Jaques Chess Set: 1875-80 Club Size (4.5″ Kings) W/Antique Leaflet, Case
Sold For: $1,875.00
Bids: 18
Date: Jul 08, 2012
Auction: Ebay
Description and Image By: chessspy
EXTENSIVELY RESTORED
Thanks to Professor Sir Alan Fersht for his work with Jaques sets. I refer to his publications constantly and what I present here that is reliant upon his seminal work is presented with his express and kind permission. I have on offer until 8 July 2012 a Jaques Club Size set with 4.5″ kings. I include with this set a re-purposed Victorian tea caddy that I re-felted to match the bases of this set. I also include what probably was the original owner’s rule leaflet, and it bears his signature.
Okay. What’s the deal?
This set has been an exercise in restoration, and I am offering it as such.
First of all, it had the wrong knights, so I had three knights to put with it, plus the base of a fourth. Bringing this set and the knights together was NOT coincidence! I had been negotiating with this set’s previous owner for a year as to whether he was going to buy the knights or I was going to buy the set. I at last bought the set and the match was made. However, I replicated a fourth knight’s head to complete the set.
Moreover, the set itself was in atrocious shape: heavily varnished to cover a multitude of bad restoration sins. Take a look at the photo album and you’ll see all the bad split repairs, poor collar matches, and the like. If that were not enough, the set was also bashed to bits! Bases broken, collars crunched, crenellations chipped. All the pieces but the rooks were in terrible shape, and even so a couple of the rooks had splits in their bases.
Plus felts were gone and a weight from a knight was missing.
The set looked like a goner.
So I decided I would publicly restore it. I made a big deal out of what bad shape it was in. Now I am presenting it brought back from the grave.
Why do this?
Simple.
Restoration on this level is possible, and I want you to know this when you are looking at part sets. So, I have provided TWO ALBUMS of pics of this set, and made a video as well. Go find them on my CHESSSPY website and give them a look, then ask all the Qs you wish.
Cheers!