Lot #352. Northern Upright Bone Chessmen

Northern Upright Bone Chessmen.

A very rare example of a set of Northern Upright Bone Chessmen crafted from red-stained and natural cow bone (Mutton). Like most bone chess sets, the chessmen are unweighted and unfelted. Being bone, it is very unlikely that he chessmen were produced by Jaques of London (See the attached image). This style of chessmen was common in the early and mid-Victorian Period and dates to the 1840s. The King stands 3-0″ tall with a 1-1/8″ diameter base. The Northern Upright chessmen do not have a cross finial, with one, they would be close to the height of the standard Staunton tournament chessmen. The bone chess pieces have a very pleasant patina and the red stain is still quite sound. .  The chessmen are in excellent condition and are housed in their original Mahogany slide-top box. These Northern Upright chessmen, often referred to as the Edinburgh (sometimes Edinboro) pattern,  fall into the ubiquitous category often referred to as English Playing sets, which also included the Saint George pattern. These English Playing sets were ultimately supplanted by the Staunton chessmen which were introduced to the public in September of 1849. The antique chessboard and Junghans Chess Timer shown in the images are not included in this offering, but can be purchased separately elsewhere on this website.

The Northern Upright English chessmen were designed by Lord John Hay around 1840. Similar sets of chessmen were made by Dixon, Thomas and William Lund, and John Calvert as well as George Merrifield and John Jaques, among others.