Description
French Figural Ceramic Chessmen. The David Haffler Collection
A very rare set of French Figural Ceramic Chessmen purchased from the David Haffler Collection. Hand-printed on the base of one of the Kings is “Sculpted by Maria Melinda, Rennes, France. Purchased from the David Haffler Collection, 5/28/90″. The King stands 6″ tall with a 1-3/4″ diameter base, Each of the chessmen is hand-painted in exquisite detail. It is very likely that this is a one-of-a-kind set of chess pieces personally hand-made by the Sculptor for David Haffler. The chessmen are in like new condition.
About David Haffler
David Hafler was born on February 7, 1919. He was an American audio engineer and one of the World’s most respected Chess Set collectors. In his professional life, David was best known for his work on an improved version of the Williamson amplifier using the ultra-linear circuit of Alan Blumlein. In 1950, Hafler founded Acrosound with his colleague Herbert Keroes. This company was primarily in the business of designing and manufacturing transformers for tube amplifiers. Around this time Hafler and Keroes popularized the ultra-linear output-stage for audio amplifiers. In 1954 Hafler founded Dynaco with Ed Laurent. Hafler was instrumental in bringing affordable, high-quality audio kits to hobbyists, making his name a household word in the US audio community for many years. He passed away on May 25, 2003 from complications die to Parkinson’s disease.