Description
Early Old English Portable Chess Set.
An early Saint George portable Chess Set of large size. The pegged chessmen are Boxwood and Ebony. The accompanying folding box/chessboard is Mahogany with 1-1/8″ Rosewood and Satinwood squares, measuring 10″ square and 1-3/4″ thick folded, with a removable bad that mounts into the chessboard to prevent the chessmen from falling out when the pieces are stored, and the board/box is folded. The King is rather large for a travel set and stands 1-78″ tall. The set is complete and in excellent condition.
The Saint George Travel sets are a very playable design which has survived well into thew 20th Century. They are available in a multitude of sizes, qualities and materials, including several wood species, bone, ivory, stone, Bakelite and even metal. During the Victorian period, Saint George Style Travel Chess Sets were produced by almost all the known manufacturers, including Jaques of London, F. A. Ayers, William and Thomas Lund, George Merrifield and Dixon, among others.
The Saint George pattern chessmen are a subset of the ubiquitous English Playing Sets.