Description
The Rose Chessmen.
The Rose Chessmen were produced and patented by The Rose Chess company of Mildred Rose in 1941. It is generally believed that it has been designed by W.B. Tattersall, London. The pieces are red and black lacquered lead. The King stands 2.0″ tall with a 1.0″ long base. The pieces are stamped on their undersides with “ROSE”, “MADE IN”+”ENGLAND” and “PAT. No. 546516, although not always very visible or consistent. This set of Rose Chessmen is housed in its worn and somewhat defaced original, gray-colored box. The Rose Chessmen are based on the Staunton design, although the pieces are flat, with supports at the base for stability.
The Rose Chessmen can be found in 3 box sizes with labels in 3 variants and two sizes. This is the smaller of the two sizes. The larger set has a 2-1/2” tall King. There are 2 different patent numbers, on for each set size. Large sets can be found in large boxes, large and small sets in medium boxes and small sets in small boxes. This set is housed in the small-size box, The patent describes an associated board in which the pieces do fit and can be secured by rotating them into place. No chessboard is ever included with the Rose Chessmen. Although a board was produced specifically for this purpose, we have yet to see one.
The “NO. 1 SET” indication is a later addition (1942) to the label and could have been introduced when the smaller set came out, as more manufacturers were numbering their sets according to size.