Nice review! Thanks for sharing.
Beautiful "B & Company" Repro from Antiquechesscrafts
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May 30, 2023
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#3
Yes, thank you for sharing, it looks like an elegant and functional set. 👍
May 30, 2023
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#4
Looks like a superior set...Very kind of you to take the time for such a long and time consuming post.-
I have seen a original set come up for sale, from a well known UK seller on e bay , Never being in great shape with a high asking price , Always loved the elegant stems , Nice looking set .
Looking back, of the 5 sets that Antiquechesscrafts sent me, I like this one the most.
Aug 29, 2023
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#9
Nice pictures, thanks. I also have the B&Co set but from Staunton Castle and, like you, really like the slender stems as well as the rounded bishop mitres and the "antiquing". The first picture attached is the K-Q-B in Staunton Castle's antiqued boxwood, I really appreciate this finish. Since reading your original post, I too have purchased sets from Antique Chess Crafts. I am on a kick lately with distressed boxwood, and the owner has made me his Imperial and King Arthur sets in that finish at reasonable prices (the latter now appears on his website in a distressed boxwood option). He was kind enough to share the photos with me before shipping them. These are photos #2 and #3.
Aug 30, 2023
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#12
Yes - lovely. There’s something about slender stems that create a sense of elegance and class.👍
Good looking set
Oct 8, 2023
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#14
Bringing back this thread,because this set offered up to weary eyes is absolutely beautiful.
It would be a nice compliment to those appreciating Stauntonesque designs.
Hardly anything seems to be known about this minor mid-to-late 19th century British competitor of Jacques of London, what info I found on the web is sparse indeed:
"B & Co. were a London maker in the late 19th century . Making various sizes of Staunton sets." (antiquechessshop.com)
"Very little is known about B & Company. My research has turned up empty, as has that of fellow collector Jon Crumiller. ... There is nothing in the literature about the company, nor is there any evidence that they manufactured other chess products." (chessantiques.com)
"This chess set is dedicated to a company who arranged a chess tournament on his name and World’s famous chess players participated in this championship." (stauntoncastle.com)
It appears there are basically two different designs by this company that are being reproduced today: A more starkly streamlined 4" set made by Chessbazaar and other Indian makers (https://www.chessbazaar.com/reproduced-b-co-antique-chess-set-with-in-ebony-antiqued-box-wood-4-king.html), and this more traditional 4.4" Staunton design, which is what House of Staunton and Staunton Castle are selling (https://www.houseofstaunton.com/the-b-co-series-luxury-chess-pieces-4-4-king-21187.html).
My set is a repro following the latter design, albeit at a much more reasonable price.
The pieces are antiqued boxwood and ebony, and the antiquing is very much in the mould of Staunton Castle and The Chess Empire, and superior to the "orange dye" antiquing provided by Chessbazaar, Royal Chess Mall or Chess by India. I'm extremely happy with how it came out.
The company sent me some photos of the pieces made before the finishing/antiquing stage, which I found helpful:
The design is distinguished by the long and slender stems of the kings and queens in particular.
The knights have the protruding teeth that resemble those of Jacques designs like the "Zukertort Staunton", but with more pronounced nostrils. I could choose whether I wanted king side stamps, and whether I wanted them in black or red. I opted for black.
The design of the bishops also differs somewhat from the Jacques models:
Again, the long and slender stems are the outstanding feature of this set:
The pieces are triple-weighted, with the kings coming in at 82g and 88g, respectively. The heaviest pieces in the set are the black rooks at 90g.
The manufacturing quality is fully the equal of Staunton Castle or The Chess Empire. One can only speculate whether these companies share the same carvers, or whether Antiquechesscrafts actually makes sets for the two other companies. There's really no way of knowing.
You can find their offers on Etsy. The B & Co pieces shown on the Etsy page are actually taken from the ones I got, ...
https://www.etsy.com/de-en/listing/1472621824/b-c-44-reproduction-vintage-antique?ref=usf_2020
... as it's a new player on the portal and I was the first to buy a set (an equally wonderful 4.4" Morphy Staunton set in distressed boxwood and ebony), and I got three sets from them so far, overall.