Staunton Castle proudly present their very latest, carefully researched and precisely carved reproduction – The Early Nathaniel Cooke 1849 Set.

This set is meticulously handcrafted to accurately reproduce the design of the original Staunton pattern chessmen, registered by Nathaniel Cooke in March of 1849 and first manufactured by Jaques of London in September 1849. This particular design is the first Staunton set, which has become the most popular pattern for chessmen.

There are some versions of the same chess set available in the market. We have available this chess set at our website in two versions. Both of versions of this chess set were introduced to us by the two famous chess collectors.

According to the information provided to us by these chess collectors, this is the early version of the 1849 chess set which had been introduced by Mr. Nathaniel Cooke to Jacques of London, UK who had first produced this hallmark in the year 1849. 

 Nathaniel Cooke registered his design at the UK Patent Office on 1 March 1849. As he was the editor of The Illustrated London News, the newspaper where Howard Staunton wrote a regular chess column, he asked Staunton to advertise his chess set. Staunton did so in his column on 8 September 1849, and the chess set became famous under the name of Staunton.

This tournament sized Chess set features a 4.4" King with a 1.9725" diameter base. The chess pieces are hand carved by our highly-skilled artisans out of the highest grade woods. The chess pieces are perfectly balanced and heavily weighted and felted and are beautifully finished.
Distinctive features of this set include the Bishops with open-miters and the unique design of the Knights, which was apparently inspired by the noble horses from the Jaques of London.