New book release!

[ulrich schädler]

Dear friends,

I am pleased to announce that the first volume of the series of catalogues of Sir Antonio Horta Osorio’s outstanding collection of chess and other games is now avaiilable.

This monumental volume of 424 pages with numerous colour illustrations is about chess and other games produced in India. Divided into 12 chapters, it covers the history of manufacture and design(s) of chess sets and game boards made in India since medieval times. You can grasp an idea of the quality of the publication somply by looking at the prospectus atttached to this message.

I quote from a review by Peter Whitehead to be published in the Chess Collectors International Magazine: 

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I was absolutely speechless when I first set eyes on Volume 1 of the planned series of books on the antique chess set collection belonging to CCI member Sir António Horta-Osório. Magnificent. Superb. Outstanding. I cannot find enough superlatives to summarise my emotions. Even now, after having spent a reasonable amount of time reading and looking at it in detail, it still takes my breath away. I have most books on chess collecting but this one surpasses them all and by a considerable way. I do believe that it is unparalleled. As a book, it works on different levels. It is one of the most stunning coffee table books that I have ever seen on any topic. At 424 pages in length and weighing in at 3.1kg, it is a mighty tome. In the Introduction, António states that “We have placed special emphasis on the quality of the photos”. That is the understatement of the decade! The quality of the photography is unbelievable. You feel as though you are holding the pieces in your own hands up close with all details perfectly visible. Each single page is 28cm by 30cm which is between A4 and A3 paper size. Imagine a full- page photo of a board or a single chess piece in that sort of detail. (…)

The book is divided into themes, each a chapter and semi- independent essay written by world- renowned chess experts and historians to accompany and illustrate items from the collection. In the Introduction, António emphasises that a key aspect of the pleasure of collecting for him is researching and documenting his sets and this is definitely reflected in this book which will also serve as an invaluable research tool for collectors and become one of the standard reference texts on antique Indian chess sets, if not the reference. (…) The chapters are split mainly by region (e.g. Visakhapatnam, Rajasthan, North India, South India and so on) but also by theme (e.g. John Company sets, Islamic pattern sets, domestic Indian sets) and special topics (e.g. material and techniques, single pieces, chess boards in the Age of Discovery). The list of authors of individual chapters is as follows- António Horta- Osório, Jonathan Crumiller, Ulrich Schädler, Thomas Thomsen, Raymond Keene, Jackie Eales, Jacob Schmidt-Madsen, Leander Feiler, and Hugo Miguel Crespo.

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The book can be purchased via Jorge Welsh Research & Publishing, located in Lisbon and London. The web page for the book will be set up soon. In the meantime you can order the book simply by writing an email to bo...@jorgewelsh.com. 

Best wishes,

Ulrich