Chess Players - painting by James Northcote

[Phil Innes]

This is, I admit, a bit boring, but my spouse while researching Melville visited the Worcester [MA, US] Museum and took this picture — the Museum is a trove of artifacts about Melville, so I wondered how it ended up there and if Melville was a player? Here are the slightly boring details:—

Provenance:— Commissioned by Richard Chichele Plowden (1743-1830), England, 1806; by descent to William Henry Chichele Plowden (1787-1880), Basingstoke, England, 1830; bequeathed to his son, Sir William Henry Chichele Plowden (1832-1915), Oxfordshire, England, 1880; bequeathed to his daughter, Lady Vaux of Harrowden (Margaret Annette Jane Mostyn, d. 1922), England, 1915; sold by Lady Vaux of Harrowden on the London Art Market, 1917; sold by by Arthur Tooth & Son, NY to Fred Harold Daniels (1887-1967), Worcester, MA, Dec. 1921; Bruce Goddard Daniels (1924-2002) and Janet B. Daniels (1924-2015), Lincoln, MA; gifted to the Worcester Art Museum, MA, 2005.

The painting is dated 1807, Gift of Janet B. Daniels in memory of Bruce Goddard Daniels. Does anyone know if this Daniels was a known chess player in the US — and who is represented in it? To view the image google

https://worcester.emuseum.com/objects/38277/chess-players

Evidently this was from the pre-Staunton era where chess was the 'game of manners' or perhaps of mannerisms, before it was popularized to a mostly working-class environment in the North of England.

Phil Innes

[William Hyde]

On Thursday, February 23, 2023 at 1:15:02 PM UTC-5, Phil Innes wrote:
> This is, I admit, a bit boring, but my spouse while researching Melville visited the Worcester [MA, US] Museum and took this picture — the Museum is a trove of artifacts about Melville, so I wondered how it ended up there and if Melville was a player? Here are the slightly boring details:—
>
> Provenance:— Commissioned by Richard Chichele Plowden (1743-1830), England, 1806; by descent to William Henry Chichele Plowden (1787-1880), Basingstoke, England, 1830; bequeathed to his son, Sir William Henry Chichele Plowden (1832-1915), Oxfordshire, England, 1880; bequeathed to his daughter, Lady Vaux of Harrowden (Margaret Annette Jane Mostyn, d. 1922), England, 1915; sold by Lady Vaux of Harrowden on the London Art Market, 1917; sold by by Arthur Tooth & Son, NY to Fred Harold Daniels (1887-1967), Worcester, MA, Dec. 1921; Bruce Goddard Daniels (1924-2002) and Janet B. Daniels (1924-2015), Lincoln, MA; gifted to the Worcester Art Museum, MA, 2005.
>
> The painting is dated 1807, Gift of Janet B. Daniels in memory of Bruce Goddard Daniels. Does anyone know if this Daniels was a known chess player in the US — and who is represented in it? To view the image google
>
> https://worcester.emuseum.com/objects/38277/chess-players

Edward Lasker noted that in paintings the chessboard was almost always incorrect, either not 8 by 8 or at best oriented wrongly. Northcote
got it right.

>
> Evidently this was from the pre-Staunton era where chess was the 'game of manners' or perhaps of mannerisms, before it was popularized to a mostly working-class environment in the North of England.

The north had Marmaduke Wyvill, MP. If Anderssen became world champion on winning London 1852, surely Marmaduke was vice-world champion for his
second place finish(1)? Though he didn't play much, he did fund chess events.


Blackburne was born in Manchester, and his simul tours of the UK always included the northern cities.

He himself started with draughts, and said that he could not recall a time when he could not play. At the time, according to
the mini-biography given with his game collection, the north of the country was considered superior at this game. Morphy's
games inspired him to take up chess, and an exhibition by Paulsen given in Manchester when B was 19, confirmed
it (the loss is given in the book).

I'm not sure where my more southern family picked up the game. I suspect it was from a great-grandfather who played it
while serving in an army (he may have been in two) and was passed down to my father, who also played it mostly in
the army, but more in Egypt than in Yorkshire or Virginia.

(1) To quote A.J.P.Taylor, "goak here".

William Hyde

[Phil Innes]

On Thursday, February 23, 2023 at 5:27:29 PM UTC-5, William Hyde wrote:
> On Thursday, February 23, 2023 at 1:15:02 PM UTC-5, Phil Innes wrote:
> > This is, I admit, a bit boring, but my spouse while researching Melville visited the Worcester [MA, US] Museum and took this picture — the Museum is a trove of artifacts about Melville, so I wondered how it ended up there and if Melville was a player? Here are the slightly boring details:—
> >
> > Provenance:— Commissioned by Richard Chichele Plowden (1743-1830), England, 1806; by descent to William Henry Chichele Plowden (1787-1880), Basingstoke, England, 1830; bequeathed to his son, Sir William Henry Chichele Plowden (1832-1915), Oxfordshire, England, 1880; bequeathed to his daughter, Lady Vaux of Harrowden (Margaret Annette Jane Mostyn, d. 1922), England, 1915; sold by Lady Vaux of Harrowden on the London Art Market, 1917; sold by by Arthur Tooth & Son, NY to Fred Harold Daniels (1887-1967), Worcester, MA, Dec. 1921; Bruce Goddard Daniels (1924-2002) and Janet B. Daniels (1924-2015), Lincoln, MA; gifted to the Worcester Art Museum, MA, 2005.
> >
> > The painting is dated 1807, Gift of Janet B. Daniels in memory of Bruce Goddard Daniels. Does anyone know if this Daniels was a known chess player in the US — and who is represented in it? To view the image google
> >
> > https://worcester.emuseum.com/objects/38277/chess-players
> Edward Lasker noted that in paintings the chessboard was almost always incorrect, either not 8 by 8 or at best oriented wrongly. Northcote
> got it right.

I dunno, where is White's King <grin>

But the most famous or expensive error must have been in the Day Vionci Code where Tom Hanks is playing at a 'bad board'.

Other than not getting the squares right, there are two common way of messing up the position, wrong color squares set up plus King/Queen transfers.

> > Evidently this was from the pre-Staunton era where chess was the 'game of manners' or perhaps of mannerisms, before it was popularized to a mostly working-class environment in the North of England.
> The north had Marmaduke Wyvill, MP. If Anderssen became world champion on winning London 1852, surely Marmaduke was vice-world champion for his
> second place finish(1)? Though he didn't play much, he did fund chess events.

I know no more than at last writing of who the players were in this instance.

> Blackburne was born in Manchester, and his simul tours of the UK always included the northern cities.
>
> He himself started with draughts, and said that he could not recall a time when he could not play. At the time, according to
> the mini-biography given with his game collection, the north of the country was considered superior at this game. Morphy's
> games inspired him to take up chess, and an exhibition by Paulsen given in Manchester when B was 19, confirmed
> it (the loss is given in the book).

Quite — this was the great transition between the somewhat foppish 'game of manners' played in London salons by upper class twits, and the scientific game played by working class northerners — supported too by newspaper columns much as now, which were egalitarian enough you could read them in the pub.

> I'm not sure where my more southern family picked up the game. I suspect it was from a great-grandfather who played it
> while serving in an army (he may have been in two) and was passed down to my father, who also played it mostly in
> the army, but more in Egypt than in Yorkshire or Virginia.

My father taught me draughts after I started playing chess, but I beat him in the first game. We never played again.

Phil Innes