i aquired this cracking cased Catalin Hamleys set over 10years ago. which for some very unproven reason call these sets ( lovely but not rare and gettable if you can pay the asking price. this Chunky set with a 4 inch king has ” piggy style knights”. I contacted Hamleys for info on the set, with their reply most puzzling as the label according to their knowledge as from 1900- 1970, which made little sense since Catalin was trademarked in 1927? on Google photos some authorities are claiiming these sets are german as fact !!! without offering a shred of evidence as i have seen three smaller cased sets with Ayres stamped on the case or the enclosed board.
I HAVE SEEN DOZENS OF VERY FALSELY CLAIMED Bakelite being sold on E Bay which are anything but hand made with seam joins and clearly moulded . these early Plastic sets are often called as bakelite a generic term. IF in doubt study bakelite chessmen in google photos. the term used as Bakelite type is very misleading ..
I have just purchased a set on Ebay which is purported as being bakelite / catalin. Would you be so kind to have a look and tell me what you think of the set? I really like your set, very nice.
Hi Paul, thank you for getting in touch. In order to assist you by looking at your set, please send some photos or a copy of the original Ebay listing directly to me at guy.lyons@ntlworld.com – Kind regards, Guy