German Chess Set by E. H. Schütze, ca. 1875-1900

German Chess Set by E. H. Schütze, ca. 1875-1900

This is a chess set made by E. H. Schütze presumably in the late 19th century. The pieces with a king size of 10.2 cm are made of wood, one side lacquered in brown, the other side in black. The design reminds slightly of the Austrian Coffee House style. The peculiar design of the knights, but also the slender shape of the rooks is noteworthy. The set came in the original carton box with stamps of E. H. Schütze on the inside of the lid and the bottom of the box.

Not much information can be found on Schütze, other than that he was a 19th century turner from Berlin. The stamp reads "E. H. Schütze Kunst-Drechsler, Berlin S.W. Kochstr. 35 nahe der Jerusalemerstr. a. Kirch***", which refers to his profession of art turner (Kunst-Drechsler) as well as to a workshop located at Kochstr. 35 near Jerusalemer Str. by the church. The latter is likely to refer to the Jerusalem Church, which was just a few houses down the street. 

I found a few entries in the Berlin address books. Schütze first appears in the Berlin address books in 1850 with premises at the address Leipziger Str. 16 (indicated on the map shown below with ①), very centrally located on the property on which the “Reichspostamt” (Imperial Post Office) was later built from 1871 to 1874. In the following two decades, he frequently changed address, but always moved within a narrow radius of about 1 km. From 1859 to 1864, he is listed under the address Krausenstr. 9 (indicated on the map with ②). Krausenstrasse runs parallel to Leipziger Strasse, and house number 9 was only about 100 m from his previous address. In 1865, Schützenstr. 31 (indicated on the map with ③) is briefly given as the business address. From 1866 until the end of March 1873, Schütze's woodturning workshop is registered at the address Feilnerstr. 11 (indicated on the map with ④), directly next to the military prison southeast of the Jerusalem Church. In April 1873, he finally moved into premises at Kochstr. 35 (indicated on the map with ⑤), which was directly west of the Jerusalem Church. From then on, these premises were also kept by his successors. Schütze was listed as the owner of the shop until 1889. From 1890 to 1903, his heirs, Robert and Franz Schütze, are listed as proprietors. For a short period from 1904 to 1907, Franz Schütze and Georg Lamerdin are listed as proprietors. From 1908 onwards, Georg Lamerdin was the sole proprietor of the shop. It is not clear how long the business was actively operated. Towards the end of the 1930s, the traces are lost. However, the company name of the founder "E. H. Schütze" was retained throughout the entire period.
Share by: