The Book of Chessmen

The Book of Chessmen

The Book of Chessmen, Alex Hammond, 160 p.

The book was written Alex Hammond, who was both, a chess collector and a chess dealer, who had a shop in Burlington Arcade on Bond Street in the very heart of London during the 1940's and 1950's.  Among his close friends were not only the renowned historian Harold J.R. Murray (author of "The History of Chess", first published in 1913, to whom the book is dedicated), but many wealthy collectors including Gustavus Pfeiffer and Jean Manoury. Many collectors from overseas came for a visit to get some expertise or to buy some of the chess sets he offered.

Some of the experience he gathered over the years is reflected in this book, which comes with a number of b/w illustrations, many of which show sets from the Pfeiffer and Maunoury collections.

The book was first published in London in 1950. My copy is signed with "Author's copy (?) no 88, Alex Hammond, 16, Burlington Arcade, W.I., Sept 1950".
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