Jaques of London: 230 Years of Game-Making Heritage

Origins: A Surgical Instrument Maker Turns to Games (1795)

The story of Jaques of London begins not with chess pieces but with scalpels. In 1795, John Jaques I established his workshop in Hatton Garden — then, as now, one of London's most commercially active streets, and already home to craftsmen working in ivory, bone, and precision metalwork. John Jaques I trained as a maker of surgical instruments and ivory-turned goods, skills that translated directly into the fine tolerances required for quality game pieces. In an era before mass manufacturing, the craft of turning and finishing hard materials by hand was rare, and Jaques quickly earned a reputation for precision work.

The move toward games and leisure goods was a natural one. Late Georgian and early Victorian London was a society increasingly at leisure, at least among the merchant and professional classes, and demand for well-made indoor pastimes was growing. Chess sets, card games, and bagatelle boards were status objects as much as they were entertainment, and a craftsman of Jaques's quality was well placed to supply them. By the early decades of the nineteenth century, the Jaques workshop had shifted its focus firmly toward games manufacturing — a decision that would prove one of the most consequential in the history of British leisure.

Victorian Expansion and a Culture of Play

The Victorian era was the making of Jaques of London. As the British middle class expanded through the 1830s, 1840s, and 1850s, so did the market for quality indoor and garden games. Parlour games, card games, and board games became central to domestic life in a way that would have been unrecognisable to earlier generations. Jaques supplied that demand with the craftsmanship and consistency that set them apart from cheaper competitors.

The company's reputation rested on its materials: fine boxwood and ebony for chess pieces, ivory for cards and counters, lacquered boards finished to a standard that held up to decades of use. These were not disposable products. A Jaques chess set purchased in 1860 was expected to be in use in 1900, and many were. That durability, and the careful workmanship behind it, became the foundation of a brand reputation that has never been challenged.

The Staunton Chess Set: 1849 and the Defining Moment

If one date defines Jaques of London, it is 1849. In that year, the company released the chess set that would become the global standard — a design so well considered that no subsequent manufacturer has meaningfully improved upon it in 177 years.

The genesis of the Staunton chess set involved three key figures. Nathaniel Cook, a designer with connections to the Illustrated London News, conceived the piece forms: a king modelled on an architectural column, a queen crowned, a bishop with a mitre-like cap, a knight as an expressive horse's head, a rook as a solid castle turret, and a pawn as a simple ball on a base. The design was rational, distinctive, and above all practical — each piece was immediately identifiable from any angle, at any speed of play. John Jaques II, who had taken over the family business, manufactured the pieces to Cook's specification, bringing to bear the workshop's long experience with hard-turned wood and weighted bases. The third figure was Howard Staunton, then the most celebrated chess player in England and the effective world champion of his era. Staunton agreed to endorse the set, lending his name and signature to the packaging.

The commercial and cultural impact was immediate. The Staunton pattern was adopted by chess clubs across Britain within years of its release, and by the end of the nineteenth century it had spread to Europe and America. When FIDE, the international chess federation, formalised the rules of competitive chess in the twentieth century, the Staunton design was codified as the only acceptable pattern for tournament play. That ruling stands today. Every competitive chess set in the world — from scholastic tournaments to the World Chess Championship — is built to the Staunton specification that Jaques of London established in 1849. For more on the origins of the design, see our detailed account of the 1849 origin story.

Beyond Chess: A Company of Inventions

Jaques of London's contribution to British leisure extends far beyond chess. The company played a central role in establishing the rules and equipment of several games that are now considered quintessentially British.

Croquet was standardised by Jaques in 1851. The company produced the first commercially available croquet sets with consistent mallet weights, hoop gauges, and ball specifications — turning a loosely informal lawn game into a sport with reproducible rules. Croquet became one of the defining leisure activities of the Victorian upper-middle class, and the Jaques version of the game shaped how it was played for generations.

Table tennis — or Ping-Pong, as Jaques named it — was trademarked by the company in 1900. Jaques manufactured the first standardised sets of bats, balls, and nets, transforming an informal after-dinner activity into a game that could be played consistently and competitively. The Ping-Pong trademark was eventually sold to the United States Table Tennis Association, but the game's commercial origins lie squarely with Jaques.

The company also produced early editions of Snakes and Ladders and the Happy Families card game, both of which became staples of Victorian and Edwardian childhood. Happy Families, with its illustrated family character cards, was a Jaques original that has since been copied by dozens of manufacturers worldwide.

Royal Warrants and the Highest Standard

Jaques of London's quality was recognised at the highest levels. The company held royal warrants authorising it to supply games to the royal household, and sets bearing the Jaques name found their way into Buckingham Palace. Royal warrant holders were — and remain — subject to strict quality requirements and regular review, and Jaques's sustained retention of these honours over many decades speaks to the consistency of their manufacturing standards. The warrant also served as a powerful signal to the wider market: if Jaques chess sets were good enough for the Palace, they were good enough for any drawing room in England.

Surviving Two World Wars

The twentieth century tested Jaques of London, as it tested every British manufacturer. The First World War disrupted supply chains and diverted craftsmen; the Second World War brought material shortages, factory requisitions, and the destruction of much of London's commercial infrastructure. Many companies of similar age did not survive. Jaques did, sustained by its reputation, its product range, and the continuity of craft knowledge passed down within the business. The post-war decades saw the company adapt to changed economic conditions, shifting some production methods while maintaining the material and quality standards that the brand demanded.

Hatton Garden to Thornton Heath: Following the Craft

The company's physical history mirrors the broader story of London manufacturing. Founded in Hatton Garden in the City of London — then a centre of precision craftsmanship — Jaques later relocated manufacturing operations to Thornton Heath in south London, following the migration of skilled trades and workshop industries that characterised the city's growth through the Victorian and Edwardian periods. The move allowed for larger premises and more efficient production while keeping the company within reach of the London trade networks and skilled labour pools that sustained it.

The Modern Era: Chess Manufacturing as Living Heritage

Today, Jaques of London continues to manufacture chess sets that trace a direct line back to the 1849 Staunton original. The finest pieces are still hand-turned from premium boxwood and ebony, weighted with lead shot for the satisfying heft that serious players demand, and individually felted by hand. The production methods honour the craft traditions of the nineteenth century while meeting the expectations of twenty-first-century players who know exactly what a great chess set should feel like.

The modern Jaques range spans entry-level sets for children through to museum-quality luxury sets for serious collectors, but the design philosophy is consistent throughout: clarity of piece form, quality of material, and precision of finish. For players who want to understand more about choosing the right set, our chess buying guide covers the key considerations in detail.

What distinguishes Jaques from every other chess set manufacturer is not simply age, though 230 years of continuous operation is remarkable in itself. It is the unbroken connection to the original. When you play on a Jaques set, you are playing on the direct descendant of the pieces that Howard Staunton held in his hands in 1849, the pieces that defined what a chess set should be, and the pieces that every serious player in the world continues to use as their reference point.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: When was Jaques of London founded?

Jaques of London was founded in 1795 by John Jaques I in Hatton Garden, London. The founder trained as a maker of surgical instruments and ivory goods before pivoting to leisure and games manufacturing as Victorian Britain's appetite for quality indoor pastimes expanded. The company has traded continuously for more than 230 years, making it the world's oldest surviving games manufacturer — a claim no other company can credibly contest.

Q: Did Jaques invent table tennis?

Jaques of London trademarked the name Ping-Pong in 1900 and was the first company to manufacture and sell a standardised, commercially available table tennis set. The game itself evolved from informal parlour adaptations of lawn tennis in the 1880s and 1890s, but it was Jaques who gave it consistent equipment, published rules, and the iconic name that spread the game across Britain and around the world. The Ping-Pong trademark was subsequently sold to the United States Table Tennis Association, but the game's commercial origins belong entirely to Jaques.

Q: Where is Jaques of London based?

Jaques of London was founded in Hatton Garden in the City of London in 1795 — then a hub of precision craft manufacturing. The company later moved its operations to Thornton Heath in south London as it grew through the Victorian and Edwardian eras, following the pattern of London's manufacturing districts. Jaques of London continues to operate from the United Kingdom today, maintaining the craft standards and quality controls that have defined the brand across more than two centuries of continuous production.

Q: Why are Jaques chess sets so respected?

Jaques chess sets are the most respected in the world for a simple reason: Jaques of London created the Staunton design in 1849, and every tournament chess set on the planet is built to that standard. No other manufacturer shares that founding heritage. Beyond provenance, Jaques sets are respected for their materials — premium boxwood and ebony, individually weighted, hand-felted — and for the consistency of their piece forms, which meet the FIDE tournament specification while retaining the elegant proportions of the 1849 original. A Jaques set is not merely a reference to tradition; it is the tradition itself.