Antique Australian Chess Set with Folding Board

• Kauri - An evergreen conifer tree associated with New Zealand, but also grown in northern Australia, and islands around the Pacific rim including Borneo, Vanuatu and New Guinea. The timber is generally golden in colour, and straight grained without much knotting.
  
  A by-product of the kauri tree was the kauri gum, the fossilised resin extracted from the tree. The gum was obtained through digging, fossicking in treetops, or more drastically, by bleeding live trees. Kauri gum was used in the manufacture of varnishes and other resin-based products, and also crafted into jewellery, keepsakes, and small decorative items.
  
  Kauri forests were prolific in the north of the North Island of New Zealand. European settlers in the 1700 and 1800s realised that the timber from these tall trees with broad trunks would be ideal for ship building and construction and a thriving industry was established harvesting the kauri tree. The forests were substantially reduced, and now the remaining Kauri trees that grow in New Zealand are protected, and there are reserves in various areas of the North Island.
  
  The remaining stands of kauri in New Zealand are under threat from "kauri disease", a microscopic organism that causes dieback in the trees, with vast tracts either dead or dying.
• Staunton Chess Set - How should the king, queen, rooks and other pieces be depicted? Why is the king always the tallest piece and have a cross on his head. And why is the knight depicted as a horse head?
  
  Until the adaption of a standard design, the designs of the pieces in every set varied. The Staunton chess set set a standard design for each piece used in the game of chess, and was the style adopted for use in chess competitions.
  
  The Staunton designs were developed in 1849 and sold by sports and games manufacturers Jaques & Son of London, and were either designed by the proprietor of the firm, John Jaques or his his brother in law, Nathaniel Cook.
  
  The design was named after Howard Staunton, an English chess player who was regarded as the leading player in the 1840s to 1850s.
  
  The style has been popular for more than 160 years, and is still the standard today in tournament chess games and competitions.

This item has been included into following indexes:

• games and puzzles, chess - chess boards and sets, Staunton design 26
• games and puzzles, various games - board games 253