Dear -,
Every great collection starts with a spark of frustration and a bit of obsession.
For Frank Camaratta, the story of Chess Antiques began in the late 1980s. As a tournament player, Frank absolutely wanted more than the subpar chess sets available at the time. His perspective shifted while attending a World Championship match in London, where he spotted a catalog of antique sets featuring a set of full club size Jaques of London ivory Staunton chessmen from the 1850s. Intrigued by their history and craftsmanship, he began collecting them.
The turning point came in 1989 when a massive collection became available. Frank took a gamble, purchasing the lot. When he listed just one of the smaller Jaques travel sets on a burgeoning platform called eBay, it took off!
Frank realized there was a massive, untapped hole in the US Chess market. He began sourcing rare vintage Jaques of London Staunton sets in the UK and introducing them to collectors across the United States. From there, Frank went on to found The House of Staunton—beginning with his own distinctive line of Staunton chessmen.
Around 2000, he secured the exclusive right to produce chessmen for the legendary 1795 firm of Jaques of London. Today, The House of Staunton crafts precise reproductions of their original 1849 Nathaniel Cooke design, as well as the iconic pattern used in the historic 1972 World Championship match between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky.
Years later, as The House of Staunton continued to grow, Frank channeled his lifelong passion into a specialized venture: Chess Antiques (ChessAntiques.com).
As the first business of its kind devoted exclusively to antique Staunton chessmen, Chess Antiques remains unmatched. While most traditional auctioneers lack the depth of knowledge required to evaluate historic chess pieces, Frank has spent more than 40 years establishing himself as the world’s leading authority on chess authenticity.
When you acquire a piece from Chess Antiques, you are not merely purchasing history—you are securing certainty. Every set is meticulously verified and accompanied by a Letter of Authenticity. True to Frank’s customer-first philosophy, if a set does not bring you complete joy, you may return it. Because no one should own a piece that fails to inspire.
