Brass Unicorn brand chess set c1950

A beautifully crafted brass chess set, made by Unicorn around 1947-1950.  Kings just over 60mm, with each piece felted in green.  The pieces have been machined, rather than moulded, which is evident from the marks on the pieces, apart from the knight heads, which have been formed in a mould.  It's a very elegant set, especially the elongated kings and queens, which adds an element of surprise when you feel how heavy and well weighted the pieces feel in hand.

Unicorn are better known as manufacturers and innovators in the world of darts.  "Unicorn Products Ltd", to give the full name, was established by Frank Lowy (1901-1969) in Forest Hill, London in 1937.  Lowy, a native of Budapest, Hungary, had a background as an apprentice engineer and had worked in an international patent office.  He designed and patented the "Silver Comet" dart in 1937, which were sold loose on market stalls or hardware stores. Lowy packaged them up in sets of three and marketed them through sporting goods stores.  The business was only part time until after the Second World War, whereupon it rapidly expanded to become the world's largest and leading manufacturer of darts and accessories.

The first advert for Unicorn chess sets came in 1947 at the British Industries Fair, advertising not just darts, but also "table tennis, chess, draughts, dominoes, backgammon, dice, dice-cups, table games and indoor games of all kinds." The last reference to chess that I could find was in the 1950 Fair.

Holger Langer has a lovely Unicorn metal travel set in his collection - if you have a look at that, you will see that the Unicorn logo and "registered trade mark" is identical the Unicorn Products Ltd's logo.