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J. Jacques & Son is one of Britain's oldest sports and game manufacturers.
Founded in 1795 by Thomas Jaques, a farmer's son of French Huguenot descent, Jaques of London began as a manufacturer specializing in ivory, hardwoods, bone, and Tunbridge ware. Over the centuries, the company evolved under the stewardship of Thomas’s descendants, gaining renown for publishing and manufacturing games, notably under John Jaques the younger.
Jaques of London is credited with the invention and popularization of croquet. According to family lore, John Jaques II was a close friend of Lewis Carroll, the famed author of Alice in Wonderland. Carroll, a founding member of the croquet club at Oxford University, included the game in his celebrated novel. This connection is further evidenced by the illustrator Sir John Tenniel, who initially drew the Happy Families characters for Jaques before illustrating Alice in Wonderland. This intertwining of literary and gaming history highlights the influential social network surrounding Jaques of London, with Carroll’s niece, Irene Dodgson, marrying John Jaques III.
During World War II, the popularity of chess surged, and Jaques of London’s Staunton chess sets played a unique role in the war effort. MI9 ingeniously used Jaques's wooden chess sets to smuggle essential items to British and American prisoners of war. The hollowed-out pieces and chessboards concealed maps, currency, documents, and escape tools, aiding prisoners in their efforts to escape. This covert use of chess sets underscores Jaques’s historical significance beyond mere game manufacturing, contributing to wartime ingenuity and resistance.
The Staunton chess set, designed by Nathaniel Cooke for Jaques of London in 1849, represents a milestone in chess history. Renowned for its practical design and universal appeal, the Staunton set was named after Howard Staunton, a leading chess player of the era. This design has since become the standard for chess pieces worldwide, cementing Jaques of London's legacy in the annals of chess history.
