English Chess Forum

John Townsend wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 13, 2021 11:48 am

Could anyone point me to a specimen of James Mason's signature, please. I'd like to compare it with the signature on another document.

Thanks and regards,

John

Hastings 1895 tournament book (ed. Cheshire) below his photo, facing page 19

I'm much obliged, Tim. However, I don't possess a copy of Hastings 1895, so it may be some time until I'm able to see his signature by that method.

John Townsend wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 13, 2021 2:02 pm

I'm much obliged, Tim. However, I don't possess a copy of Hastings 1895, so it may be some time until I'm able to see his signature by that method.

Said photo & signature courtesy of Ed. Winter -

https://www.chesshistory.com/winter/winter137.html

From The Art of Chess 1895

Thank you to John, Gerard and Chris.

I should explain that I'm exploring whether there is a U.S. naturalization document for him, using records on Ancestry.com. A remark in the UK 1901 census ("American citizen") makes it seem quite possible. P.W. Sergeant thought not, giving as a reason that Mason played for Britain in the cable-matches in 1901-2.

Anyway, the document I had in mind was not a match. I'll probably check a few more.

I also have a copy of Principles of Chess (4th edition 1902) with the same picture and signature on the frontispiece as in the Art of Chess as shown above.

Under the title there's a printed quote : Keiner sei gleich dem andern, doch gleich sei jeder dem Höchsten! Wie das zu machen? Es sei jeder vollendet in sich. -Schiller.

In the Art of Chess, in the Appendix he prints a reply to a letter as "Jas.Mason."

"Under the title there's a printed quote : Keiner sei gleich dem andern, doch gleich sei jeder dem Höchsten! Wie das zu machen? Es sei jeder vollendet in sich. - Schiller."

Interesting find by Chris B.

As an aside, is that German quotation originally from Schiller or Goethe?

The answer is Schiller.

He may well have discussed it with Goethe -

According to Wikipedia: "Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (1759 1805) was a German poet, philosopher, historian, and dramatist. During the last few years of his life (1788-1805), Schiller struck up a productive, if complicated, friendship with already famous and influential Johann Wolfgang Goethe, with whom he greatly discussed issues concerning aesthetics, encouraging Goethe to finish works he left merely as sketches; this thereby gave way to a period now referred to as Weimar Classicism."

John Townsend wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 13, 2021 2:02 pm

I'm much obliged, Tim. However, I don't possess a copy of Hastings 1895, so it may be some time until I'm able to see his signature by that method.

You can see a copy at https://www.irlchess.com/hastings1895_a ... eshire.pdf.

Where was James Mason on the 1891 census (taken on the night of 5 April)?

I've been looking again at the "dipsomaniac" thread and this one. I didn't notice any address for him between the 1881 census (43 Crozier St., South Marsh, Lambeth) and 11 December 1893, when he lived at St. Mary's Road, Edmonton and was drunk at Pentonville Road (apart from his visit to Dublin in 1888, and a report on August 19, 1893, when he was staying at Edmonton "for a short time").

Didn't he get arrested between 1881 and 1893? (Sorry if I've missed an address or two).

John Townsend wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 13, 2021 11:48 am

Could anyone point me to a specimen of James Mason's signature, please. I'd like to compare it with the signature on another document.

Thanks and regards,

John

Your latest piece at https://www.chesshistory.com/winter/ind ... d_Korchnoi concludes by saying, 'Although it is widely accepted that James Mason was born in Ireland, there is also a significant amount of evidence that he was born in the United States. More information is needed before any firm conclusion can be safely drawn.’ But this ignores my previous post in this thread where, in an interview with the London Middlesex Gazette, August 19, 1893, James Mason explicitly states that he was born in Ireland. In fact there is no reference to this thread or any of its other contributors who seem to have provided convincing evidence of Mason's birthplace.

Olimpiu Urcan posted a link to your article on Twitter, but when I asked him why this thread was overlooked, he didn't even bother to reply.

Gerard, the article acknowledged that Mason said he was born in Ireland. I'm not sure the 1893 interview adds much to that and I like to focus on new material as much as possible. The question is, was it the truth?

You refer to "convincing evidence of Mason's birthplace", but that is not how I see it.

As the article appeared in Chess Notes, I think it would be better if any further comments were referred directly to its editor, Edward Winter.