The period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 1837 until her death in 1901 was marked by sweeping progress and ingenuity in Great Britain. It was the time of the world's first Industrial Revolution, political reform and social change, Charles Dickens and Charles Darwin, a railway boom and the first telephone and telegraph.

 

The Victorian chess pieces are typical of that era in that they are highly stylised and decorative. In many ways the face pieces are very similar in style to traditional English playing cards. 

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Unlike some sets which have a great variation between the size of different pieces this set is a very regular one with identical bases and similar overall heights which give it a very elegant appearance when setup on a board.