Alan Smith 'Quotes & Queries' No 6143:

<A chemist, a cartoonist and a chessplayer>

Joseph William Mellor (1869-1938) was a distinguished scientist who was the author of A Comprehensive Treatise on Inorganic and Theoretical Chemistry, which ran to 16 volumes.

He was born near Huddersfield, then travelled to New Zealand with his family. He was a late starter but distinguished himself at college and at the chess board. He wrote a chess column in the Dunedin Evening Star and shared second and third prizes at the 1896-97 national congress. (http://www.edochess.ca/players/p163...)

Mellor left New Zealand in 1899. En route to a post at Owen’s College, Manchester he stopped off at Simpson’s Divan where he was able to defeat Francis Joseph Lee.

After Mellor moved from Manchester to Stoke-on-Trent, he played little chess, but when Staffordshire reached the final of the English Counties in 1913, he played on board 3. However, there he came across Edward Lasker, who proved to be too strong for him.

Unknown Photograph of Joseph W. Mellor with members of the Chess Congress, Unpublished, c. 1892, Hocken Collections

http://s3.amazonaws.com/ourheritage...

This photograph depicts members of various New Zealand chess clubs who attended the Chess Congress in Christchurch in 1892-93. Mellor (on floor) attended, and he leans away from his rival R.J. Barnes (with open book on lap) of Wellington, who eventually won the championship that year. At one stage Mellor played Barnes. He adopted the Ruy Lopez opening, but soon developed a cramped game. At the 27th move Barnes won a knight for a pawn; at the 36th move Mellor won a pawn, and at the 55th a draw was agreed upon. Other notable players include A. Lelievre (with walking stick) and the bearded Cantabrian Henry Hookham next to him.

see: https://www.otago.ac.nz/library/exh...