New York: McLoughlin Bro's, 1890.
Price: $400.00
Unbound. Original vintage puzzle. 49 colored cardboard pieces in original box (approximately 13 x 8.75"). The puzzle, put together, measures approximately 19.5 x 11.75". Missing one piece, otherwise in fine condition in the original box, which has very minor wear.
Nineteenth century puzzles were cut by hand from solid wood or a thin veneer on press board, with coping saws, treadle scroll saws and, if the material was thin enough, by slicing with a very sharp knife. The limitations of materials and equipment kept the pieces large, the knobs (if any) large, and the cutting simple, usually straight or crooked lines. The market was primarily for children as learning tools (maps, tables of monarchs, history), morality lessons (bible, proverbs, fables), and, by the second half of the nineteenth century, simple family entertainment (national achievements, technology). McLoughlin Brothers, a leading lithographer in New York City, cut many of their prints into simple puzzles, using large square knob cut for edges to hold the puzzle together, with straight line cut pieces for the interior.
This puzzle exemplifies this particular style, with the knobby pieces making up the borders and with plain square cut pieces making up the middle.
Item #93665
