Today's post, 28 July 2018, comprises two photos, each showing an old wooden jigsaw puzzle. The reverse side of the first puzzle is also shown.
The first, of 100 pieces and titled The 'Torbay Express' drawn by King Richard 1st Engine, was made by Cotswood. A quick look on 'The Jigasaurus' website (link on the right), indicates that this company may have been in production from the 1930's. A 'King' class 4-6-0, locomotive, No. 6027 King Richard 1st, is pictured heading the famous express passenger service along the picturesque south west coastline near Dawlish, a favourite location for many railway artists. The artist is not named in the jigsaw picture. The 'King' class of 4-6-0 locomotives, designed by Charles Collett for the Great Western Railway, were the most powerful 4-6-0 locomotives in Britain. The picture on the right is the reverse of the jigsaw and indicates the pattern used by the stack cutter. A number of jigsaws were cut simultaneously in stacks, with the pinholes in each corner showing where they were fastened together.
This second picture shows a 250-piece wooden jigsaw titled Merchant Taylors SRy, made by the J Salmon Company under the brand name 'Academy'. A producer of both cardboard and wooden puzzles, the J. Salmon Company was a significant player in the jigsaw industry from the 1920's until the 1950's. The 'Schools' class of 4-4-0 locomotives was designed by the Southern Railway's Chief Mechanical Engineer, Richard Mounsell. They proved to be Europe's most powerful 4-4-0 locomotives and were named after English Public Schools; No.910 Merchant Taylors, was one of 40. The artwork is from the famous 'F. Moore' stable. There was never an artist by this name; a number of artists worked under the 'F. Moore' name, owned by the Locomotive Publishing Company. Thomas Rudd was the most prominent artist but others such as Murray Secretan and Robert Bernard Way were also likely contributors.
