Promotional Jigsaw Puzzles

The aesthetic appeal of steam trains and popularity of jigsaw puzzles have been used by many companies in the past including Bulmers, Cadburys, Dunlop, Cunard and of course, the Board of the Great Western Railway to promote their products. Even the Co-operative Society got in on the act with a puzzle produced in house in 1935. It features a train displaying the slogan "A Trainload of Good Things from C.W.S. Factories for Co-operators." In today's post 29th May 2011, I am using two pictures, each showing a jigsaw from two of the above companies, Bulmers and Cadburys.

The first pic shows the 1970, 620-piece puzzle from Bulmers, reproducing a painting by Terence Cuneo. The GWR icon, 4-6-0 No.6000 King George V, is the focal point of the jigsaw. The famous cider producers negotiated a sub-lease of the locomotive from Swindon Corporation in 1968. The latter had the locomotive in trusteeship with a view to exhibiting her in the GWR Museum in the town. She was moved to the Bulmers Railway Centre in Hereford in October 1968 and officially handed over a month later. Bulmers had 1.5miles of track at Hereford. The lease expired in 1987 and the locomotive was exhibited at Swindon  in the following year. She was a major exhibit at 'Steam, The GWR Mueum' in Swindon until 2008 when she was moved to the National Railway Museum (NRM) in York;  No.92220 Evening Star moved in the opposite direction.

The Cadbury's promotional jigsaw I have chosen, made by Gibsons, was marketed with two bars of chocolate (they still are) and is derived from a painting by Kevin Walsh. It was part of a double offering of 500-piece puzzles from the chocolate manufacturers titled From Beginning to End. This particular puzzle depicts a canal boat, a road vehicle and a steam train, informing us of how raw materials (cocoa, milk etc) were transported (The Beginning). The locomotive is a fine, red liveried example of a quayside workhorse, the 0-4-0 saddle tank, appropriately named Cadbury. In the second puzzle of the double offering - not part of my collection as no steam locomotive is involved and not pictured here - a family is being served the finished products in an old fashioned, British sweet shop (The End).

Steam and Winter Snow

I have used some pictures of jigsaws featuring steam trains and winter snow previously, and the two in today's post, 22nd May 2011, are equally as good in my opinion.

The first shot depicts a 500-piece jigsaw from the 1980 Age of Steam series by Arrow Games, titled LMS Princess Alice. Stanier 'Princess Coronation' class 'Pacific', No.6223 Princess Alice, is shown in LMS blue and silver 'Coronation Scot' livery with corresponding streamlining. The coaches are LMS maroon ('crimson lake'), unfortunately, and not matching 'Coronation Scot' blue and silver examples. The setting is winter snow which adds a pleasing, pictorial ambience to the painting/jigsaw picture; the artist is not named, however.

The second pic shows a W.H. Smith 500-piece jigsaw titled Nearly Home. The original artwork is by Kevin Walsh. A passenger train headed by a 'Castle' class 4-6-0 locomotive, waits in a station. Several passengers are exiting the station. Some are clutching wrapped presents, some are approaching a waiting 1934 Austin LL (Low Loader) Taxi, some are walking away and others are stood chatting. A decorated Christmas tree is just visible in the brightly lit station waiting room and a  light covering of snow enhances this December scene.

Blue King

In today's post - 16th May 2011 -  I am using two photographs of wooden jigsaw puzzles, both featuring 'King 25' in BR blue livery. Both jigsaws are from my collection of nearly four hundred puzzles, all featuring British steam railways.

The first pic shows a Victory puzzle of approximately 120 pieces from the TP3 series. Charles Collett's giant 4-6-0 'King' class is represented by No.6025 King Henry III, in BR 'Garter' blue livery. The title is Western Region Express. This locomotive graced GWR and, later, BR Western Region 'metals', from 1930 to 1957. Vic Welch produced the original artwork; he was a famous railway artist of the time who produced many works for Ian Allan. Welch's work was prominent in widely read Ian Allan publications such as 'Railways Illustrated' and 'Railway World'.


The second picture shows a 80-piece jigsaw from the Ian Allan company and features the same locomotive in the darker 'Royal' blue livery. The artist is A. N. Wolstenholme. The title is not on the box, unfortunately, but could be as follows - King class 4-6-0 heading a BR Express. This painting differs in style from Vic Welch's example as it displays a more indistinct, slightly abstract backdrop.



Both jigsaws show the locomotive carrying the early BR 'cycling lion' logo (1948-1956) and heading BR 'carmine and cream' passenger coaches.

PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGE OF EMAIL ADDRESS AT THE TOP OF THE BLOG.

Two more from Chad Valley

Jigsaw puzzles and steam railways successfully coincided in the 1920's when the board of the Great Western Railway Company (GWR) introduced a range of promotional jigsaw puzzles that unashamedly exploited the relationship between railway and passengers. The plywood jigsaws were sold cheaply or even given away free of charge. They were an effective way of showing off all the positive aspects of steam railway travel associated with the GWR including holiday destinations, cities, castles, cathedrals, stations, local history, special locomotives and trains etc., etc. At the same time, the popularity of jigsaw puzzles had never been higher and over a million puzzles had been distributed by the end of the following decade. Chad Valley's origin was in the Birmingham printing and book binding business of Anthony Johnson c1820. In 1860 Johnson's two sons set up a similar business in the same city. In 1897 the two sons, Alfred and Joseph, acquired new factory premises close to the Chad stream at Harborne, near Birmingham. These premises became known as the Chad Valley Works. The Chad Valley Company Ltd., was formed in 1920 when three, company owned factories were merged. Some of the finest wooden jigsaws were made between the two World Wars although the company was probably more famous for making teddy bears.
 

Today's post, 11th May 2011, comprises two pics of steam train jigsaws, with both locomotives sporting famous headboards - The 'Cheltenham Flyer' and the 'Torbay Express'. The former was famous for making and breaking speed records, the best example being the run of locomotive No.5006 Tregenna Castle in 1932. The 'Castle' class 4-6-0 hauled the express from Swindon to Paddington at an average speed of 81.7 mph. The Chad Valley jigsaw of 200 pieces, titled The Cheltenham Flyer, is reproduced from an 'F. Moore' (a syndicate rather than a single artist) original and shows the express speeding over Brunel's Maidenhead Viaduct spanning the River Thames. At the head is 'Castle' class 4-6-0 No. 5000, Launceston Castle - it is shown in pic number one. 

The Torbay Express, a 375-piece puzzle from Chad Valley is shown in pic number two. At the head of the train is the icon of GWR metals, 'King' class 4-6-0 No.6000, King George V. The first 'Torbay Express' ran in 1923 from Paddington to Torbay (Torquay) and by the mid 1930's the journey was taking 3.5hrs including a short break at Exeter and station stops at Paignton, Churston and Brixham. 'Castle' or 'King' class locomotives usually headed the express. 

Rebuilt 'Royal Scots'

The two puzzles pictured today, 1st May 2011, feature rebuilt 'Royal Scot' class locomotives.



Pic number one shows 4-6-0 No.6100 Royal Scot in London Midland Scottish (LMS) 'Crimson Lake' livery (which it never actually carried in this rebuilt guise). The original class of parallel boiler class 6P 'Scots' was built by the North British Locomotive Company (50) between 1927 and 1930 and Derby Works (20), three years later; Henry Fowler was the designer. Between 1943 and 1955 the whole class was rebuilt, virtually from scratch, to the design of William Stanier, who had taken over as Chief Mecanical Engineer of the LMS, in 1932. This  work was, however, supervised by Geoge Ivatt as Stanier's expertise was required by the Government for the war effort. The loco in the Hestair 100-piece puzzle (Puzzler 100 series), in restored freshly painted condition, is fronting Bressingham Steam Museum.

The second pic shows the 72-piece, Ponda plywood puzzle, titled Rebuilt 'Royal Scot' 4-6-0 No.46125 3rd Carabinier. The locomotive is liveried in BR 'Brunswick Green' with the early BR (1948-56) 'lion and wheel' motif on the tender. The artist was Vic Welch. The front label on the jigsaw box shows the words "Ian Allan Jigsaw Puzzle" - many Ian Allan jigsaws were (made?and) distributed by Ponda.

Artist John Austin

John Austin is one of my favourite railway artists and two of his pictures, reproduced as jigsaw puzzles, form the basis of today's post, 24th April 2011. He is an Honorary President of The Guild of Railway Artists (GRA) and, to date, has won the GRA's Picture of the Year Award no less than seventeen times; the award in 2010, was his thirteenth in succession. One of John's great strengths is to paint atmospheric pictures of steam icons battling against atrocious weather conditions, particularly on the south west coast, where sea and railway are hardly separated at the best of times. Another of his strengths is to paint scenes involving several steam trains, a subject that demands a deep understanding of spatial awareness and perspective. The two jigsaws I have chosen, reproducing John's work, reflect this latter theme.

My first picture is of the Gibsons' 1000-piece puzzle titled Imminent Departure. This shows two trains at Highley Station on the Severn Valley Railway (SVR) with a third in the background. The two main locomotives are preserved on the SVR. On the left is a class 2, 2-6-0 of George Ivatt, No.46443, heading a short freight train; alongside is BR 'Standard' class 4, 4-6-0, No.75069 of Robert Riddles, heading 'blood and custard' passenger stock.  The third loco in the background is difficult to identify, but may be an 0-6-0 tank type.

Another fine example of a jigsaw showing several steam trains is Cambrian Coast Express, a puzzle of 500 or 750 pieces from Waddingtons. In the picture, a 'King' class 4-6-0 hauls this famous express, and a 'Castle' class 4-6-0 heads another train in the opposite direction on an adjacent line. A 'Grange' class 4-6-0 is also shown heading a freight train while a small pannier tank is shunting in the background. The locomotives are part of BR's Western Region. The Paddington to Aberystwyth 'Cambrian Coast Express' operated on the Great Western Railway from 1927, although its origin was in a 1921 service. A 'King' or 'Castle' class loco hauled the train as far as Wolverhampton or  Shrewsbury where a smaller 'Dukedog' 4-4-0, or 'Manor' (later) 4-6-0, took over. The lines west of Shrewsbury, along the Cambrian Coast, could not support heavier locomotives.

Another jigsaw featuring a John Austin painting is Brockhouse Station; this puzzle was described in the 3rd October 2010 post.

Pendennis Castle

Today, 14th April 2011, I am using two photographs of steam railway jigsaws, from my collection, that are among my favourites. There are two reasons for my choice (i) even though I have always lived in St Helens, my favoured trainspotting region was that on which the Great Western Railway (GWR) operated and (ii) the artwork involved in both is as good as it gets. The famous 'Castle' class 4-6-0, No.4079 Pendennis Castle, is the subject of both puzzles. In each puzzle she is depicted in a totally different style and location, but with impact to spare.

The main claim to fame for No.4079 was that she was loaned to the London & North Eastern Railway (LNER) in 1925 for trials agains the latest Gresley 'Pacifics'. The 4-6-0 'Castle' outperfomed the larger 4-6-2 'Pacifics' and covered herself in glory. The GWR then sent No.4079 to stand alongside Gresley's Flying Scotsman at the 1925 British Empire Exhibition (ran 1924-1925) and proclaimed it to be "the most powerful express locomotive in Britain". She avoided the cutter's torch when she was privately purchased from British Railways in 1964; In 1977 she was exported to Western Australia to run on the railway of the Hammersley Iron Company. She arrived back in Britain after being purchased by the Great Western Society and was placed at the Didcot Centre in 2000.


No.4079 Pendennis Castle has been painted in dramatic style by Bary A. F. Clarke and reproduced by Wentworth as a wooden puzzle available in a number of sizes and simply titled Pendennis Castle. The first pic shows the 500-piece puzzle. The locomotive is painted at either sunrise or sunset against an electric blue and orange sky which is partly obscured by copious clouds of black exhaust.

The second pic shows the Falcon 300-piece puzzle, from the Steamtrains series, titled Castle Class - GWR with original artwork by Rob Johnson  The locomotive pictured in 3/4 elevation is No. 4079 Pendennis Castle heading chocolate and cream (GWR) passenger carriages, exiting the single track, Prince Albert Bridge. The panache of this class of 4-6-0 standard bearers is forever associated with the steam railway era. The bridge was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and spanned the River Tamar, thus linking the counties of Devon and Cornwall; it was opened by Prince Albert in 1859. Brunel's name is  engraved for posterity on a bridge portal.

More Montages

For today, 5th March 2011, I am using two pics of jigsaws featuring montage type illustrations.  Locomotives great and small in BR and pre-BR liveries are shown within a cocktail of railway paraphernalia - signs, signals, station names, engineers, staff, drawings, infrastructure, locomotive headboards, rolling stock etc. I have used two simple montage jigsaws, each comprising four photographs, in a previous 11th January post, but these two are more impressive in my opinion

The first pic shows a 1000-piece puzzle from House of Puzzles titled All Change. The artwork is by Peter Annable. Like some other artists featured on this blog Peter is a member of the Guild of Railway Artists (GRA)**.

Tony Hunt RI is responsible for the original montage style artwork, reproduced by Citadel for the jigsaw The Age of Steam Trains. The puzzle is of 1000 pieces.

If of interest, Tony's representation of The Kings and Queens of England has also been marketed by Citadel, as a 1000piece montage style jigsaw puzzle.   

**The GRA website is a must for lovers of railway art, a huge collection of fantastic pictures in varying styles and mediums by over fifty artists; go to www.railart.co.uk and be amazed.  

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Record Breakers

Coronation and Mallard are two British steam locomotives synonymous with power and speed. The first, a creation of Sir William Stanier of the London Midland Scottish Railway, achieved 114 mph in 1937, a British record. The 'A4' class locomotive designed by Sir Nigel Gresley of the London and North Eastern Railway, achieved 125mph in 1938, a world record for steam locomotion. This figure was acknowledged by Gresley himself although others published an unsubstantiated 126 mph. Today's post, 28th March 2011, comprises two pics showing jigsaws from Falcon's 300-piece Steamtrains series of four puzzles. They all reproduce  the superb artwork of Rob Johnson. A third pic features an information sheet.

The first pic features the jigsaw titled  Princess Coronation Class - LMS.  The 'Coronation Scot', Euston - Glasgow express, was named to coincide with the year of the Coronation of King George VI. It was headed, initially, by Stanier 'Coronation' class 4-6-2, No.6220 Coronation, and a record speed of 114mph was achieved on the inaugural run on 29th June 1937. The location was just south of Crewe on the West Coast Main Line. The 'Coronation' class of locomotives was specially designed for the service. Until 1939 the locomotives and coaches were blue with silver bands but afterwards changed to LMS red with gold bands. The train did not appear after World War II, consigned to history.

Pic number 2 shows the jigsaw titled The Mallard - LNER. Mallard's world record run was achieved on 3rd July 1938 on Stoke Bank, just south of Grantham, on the East Coast Main Line. In the jigsaw the famous 'Streak', No.4468, is hurtling past a local policeman who has stopped cycling to enjoy the experience. It is a picture of contrasts, but also one that epitomises the appeal of steam locomotion.



The third pic shows the information sheet which accompanied each jigsaw in the 300-piece Steamtrains series.

If you wish to view all the photographs published on this blog, either individually or as a slide show, follow the instructions to the right hand side of the blog under the heading 'Picasa Slide Show'. Each photograph is captioned with title, number of pieces and manufacturer.

Puffing Billy, Jupiter and North Star

I am returning to the early days of steam locomotion for today's post, 21st March 2011. Two jigsaws in my collection are a perfect fit for this subject.

My first pic shows a 200-piece jigsaw marketed by William Ellis & Co Ltd under the 'Welcom' brand. Titled Discovery of Steam Locomotion the puzzle features the oldest surviving steam locomotive in the world, Puffing Billy. The engine is on display at the Science Museum, London. Built in 1813 by the famous engineer William Hedley, the steam engine was used to haul coal trucks from a mine at Wylam to the docks at Lemington-on-Tyne in Northumberland. It is known to be the first, commercial adhesion, steam locomotive to have operated on smooth rails. The brightly coloured, illustrative style artwork for the puzzle is not signed, unfortunately, but shows the locomotive in a rural setting, possibly en route to the docks.

My second pic shows a superb hand cut, wooden jigsaw by the renowned specialist Sara White. Titled Travelling on the Liverpool & Manchester Railway - 1831, the 430-piece puzzle dates from 1999. The original work was by Isaac Shaw and aquatinted by S. G. Hughes but Sara's jigsaw is from a Raphael Tuck commercial print that replicated the coloured aquatint. The jigsaw features two trains - a first class train with an additional mail coach attached to the rear, and a second and third class example, with open carriages. The first class train is headed by the locomotive Jupiter, built by Robert Stephenson's engineering company in 1831. Jupiter was a locomotive of the 'Planet' class of 2-2-0 locomotives and is incorrectly portrayed with four equal wheels. The second train headed by the locomotive North Star, of 0-2-2 configuration, was built by the same engineers a year earlier, complete with water barrel tender. 

 

Thankfully, manual techniques for manufacturing wooden jigsaw puzzles are still carried out by a number of traditionalists who will hand cut you an elaborate puzzle of excellent quality. However, when one considers that a hand cut jigsaw of 1000 pieces, for example, involving high degrees of skill, patience and creativity will normally take over a normal working day to produce, it doesn't require mathematical genius to work out the expense involved.