Puzzles Archives - All Collectible Games

Dissected Puzzles

All Collectible Games — Mon, 03 May 2021 09:13:09 +0000

Dissected puzzles were the forerunners of jigsaws. They were very simply made by placing a picture on a piece of wood and cutting it into shapes. Some pieces might interlock, but most of the puzzle was just pushed into place. This meant that it would not stay in one piece very easily. To solve this, the outer edges of some puzzles, like this example, had long interlocking pieces that would hold the whole puzzle together. The reverse of this puzzle has a map of England and Wales. It was quite common for a puzzle to have two sides. These were called double dissection. Reference: Victoria and Albert Museum

Dissected puzzles are very collectible and there are some beautiful examples. Values of dissected puzzles depend on condition plus subject matter.

Below are some examples and price guides of some dissected puzzles including a John Spilsbury puzzle and a boxed set of Victorian puzzles with pictures of children in Victorian dress.

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Puzzle Jugs

All Collectible Games — Mon, 03 May 2021 08:13:39 +0000

Puzzle jugs are puzzles in the form of a jug and were popular in the 18th and 19th centuries. Puzzle jugs of varying quality were popular in homes and taverns. An inscription typically challenges the drinker to consume the contents without spilling them, which, because the neck of the jug is perforated, is impossible to do conventionally.

The solution to the puzzle is that the jug has a hidden tube, one end of which is the spout. The tube usually runs around the rim and then down the handle, with its other opening inside the jug and near the bottom. To solve the puzzle, the drinker must suck from the spout end of the tube. To make the puzzle more interesting, it was common to provide a number of additional holes along the tube, which must be closed off before the contents could be sucked. Some jugs even have a hidden hole to make the challenge still more confounding. Reference: Wikipedia

Below are some examples and price guides of puzzle jugs including a tin-glazed earthenware jug dated 1689 and a rare Staffordshire white stoneware bear shaped puzzle jug.

[1] Wikipedia

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Puzzle Balls

All Collectible Games — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 17:01:44 +0000

Puzzle balls or devil’s work balls originated in China and were usually carved from bone or ivory. They are very intricate and consist of concentric hollow spheres carved from a single solid block that fit within one another in a way that looks impossible. [1]

While Chinese puzzle balls are very intricate, European ones tend to have smooth surfaces.

Below are some examples and price guides of puzzle balls including a 19th Panjab ball and a large canton ivory ball with it’s stand.

[1] Wikipedia

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