Nostalgia Games

FAIRYLITE FOOTBALL PUZZLE

This is a sliding square puzzle similar to the 15 and 16 puzzles but with little pictures of footballers - very topical as we are in the second week of the World Cup at the moment. There are 15 squares which, when 'solved' will have the eleven players in order, then the Ref, the Linesmen and finally the ball. In the 16th space (bottom right) is a picture of a goal on the plastic base. What a nice little 50's puzzle which comes in its original little box which is in good condition apart from the visible graze near the head of the footballer. PRICE: £12.00

TESA, TESTA, MY HAT! AND TIT-BITS NO. 6

Here are four interesting puzzles which I recently received. The TESA comes in a small box which gives instructions on the lid and says BRITISH MADE. Inside the box are eight colourful little pieces made from wood covered with paper. Each piece has triangles of various colours along the sides and a square in the middle. The object is to fit the eight pieces together to make a square, matching up the coloured triangles throughout. Not so easy as you'd think! PRICE: £12.00 (EXCELLENT CONDITION THROUGHOUT)

Next is the TESTA, probably a relative of the TESA. In this small box are nine strips of wood each covered with coloured squares (two or three depending on the length of the piece). The object, again, is to form a square from these pieces but with each colour appearing only once in each line and column (rather like Sudoku!) Along with this does come a sheet with the directions and a grid which has been filled in showing the solution. PRICE: £12.00 (EXCELLENT CONDITION THROUGHOUT)

MY HAT! is not so much a puzzle as a series of puzzles. There is a little booklet inside putting forward puzzles and their solutions using several of the match-sticks-with-no-heads in the box. The puzzle is, in fact, an advertising gimmick by Dunn and Co. It is in excellent condition and complete. PRICE: £12.00

TIT-BITS TEASER NO. 6, THE GREAT 16 PUZZLE. This is an old favourite puzzle which comes in many forms. Inside the box are 16 small squares of wood which take up all the room. The squares are arranged as per a diagram in the lid, the number 16 is removed and then the player slides each piece with the aim of completing the second diagram in the lid. PRICE: SOLD (BOX HAS SPLIT CORNERS BUT CONTENTS COMPLETE)

BAFFLE PUZZLES - 1, 2, 3 AND 4

SHOWING TO THE RIGHT IS BAFFLE PUZZLE NO. 1. All four puzzles come in similar boxes with different graphics on each but all with the same four characters.

Each BAFFLE puzzle is made of ply-wood cut into pieces in different ways with the object of making a set (one at a time) of different shapes. Though there is no outer sign, I believe these puzzles were made to advertise VENESTA plywood which was used for flooring and panelling as well as "the making of Furniture and Home Woodwork", as it says on the leaflet accompanying each puzzle. Numbers 1, 3 and 4 are complete, number 2 is missing one small triangle. The boxes all have split corners and torn edges but the graphics on the lids are great! PRICE: PUZZLE 1, 3 AND 4 > £12.00 EACH, PUZZLE 2 > £6.00 altogether> £35.00 (FOR PHOTOS OF THE OTHERS, EMAIL ME)

1234 PUZZLE

This puzzle comes in a plain green box into which fit these four cubes and a cube of cotton wool with no room for anything else except a hand-written piece of paper showing, I assume, the solution. Unfortunately, I don't know what the problem is(!) but I imagine someone out there does. The cubes are cut out of wood with the numbers 1-4 carved into the sides - each cube has, of course, six sides so each cube has 1,2,3 and 4 plus two others. The cubes are well mad, the box has it's ends split but the box fits so well into its cover that there's no danger of anything falling out. PRICE: £5.00

SQUIZZLE PUZZLE

I had another puzzle like this recently but with no name. This is named on the lid of the slide top box with the additon - 'the imp of annoyance'. On the inside of the lid is a drawing of how to arrange the puzzle pieces and what the object of the puzzle is. There is also a date (hand-written) of 1920's. It's all complete and in good condition. PRICE: sold

EGYPTIAN PUZZLE AND CHINESE PUZZLE CUBE

These two puzzles are both made of wood which is why I've put them together. The Egyptian puzzle consist of four cubes, each with symbols cut into all its sides. Each side has been painted either green, purple, orange or white and the object of the puzzle "lies in placing the blocks in line - or column - in such a manner that eh four colours - or devices - occur each on each of the four faces of the column in any order." The above appears on a hand-written explanation of the puzzle dated 1/12/36 and signed J.C. Lynes (the first initial could be an I or even an S, though). In the bottom of the box which holds these blocks is the Key "which should not be consulted till patience is really exhausted." The cubes sit in a box which seems to have been made specially for them. The cubes, box, instruction sheet and key are all in good condition, though the paper is a little tatty. PRICE: £20.00

CHINESE WONDER CUBE

This is one of those fiendish Chinese puzzles which look so simple. It is a simple block of wood which is cut in such a way that it is possible to take it apart and never be able to put it together again! (especially if you're me) I haven't taken this one apart for that reason. It is from the thirties, I believe and is in great condition as is the box.
PRICE: £10.00

MAESTRO POCKET PUZZLE and WORD-QUIZ PUZZLE

Here are two more plastic puzzles from the 1960's. The Maestro is a puzzle by Peter Pan in which you have to replace the 12 pieces into the box. Apparently there are 1,000 solutions and one is given to you. The puzzle is complete and still on its card although it has been opened and used. PRICE:SOLD

The Word-Quiz is by Fairylite and is a sliding letter puzzle in which you have to see how many points you can score in a certain amount of time. The puzzle is in excellent condition and still on its original card. PRICE: £5.00

MERIT - RANDALL SET OF LETTERS AND NUMBERS

I know this isn't ephemera, nor yet a puzzle but I couldn't think where to put these and there was a space free here! This isn't my usual sort of thing but I thought they looked quite nice and they can come in quite useful as a teaching tool, or for writing the name of your company! This is a set of colourful plastic letters made by Randall around 1960 and in the original box which is in very good condition. PRICE: £6.00

ANOTHER LITTLE TOY WITH NO WHERE ELSE TO BE PUT!

THE LITTLE KNITTER - by SPEARS, probably in the thirties though there is no mention of this particular set in the excellent book on Spears games by Helmut Schwarz and Marion Faber. The set is complete with the little dolly (a plain red piece of wood with heavy duty staples), a little metal spike with wooden handle, instructions and a sheet that shows you some of the things you can make. The whole set is in very good condition, even the original box. All you have to do is provide some wool. PRICE: £10.00

SMALL PLASTIC 5 PIECE TANGRAM IN PSYCHEDELIC PINK

I'm not certain of the age of this puzzle but it comes in a small brown envelope of a type not used nowadays. At a guess I would say it's from the 1950's. There are the five pieces of bright see-through pink plastic which fit together to make a square. A nice little object for you puzzle collectors out there. PRICE: £6.00

WOODEN CHINESE MONEY BANK? PUZZLE

This is part of a large lot that I received a few weeks ago. My first reaction was that it was 'just' a puzzle but now I think it's possibly a money bank as there is a slot in one of the sides just big enough to slip in coins. It's a different take on the old ceramic piggy banks where, if you wanted to remove the money, you had to break the pig. In this, you have to take apart the pieces and then know how to put them together again - no easy task! The puzzles all came in a large old wooden box with "Chinese Puzzles written on the top and with a newspaper in the bottom from Singapore dated 1920, so I assume that the puzzles traveled with it. PRICE: £15.00

PALITOY TANGRAM - PACKING PUZZLE

This is a little plastic box made by Palitoy and made to look like a Chinese ivory puzzle. The box is decorated with birds and flowers on both side; the pieces which you have to fit into the box are decorated with flowers. The whole item is in very good condition apart from a few tiny grubby marks on the box. PRICE: £10.00

ANOTHER CHINESE PUZZLE

This came with the Chinese bank puzzle (and others) and is two wooden squares which are interlocked and fit into each other. It is marked with a stamped signature(?) in what I think is Chinese characters. PRICE: £12.00

TWO BOOKS DESCRIBING LEXICON GAMES

Here are two little books called 25 New Games to be played with Lexicon Cards. One is a first edition, the other is a second edition. There doesn't appear to be any difference between the two books which were "entered at Stationers' Hall February 8th, 1935". If you are into games, collecting word games or if you are just interested in game rules you might be interested in one of these. Both show signs of wear and are a little grubby but they are complete. PRICE: £5.00 EACH

SEE THE NOTE ON HOME PAGE *****

RULES OF BEZIQUE AND RUBICON BEZIQUE

These are different booklets produced by various card producers from the late nineteenth to the middle twentieth century. The games of Bezique and Rubicon Bezique were very popular particularly in the middle to end of the nineteenth century and there were several variations including one which Churchill is said to have liked playing. The red booklet is the latest in this lot. It was produced by WD & HO Wills in 1933 and contains the rules for the above plus a few more. It is in very good shape with no tears. PRICE: £5.00
Next to the red one is one dating from the 1930's by de la Rue and Goodall. I have two and both are in excellent condition. PRICE: £5.00 EACH
Under that is another by Goodall,somewhat earlier, written by Camden and Angelo Lewis. It is in great condition. PRICE: £5.00
and under the red one is one by HP Gibson & Sons (who produced Dover Patrol etc) This one is also in great condition and is £5.00.

PARTY GAMES CATALOGUES & A FORFEITS AND QUIZZES BOOK ALL BY U.P.L.

Collectors of party games might find these booklets interesting. There are three books describing the party games made by Universal Publications Ltd, two from different addresses and with different phone numbers, the third with the label of Sidney Ross and Co. across the address. The bluey/greeny booklet is dated 23rd of April, 1945 on the inside back by a letter from someone who appreciates the games and is the Hon. Social Secretary of a party group so I would think that the booklet was published in the second half of that year. The front of the booklet is marked but the inside is in very good condition. PRICE: £5.00
The red booklet is dated on the front (1954-55) and has a photo of the late founder of UPL - Mr. D.E. Swaffield. This booklet is in exceptionally good condition and lists the party games available at the time and testimonials from people who have enjoyed the games in the past. PRICE: £5.00
The pink booklet also has a photo of Mr Swaffield and is in even better condition than the red one. No date on this one but it's full of games and testimonials, too. £5.00
Last is a book compiled by Mr. Swaffield and, presumably published before his death. It is full of forfeits (no. 87. Stand on a chair and harangue the multitude as though you are selling something in a street market. It will be good practice in case you ever come to that.), quiz questions (which is the sea shore tree? Answer Beech) and a few adverts at the back. PRICE: £8.00

BEDLAM BEAUTIES - A UPL PARTY GAME

The picture on the sleeve of this game is so evocative! This is a game very akin to the Beetle game; there are twelve outlines of faces and by the throw of a dice, each person can draw in features according to the number on the dice. (an eyebrow for a 3, a hat for a 5 etc). The packet appears to be full but there may be one or two missing. I have seen that several have been filled in, in pencil but the sheets are double-sided - and with a photo copier you could make even more if you wanted the game to play. It was originally bought at Gamages for the princely sum of 1/9. PRICE: £5.00

WONDERFUL BERTRAM W. MILLS PROGRAMME FROM OLYMPIA 1928/29 SEASON

This is a little gem of a booklet having 34 (inc.front and back covers) pages of photos and adverts about the circus's 1928/29 season. In it appeared such worthies as Lydia Silverstein, the 24 Millimetre Girls, Con Colleano etc etc. On the inside of the front cover it lists "The Great Assemblage", John Hagenbeck's Specially Imported Cingalese Village, Carmo's Australian Menagerie, the Congress of Strange and Curious People and Carmo's Gallery of Illusions. How this little book lasted this long in this great condition, I can't imagine. Even the staple holding the pages is in good condition! PRICE: £15.00

THE FEATHER'S BUMPER BOOK FOR BOYS AND GIRLS

This is a just post-war soft backed book which looks more like it should come from the 20's but, unless all the things I've read about the publishers are wrong, it can't be before the mid-forties. There are about 60 pages, each one (except for a small section) in a single colour and white. Some pages are printed in green, some in red, some in purple and some in blue as well as a few in black and white. Though it has been used it is in really great condition for something that's been around for as long as I have! There are songs, stories, colouring bits, games and poems. If you were born just before or during the war, you may even remember this book. PRICE: £8.00