Nostalgia Games

1001 PIECE HOLTZAPFFEL PUZZLE!!!

This is the creme de la creme of British makers. Holtzapffel were wonderful cutters and chose gorgeous pictures for their puzzles. This one is entitled Life in Japan. It is complete with one replacement piece, measures 31" x 19" and is non-interlocking and colour/figure cut. Though the puzzle has lost its original box, the previous owner had the foresight to keep the label from the lid. PRICE: £450.00 sold to MH


DON'T FORGET TO LOOK AT THE SECOND PAGE OF VINTAGE AND OLDER JIGSAWS!

AN ITALIAN JIGSAW PUZZLE - THE PHEASANT HUNTER

This is the jigsaw I have been talking about on the first page. It is an Italian jigsaw - or Gig-Zow - and in its original (quite grotty) box which has been partly sewn together in an attempt to repair the separated edges. The puzzle consists of 500 pieces with one piece of sky missing. The puzzle took a long time and, despite what we feared, it was the lower half which took the longest. The cut is very unusual and even from section to section it changes but, whichever bit you are working on, it's difficult and cunning! (The photo is quite good at showing all the parts but there is a dark shadow on the left just over half way up which is a fault on the lens of my camera.) PRICE: £90.00

GREAT CUT - UNKNOWN MAKE - CARRIAGE ENTERING VILLAGE

This is an excellent jigsaw with a wonderful, intricate cut - unfortunately missing one edge piece. There are almost 400 pieces which come in an anonymous box. There is much cutting round colour and figures making it difficult but not impossible. It was a joy to put together! PRICE: £70.00

A MODERN KNIGHT - AN AMERICAN PUZZLE?

The picture on the jigsaw is by Jessie Wilcox Smith, an American artist of enormous output, mainly for magazines and calendars and almost exclusively of children. This picture seems to be of a young girl helping another with her boots so that they can go outside - to play in the snow, perhaps...(they're dressed in nice warm clothes). There are over 130 pieces of ply in this colour/figure cut puzzle with one of the pieces remade. The puzzle is quite fiendish for such a small one and the cut is wonderful! PRICE: £40.00

RED SAILS ON THE MED

If you like difficult, this is for you! It came in a plastic bag with no mention of name, maker, number of pieces, whether complete or not or picture. We emptied the bag on to five trays and I tried to separate out the edge pieces but found that almost impossible as there were loads of straight edges, some of which have a slight chamfer. We almost gave up several times as we had no idea where it was going - but we persevered and were very pleased when we found a complete and beautiful picture. It was painted by someone whose name appears to be Faust but I can't find anything about that artist.
There are around 800 pieces of non-interlocking pieces, two of which have been previously re-made and one of which has been chewed by a dog (at least, I think it was a dog). Its measurements are 27" x 20" approximately. PRICE: £145.00 Reserved for SE

EARLY GWR CAERPHILLY CASTLE

This isn't the first edition of the puzzle but it isn't the final one, either - it must come somewhere in between. There is no mention of GWR or Chad Valley on the label which has been cut from the original box lid and stuck on to a rather nice 'snake-skin' covered box (paper resembling snake-skin); the photo on the label isn't the usual one as the majority of the train is a much lighter colour than the normal one; and the cut is neither the original non-interlocking nor either of the usual following cuts (coat-hanger or usual Chad Valley). Rather unfortunately, there is one piece missing (top front of the engine). PRICE: £45.00

HIS FIRST EXPERIENCE

I would normally put this set on the children's puzzle page but I like it so much that I thought others would, too! There is a small jigsaw of a man on his first 'bucking bronco' (and having a difficult time!) There is a small copyright sign in the right hand corner and ROLPH CLARK STONE LTD in tiny writing on the left hand corner. This puzzle is contained on a small tray which sits on a set of blocks which are double-sided. On the one side is a picture entitled THE UNEXPECTED GUEST and on the other, BUSTIN' UP THE PARTY. Both pictures have the ROLPH CLARK STONE LTD and also, MADE IN CANADA which explains why there aren't too many of these little sets around, I imagine! PRICE: £18.00

PLAYTIME PICTURE PUZZLE?

This came with a group of Playtime Picture Puzzle jigsaws and is in a PPP box but is cut in such a different manner that I am not sure it is - and the title (The Ferry) is definitely wrong for this puzzle! Whoever made it, though, it is a gorgeous jigsaw cut in a very challenging style. Complete,with one piece remade, it consists of around 250 pieces. PRICE: £35.00

DON'T FORGET TO BOOKMARK THIS SITE!

PONDA - JESTER AND DOG

I think this could probably be described as a children's puzzle but I like the picture so you might, too! There are 72 pieces with a couple of lobes missing paper and, perhaps, a ply but overall the puzzle is in good condition. It comes in its original box which is in good condition for its age (about 60 years old). PRICE: £8.00

HARVEST OF THE ORCHARD

This is the second time I've had this picture on a puzzle - and a nice picture it is, too. In this puzzle there are about 770 pieces, mainly non-interlocking and colour-cut though the edge pieces are mostly interlocking as in the other two puzzles I had at the same time (The Flood and His Ship In Sight - both now sold). There are two full pieces and two very small pieces missing along with a few very small bits of paper but altogether this is a great puzzle. Its measurements are about 17" x 24". PRICE: £95.00 (PS The photograph doesn't do justice to the picture....the bottom part has glare on it. That's my fault.)

BERATON "EMPIRE BUILDERS"

This is a gorgeous little, wavy-edged jigsaw in its original box. The puzzle is complete and in excellent condition but the box is quite tatty. There are about 150 pieces making this picture of a group of people in the "New World" building a log cabin while others see to the preservation of the recent harvest - it could be an American Thanksgiving picture (though it doesn't look cold enough!) or it could possibly be set in Canada, Australia or New Zealand. PRICE: £18.00

A PAUSE FOR REFRESHMENT

This puzzle comes in a box which originally may have been a chocolate box then seems to have been part of a display for Birds Custard so there is no knowing who actually made this jigsaw! But, it is a good picture with an unusual cut, mostly interlocking made up of about 350 pieces and complete. It measures about 16" x 12". PRICE: £50.00


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THE HOME TEAM - CHAD VALLEY

This is a 200 piece puzzle by Chad Valley. It is a pretty little picture of children out for a walk. The jigsaw dates from the 1930's and comes in a small green book-type box. The children are dressed in 19th century costume and I would guess that the original was a water colour painted at the end of the 19th century. Unfortunately there are 2 pieces missing but one is an edge piece; the other is a bit more bothersome! PRICE: £15.00 (Thanks to Mark D. who tells me this picture is probably by Arthur Elsey who painted lots of the Pears and Bovril advert pictures.)

19th CENTURY MAP OF EUROPE - PEACOCK

This is a lovely map of Europe complete in its original sliding-top box. It is a few years later than the map of England I had on her a few weeks ago and dates from about 1885. The box is in great condition as are the pink-paper-backed pieces. The good thing about this puzzle (to me) is that the pieces fit into the box without too much rearranging! PRICE: £150.00

WINTER

This was one of those jigsaws which looked as though there wouldn't be any picture when looking through the pieces before starting but, as you can see, there's a really nice picture by an artist called E.J. Duval. There are about 320 pieces contained in an old Lotus shoe box (with some great adverts for ladies' shoes in the lid!). There is no clue as to the identity of the manufacturer. The pieces are, on the whole, non-interlocking and, being on solid wood, a few are slightly warped and there are 2 small broken bits missing. PRICE: £50.00

GEOGRAPHIA PICTORIAL MAP

This 600 piece map is fairly rare and really nice to do. It is wooden and complete (except for a very small piece of paper on one piece). There are also a couple of broken knobs which are present. This map of England and Wales is very useful as an educational tool but also interesting to look at. There are little drawings of occupations, animals etc all over the map including the seas. It comes with an envelope in which is a copy of the same map just in case it is needed as a guide. It was open when I got it and we put the puzzle together with no help (or very little!) PRICE: £60.00

GLAD TIDINGS

This is a good picture of two women in 'arts and crafts' type costume in a "Roman" room reading with a young girl (the picture is better than my description, as you can see!) The puzzle is by an unknown maker, about 200 pieces with around 12 whimsies and mostly interlocking. As can be seen, there is one piece missing plus a knob with missing lamination. PRICE: £20.00

ECCLESBOURNE GLEN, HASTINGS

This is a nice little (85 piece) jigsaw of a beauty spot in Hastings (I wonder if it is still there). The puzzle is complete and in lovely condition and the box is very good. There is a guide picture on the front made from a Salmon's local view postcard in 'glorious colour'! PRICE: £10.00

ST GILES AND THE DEER

I have to admit that this is one of my favourite jigsaws! I don't know why - I didn't know anything about St Giles before now. I think it's the colours and the way it looks a bit like a pre-raphaelite painting. (or I could be wrong, there) Whatever! There are supposed to be 571 pieces and there are but not all are original. Some were remade long ago, a few were remade more recently. None of the remade pieces are perfect but they aren't too bad, either! The puzzle measures 18" x 21.5" and has one edge piece slightly broken and missing. PRICE: £60.00

A CORNISH FISHING VILLAGE

This is a GWR puzzle made in the thirties. It is in very good condition and comes in its original Series one box with a small, coloured guide picture glued to the front. Complete, there are about 150 pieces. PRICE: £45.00

HIS MAJESTY'S YACHT

This AVN Jones 300 piece jigsaw is much better looking than my photo which came out a bit blurry, I'm afraid - the picture is clear and bright in reality. The picture is from an original painting by Frank H. Mason, RBA who was responsible for some really lovely travel posters in the 1920's and '30's. The puzzle, which is complete, measures 18" x 11". It comes in its original box which is in very good condition although there is a little tear on the bottom of the box (the box still holds its contents well but I have put it into a plastic bag as usual). PRICE: £35.00

REFERENCES

This is another of the Chad Valley jigsaws, the pictures of which are taken from illustrated newspapers. This one would have been produced around 1937, a year after the painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy. It shows the lady of the house interviewing a young girl for the position of new housemaid. The puzzle is complete and in good condition. PRICE: £30.00

A HOT SCENT - CAVALCADE JIGSAW

This puzzle was cut by ex-servicemen, presumably veterans of the First World War. I know that hunting scenes aren't very popular but this picture has a very 'thirties look. It is, unfortunately, missing three pieces but they are all sky so not so important to the picture. There were, originally, 385 pieces and the puzzle comes in its original Cavalcade box. PRICE: £30.00

MAP OF ENGLAND AND WALES

This is a hand-made and hand-coloured (outlines) map which is contained in a purpose-made box. The edges of the map are interlocking and the map is cut into the various counties. Each county has its name and that of its county-town on it. The map may have been made for a particular child or for a school and is probably much younger than the items I usually sell but this is such a good item that I thought someone might like it. PRICE: £20.00

WARWICK CASTLE - GWR

GWR puzzles seem very difficult to sell nowadays but this one has an added advantage - the original GWR map and a leaflet about books on Locomotives. The puzzle is complete and in excellent condition and comes with the two additions, both of which are in excellent condition as is the box, a series one box with black label and colour guide picture stuck on. PRICE: £45.00