Nostalgia Games

AT LAST IT'S FINISHED! 700 PLUS PIECE HOMESTEAD PUZZLE

This puzzle took us two months, at least. We weren't working at it night and day - it would have driven us barmy to do that as it was, truthfully, one piece an hour sometimes! This is a wooden 700+ piece nightmare but it was great! We knew there was one piece missing because there was a message in the box and a pencil drawing of the piece but, of course, there was no guide picture so the only clue we had was that it was in the middle. We first started this puzzle two years ago - and gave up. We started again way back in the autumn and even last week we weren't sure we'd finish before Christmas. But, last night (8.12.09), after a concerted effort, we put the last pieces in. For me, the problem with these puzzles that take so long to do is that I'm doing them so I can sell them. When you're doing them for fun alone this kind of puzzle is the one loads of you clamber for....so, at last, here it is. PRICE: £100.00

ANOTHER NEW ONE - SPECIAL!

This wooden puzzle came from Germany around 1910 and was probably owned by a wealthy family, according to my source! (Thanks, GB) It was made by an unknown manufacturer who used the name Pastime Puzzle, then the words Zeitvertreib and a photo of a woman who is called Katherina. There are 300 (or it might be 500 - I can't read the handwriting!) pieces in this puzzle (missing two, maybe three)and they make a great picture of a bridge and buildings - with quite a lot of sky! Not the easiest puzzle in the world and a fairly rare one in England! PRICE: £75.00

19th CENTURY MAP OF ENGLAND AND WALES - PEACOCK

This is a complete "Superior Dissected Map" of England and Wales dating to the later middle part of the 19th century and made, I am certain, by Peacock. It comes in its original box with sliding top, beautifully decorated with a picture of the personifications of the continents and various ships on the sea. As can be seen, the map is in good condition although somewhat discoloured possibly because of the glue used. The map is somewhat bigger than those I've had in the past but I forgot to measure it! The box is about 11" x 9.25" x 3". The colouring is by hand and each county has been outlined in a colour and cut round its outline. It is a gorgeous item! PRICE: £160.00

BESIDE THE SHINING STREAM

Another really lovely jigsaw, this one is a 500 piece puzzle with a picture by our old favourite, Yeend King. The maker is unknown, but he/she was a good cutter! The ply is very good quality and the puzzle is complete. My photo doesn't do it justice but you can see what a nice picture it is and that the cut is quite intricate. PRICE: £80.00

HIGHLAND CATTLE

This is a gorgeous jigsaw of 300 pieces (unfortunately missing two). It is beautifully cut from a fine quality plywood. The pieces are non-interlocking. The pieces come in an old pine box which has had wood-worm but which is now dead and gone without causing any problems to the puzzle, thankfully. PRICE: £45.00

THE OLD GARDEN

This is an early Tuck jigsaw of around 225 pieces which comes in a plain brown box. The puzzle is a chromo from around 1910 and has written along the bottom the name Tuck plus the dedication to Their Majesties King Edward VI and Alexandra. It has a great, difficult cut. there are three missing pieces as can be seen plus a little tiny bit of a piece missing. PRICE: reserved

EMPRESS OF BRITAIN - VICTORY

Photo: Houses of Parliament (see below for details)

also by VICTORY: (PHOTOS AVAILABLE, PLEASE EMAIL)

THE COWBOY RODEO 175 pc. complete £12.00

ACROSS THE LAKE - Artistic series, 100 pc, complete with whimsies £12.00

GOLDEN HOUR - 60 piece Artistic series with whimsies - £12.00

YOUNG ENGLAND - 80 piece Artistic series with whimsies - £15.00

Children's JUNGLE with cut out figures - £12.00

THE CHANGING OF THE GUARD - An excellent complete 200 piece puzzle showing a colour photograph of the Changing of the Guard outside Buckingham Palace with a crowd of onlookers. The puzzle dates from 1938/39 and is in excellent condition and the original box with its colour guide picture is in remarkably good condition for its age (no splits or tears, not even any tape!) PRICE: £18.00 (Photo available)

LOVELY SCOTTISH SCENE WITH VILLAGE ON HILLSIDE, HEATHER, LOCH ETC. - A 1930's Victory puzzle with 10 whimsies in a lovely 30's box. Unfortunately missing one small (corner) piece and the paper from another piece. The picture is from an oil painting on textured paper. Approx. 300 pieces. PRICE: GBP 25.00 (PHOTO AVAILABLE)

A SHIP (NO MENTION OF NAME ON BOX) - 175 piece puzzle of a ship, all in good condition. £17.50 (photo available)

FRENCH BLUE TRAIN - About 120 pieces, complete (with a tiny part lobe broken and missing) Puzzle in good condition and original box in fair condition. £12.00 (PHOTO AVAILABLE)

HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT - A great puzzle with Westminster Bridge in the foreground with cars etc and the famous Parliament buildings beyond. Complete 125 pc. PRICE: £12.50

A SOUTHERN REGION EXPRESS - mid 40's, complete and in original box
PRICE: £12.00

NEIGHBOURS - A delightful scene set in idyllic English village when all cottages were thatched and had roses round the door! Complete with 150 pieces of thick ply. PRICE: £16.00

HUNT SCENE BY MONTAGUE RIVERS - Another of those nostalgic scenes with hunters in their 'pink' coats, horses and dogs and lovely old English buildings. Complete with 100 pieces of thick ply. PRICE: £10.50

(ALL WITH PHOTOS AVAILABLE)

AND, FOR A LIST OF VICTORY JIGSAWS IN STOCK, PLEASE EMAIL ME. THERE ARE TOO MANY TO LIST HERE!

VICTORY JIGSAW - UNION CASTLE LINER - WINCHESTER CASTLE

This is a 175 piece, complete jigsaw of the Winchester Castle made by Victory some time between 1932 and 1939. It is in very good condition and comes in its original box which is in complete but poor condition. PRICE: GBP 25.00

AN INTERESTING AND RARE LITTLE ADVERTISING JIGSAW

This is a wonderful little cardboard jigsaw - only 35 pieces - which make up a little van with an advert for HP Sauce. It definitely isn't an easy two-minute jigsaw. It was made by Chad Valley who made a similar puzzle of 10 large pieces which came in a box around 1950. This one came in a little brown envelope which is present but has seen much better days! Unfortunately, there is one piece missing - it can't be seen in the photo because of the background unless you know that the car door should be white at the bottom. PRICE: £20.00

A GREAT 30'S COTTAGE JIGSAW

This is a 1930's P.6 Victory costing five shillings, originally. It comes in a very good box with remnants of black and red seals and is in complete and very good condition. There are 300 pieces making up this charming picture - one of those pictures that makes us think that life was so much better then. PRICE: £40.00

'CLEAN CUT JIGSAW'

This is a make I had never seen before and then, like buses, along came three. This is the first and it's quite a nice picture of two people on horseback in front of their modest home (!) It's not a difficult puzzle but it is a nice one with 250 pieces in its original box. PRICE: £22.00

ORDERING DETAILS ON 'HOME' PAGE

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

THE CORNFIELD

This is a lovely picture of a late summer day with trees, dogs and a sleeping man and a gate into a cornfield. The puzzle has about 170 pieces and is complete and in good condition. It is not in a manufacturer's box and I believe it is one of several I have that come from a small puzzle lending library. PRICE: £15.00

THE OLD HOMESTEAD

Here is a Victory puzzle of 150 pieces dating from around 1951. It comes in its original box and is in complete and excellent condition. The picture is reminiscent of the 1930's and was probably produced around then. For some reason people are over-looking Victory puzzles at the moment and, to my mind, that is a mistake. Most (not all, I agree, but the vast majority) were of good quality and well-cut. There are lots around but that doesn't mean they aren't a good puzzle to have! PRICE: £20.00

T.M. THE KING AND QUEEN

The colours in this jigsaw are superb! The 120 or so pieces come in their original very early Chad Valley box (missing an edge of the lid). I was surprised and delighted to find it complete and in such good condition. (I had another last week which was of the same king and queen visiting India with around 18 pieces missing!) The King and Queen are George V and Mary, who looks quite beautiful in this portrait. PRICE: £20.00

QUEEN ELIZABETH I - ON SHIP

This is another black and white jigsaw. It's a 600 piece puzzle of plywood with one and a tiny bit of a piece missing and one piece replaced. Though the puzzle is black and white, some bits of it have been coloured which makes it more interesting. The picture is full of historical characters, principally Queen Elizabeth I bestowing knighthood on a young man while being watched by her courtiers and men in armour. PRICE: £50.00

WOODEN PUZZLE - CORONATION 1937

This is one for the Royal collectors. It comes in a green tin decorated with roses, is an extra thick ply with interlocking pieces and no name of maker anywhere. There are around 250 pieces and it is complete. PRICE: £25.00

HIS FIRST LESSON - A PICTURE BY FREDERIC REMINGTON

This is a really great - and difficult - puzzle of around 400 pieces measuring 18" x 12". The picture is by the famous American painter and sculptor, Frederic Remington, who must have spent quite a lot of his time in the old west observing the cowboys and horses. (Look him up on Google Images...there are lots of wonderful pics) This puzzle has three remade pieces (and you can tell) but I suppose that's better than missing three! To compensate, perhaps, it is made of solid wood and has several whimsies which have been cut to mirror the subject (horse, gun etc.) PRICE: £60.00

GIRL BY A POND

This little 156 piece puzzle is a real gem! It is a photo of a little girl, probably from the 1930's judging by her hair and clothes, standing by a garden pond. There's no maker - it comes in an old cardboard chocolate box - but whoever cut it, did it well and used excellent quality ply. PRICE: £22.50 (the yellow numbers are on my photo, not on the puzzle)

GATHERING WILD FLOWERS

This is an interesting little Zig-Zag puzzle of around 150 solid wood pieces and in its original box. I couldn't figure out, at first, how it could be about flowers when there is so little colour but of course, the title is metaphorical. There is a beautiful angel collecting the little children and taking them to heaven. A bit too sickly sweet for today, perhaps, but a good puzzle for all that. It is complete and in good condition. PRICE: £25.00

A HALT BY THE WAY - 1925 CHAD VALLEY

This is a nice little 150 piece hunting jigsaw painted by Frank Dadd and made by Chad Valley in about 1925. It is complete and in its original box. PRICE: £20.00