DSC01849 Brentanos Perplexity Playing Band adj
The heart of this puzzle has been lovingly restored by a BCD member who couldn't bear the idea that the jigsaw would be thrown away. More than a dozen pieces have been re-cut by Howard of HS Puzzles and the owner has recreated the image. The jigsaw, Playing Band, originally 108pc, was made for the Bookshop Bretanos by Mrs Margaret Hayden Richardson (the cutter behind Perplexity Puzzles). The front Perplexity label has a 1908 copyright statement for their perplexed puzzler design.
Bretanos mention their store(s) on 5th Avenue and 27th Street, New York.
You can see more examples of Perplexity Puzzles in Bob Armstrong's Old Jigsaw Puzzle website:
This is Bob's summary:
"Margaret Richardson operated her Perplexity puzzle business in New York City on even a larger scale than Isabel Ayer. She claimed credit for bringing the puzzle craze from Boston to New York in early 1908. She used only solid wood with lots of color line cutting and cut many of her puzzles in a distinctive “squiggly” elongated non-interlocking style. She arranged an exclusive marketing agreement with Brentano’s Bookstore and her business became so successful that at one point she hired more than 40 employees. By 1910 she had made enough money to retire to Cape Cod where she continued to cut a few puzzles. See also Williams, “Jigsaw Puzzles: An Illustrated History and Price Guide” p. 37.".
Perplexity is a favourite brand of Anobethio, from whom I bought a 458pc jigsaw showing Napoleon Dancing. Another example from her collection can be seen in the comment below. The brand is seldom seen on ebay in Britain - there is only one other example (142pc Month of May) in the records I've collected. A 100pc jigsaw, The Real Thing, was sold recently in Bob Armstrong's 2019 Fall Sale.
DSC01849 Brentanos Perplexity Playing Band adj
The heart of this puzzle has been lovingly restored by a BCD member who couldn't bear the idea that the jigsaw would be thrown away. More than a dozen pieces have been re-cut by Howard of HS Puzzles and the owner has recreated the image. The jigsaw, Playing Band, originally 108pc, was made for the Bookshop Bretanos by Mrs Margaret Hayden Richardson (the cutter behind Perplexity Puzzles). The front Perplexity label has a 1908 copyright statement for their perplexed puzzler design.
Bretanos mention their store(s) on 5th Avenue and 27th Street, New York.
You can see more examples of Perplexity Puzzles in Bob Armstrong's Old Jigsaw Puzzle website:
This is Bob's summary:
"Margaret Richardson operated her Perplexity puzzle business in New York City on even a larger scale than Isabel Ayer. She claimed credit for bringing the puzzle craze from Boston to New York in early 1908. She used only solid wood with lots of color line cutting and cut many of her puzzles in a distinctive “squiggly” elongated non-interlocking style. She arranged an exclusive marketing agreement with Brentano’s Bookstore and her business became so successful that at one point she hired more than 40 employees. By 1910 she had made enough money to retire to Cape Cod where she continued to cut a few puzzles. See also Williams, “Jigsaw Puzzles: An Illustrated History and Price Guide” p. 37.".
Perplexity is a favourite brand of Anobethio, from whom I bought a 458pc jigsaw showing Napoleon Dancing. Another example from her collection can be seen in the comment below. The brand is seldom seen on ebay in Britain - there is only one other example (142pc Month of May) in the records I've collected. A 100pc jigsaw, The Real Thing, was sold recently in Bob Armstrong's 2019 Fall Sale.