Two Pimpernel Piece Puzzle Boxes Writing on rear DSC05500
A recent ebay purchase from a seller offering four smallish jigsaws by this rare maker Pimpernel Piece Puzzle. There is no entry for Pimpernel in either Tom Tyler's book or on Jigasaurus. Apart from these four jigsaws I only know of one other jigsaw by Pimpernel - a larger whimsy cut jigsaw of Turner's Fighting Temeraire in my collection.
These are the box bases from 150pc The Butterfly & 269pc Naval Manoeuvres.
The writing 'Muriel Osborn' matches the writing on the front of all the boxes. Both boxes have a matching '2'. The note on Butterfly about a missing piece looks more likely to be from an owner than from a cutter. The handwriting on the back of Naval Manoeuvres says 'Puzzle done Robt / Capt ? surname, (a time) in 2 ?, (a date) 6-4-15'. The solid pieces would add credibility to an early date.
All five known jigsaws come in a compact red cardboard box and have the same handwritten text. All those which have photos of the pieces appear to be solid mahogany. This jigsaw Butterfly has the following handwritten text on its lid:
'The Pimpernel Piece Puzzle. From the painting by Hal Hurst RA in the Osborn collection. "Muriel, daughter of George Osborn Rector of Campton in Bedfordshire, as The Butterfly in which costume she attended the Court Fancy Dress Ball" (date obliterated - 150 pieces.'
So we have a connection between the image and first owner or the cutter. An internet search revealed the village of Campton in Bedfordshire. A Wikipedia article linked to an article about the church, All Saints Campton cum Shefford, which included a photo of a framed listing of the church's incumbents. The Rector between 1727-1790 was Thomas Osborn, but the box refers to the Rector 1870-1911, George Montague Osborn, father of Muriel.
(I got much further with this internet surfing - see the account in the description of photos of the front the box.)
In the church there are seven plaques and windows dedicated to members of the Osborn family of Chicksands Priory. The church dates back to the 13th Century and was originally constructed from red sandstone hewn blocks. It has been added to and rebuilt many times over the last eight centuries, including the addition of the Osborn Mausoleum in 1649 and the Osborn Chapel in the same year (which forms the northern part of the church). Several of the Osborn crests and mottoes adorn the church which in Latin is 'Quantum in Rebus Inane,' and translates as 'What vanity in human affairs.'
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_All_Saints,_Campton
The jigsaw is push-fit and line-cut in solid mahogany, the pieces in good condition. When assembling it the face and shoulders came together very easily but the rest was quite tricky. I did it over two sessions in 2-3 hours.
Two Pimpernel Piece Puzzle Boxes Writing on rear DSC05500
A recent ebay purchase from a seller offering four smallish jigsaws by this rare maker Pimpernel Piece Puzzle. There is no entry for Pimpernel in either Tom Tyler's book or on Jigasaurus. Apart from these four jigsaws I only know of one other jigsaw by Pimpernel - a larger whimsy cut jigsaw of Turner's Fighting Temeraire in my collection.
These are the box bases from 150pc The Butterfly & 269pc Naval Manoeuvres.
The writing 'Muriel Osborn' matches the writing on the front of all the boxes. Both boxes have a matching '2'. The note on Butterfly about a missing piece looks more likely to be from an owner than from a cutter. The handwriting on the back of Naval Manoeuvres says 'Puzzle done Robt / Capt ? surname, (a time) in 2 ?, (a date) 6-4-15'. The solid pieces would add credibility to an early date.
All five known jigsaws come in a compact red cardboard box and have the same handwritten text. All those which have photos of the pieces appear to be solid mahogany. This jigsaw Butterfly has the following handwritten text on its lid:
'The Pimpernel Piece Puzzle. From the painting by Hal Hurst RA in the Osborn collection. "Muriel, daughter of George Osborn Rector of Campton in Bedfordshire, as The Butterfly in which costume she attended the Court Fancy Dress Ball" (date obliterated - 150 pieces.'
So we have a connection between the image and first owner or the cutter. An internet search revealed the village of Campton in Bedfordshire. A Wikipedia article linked to an article about the church, All Saints Campton cum Shefford, which included a photo of a framed listing of the church's incumbents. The Rector between 1727-1790 was Thomas Osborn, but the box refers to the Rector 1870-1911, George Montague Osborn, father of Muriel.
(I got much further with this internet surfing - see the account in the description of photos of the front the box.)
In the church there are seven plaques and windows dedicated to members of the Osborn family of Chicksands Priory. The church dates back to the 13th Century and was originally constructed from red sandstone hewn blocks. It has been added to and rebuilt many times over the last eight centuries, including the addition of the Osborn Mausoleum in 1649 and the Osborn Chapel in the same year (which forms the northern part of the church). Several of the Osborn crests and mottoes adorn the church which in Latin is 'Quantum in Rebus Inane,' and translates as 'What vanity in human affairs.'
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_All_Saints,_Campton
The jigsaw is push-fit and line-cut in solid mahogany, the pieces in good condition. When assembling it the face and shoulders came together very easily but the rest was quite tricky. I did it over two sessions in 2-3 hours.