A brief history of the Chad Valley Company, two small puzzles they made, and digressions about puzzle libraries and packaging. (about 4000 words; 21 pictures)
As always, Bill, your research is impressive, as is your devotion to this hobby. I must admit, though, that I find the more present-day puzzles and their backstories to be the most engaging. Among the Chad Valley productions, I did like best "Royal Route to the West." I could see myself enjoying assembling and owning that one. I was also surprised by how large the Chad Valley operation became— that photo of their factory was something else! Thanks for your work.
Thanks, Greg. With regard to old vs new I must admit that from an objective point of view I have found that of the puzzles I have done so far I have considered to be the "best" ones in terms of cutting design have been new ones, and of course the recent quality of printing is vastly superior the earlier technology.
On the other hand, there is an indescribable subjective feeling about assembling the old puzzles. I feel like I am a part of a rich history. It feels different than I get from handling other antiques. Perhaps that comes from sharing the same assembly challenge as folks from nearly 100 years ago. I'll be happy to loan you Royal Route to the West and a some other old ones so you and Beth can see if you experience old puzzles that way too.
The Big Three British puzzle factories in early 20th century, and Milton Bradley in the US, were indeed very large operations since jigsaw puzzle-making was very labour intensive back then. That photo shows only part of Chad Valley's cutting shop. I just came across a new source of information that says that they had nearly 50 cutters working in their factory during the 1930s boom.
As always, Bill, your research is impressive, as is your devotion to this hobby. I must admit, though, that I find the more present-day puzzles and their backstories to be the most engaging. Among the Chad Valley productions, I did like best "Royal Route to the West." I could see myself enjoying assembling and owning that one. I was also surprised by how large the Chad Valley operation became— that photo of their factory was something else! Thanks for your work.
Best regards, Greg
Thanks, Greg. With regard to old vs new I must admit that from an objective point of view I have found that of the puzzles I have done so far I have considered to be the "best" ones in terms of cutting design have been new ones, and of course the recent quality of printing is vastly superior the earlier technology.
On the other hand, there is an indescribable subjective feeling about assembling the old puzzles. I feel like I am a part of a rich history. It feels different than I get from handling other antiques. Perhaps that comes from sharing the same assembly challenge as folks from nearly 100 years ago. I'll be happy to loan you Royal Route to the West and a some other old ones so you and Beth can see if you experience old puzzles that way too.
The Big Three British puzzle factories in early 20th century, and Milton Bradley in the US, were indeed very large operations since jigsaw puzzle-making was very labour intensive back then. That photo shows only part of Chad Valley's cutting shop. I just came across a new source of information that says that they had nearly 50 cutters working in their factory during the 1930s boom.