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Otto Maier Ravensburg - Patience pays off!

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 10:07:46 GMT

For so many years I tried to find a version of the geographical block puzzle by the German manufacturer Otto Maier from Ravensburg. But two weeks ago, I found a copy at Ebay and I was so happy after winning the auction! The title of this game is 'The young geographer' and it's displayed in two languages: in German ('Der junge Geograph') and in French ('Le petit geographe').

The puzzle comes in a wooden box and contains 6 map templates with the corresponding blocks: Western & Eastern hemisphere, Europe political and physical, a political map of Germany and another one from Austria-Hungary.

Published in 1885 before the Geographical Patience Game from 1891 and the Mosaic Game from 1895.

Look at all maps of this puzzle.

PRATTS FOODS - An advertising puzzle

Fri, 19 Sep 2025 09:37:33 GMT

Welcome back to my next column of MAPPING THE WORLD with Maria!

The American One

Only 10 cardboard pieces but not easy to find! Here comes the Pratt Food Company who sold animal & poultry regulators around the world! Founded in 1872 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the company run offices from New Zealand to Cape Town until at least 1950.

This cool little advertising puzzle wears the typical American colours – red, blue and white. The typical dressed American in the middle of the image holds a package of good animal food in his hands. I guess that this advertising is from around the 1910s-1920s.

"PRATTS FOODS fed throughout the world. Greatest Animal & poultry regulatros. Ask for PRATTS - take no other! Beware of imitations!"

The slogans on the reverse side of the ten pieces are the best of this small puzzle.

My favourite: ”PRATTS FOOD – fattens sheep & keeps them free from disease. Greatest sheep medicine ever invented.”

Queensway Press - A World in a Jig-Saw

Sun, 15 Jun 2025 12:00:00 GMT

Welcome back to my next column of MAPPING THE WORLD with Maria! After my appeal in the Winter 2024 issue, Penny Melling, a long-time, honourable BCD member, contacted me because she wanted to pass on one of her treasures to me.

The Emotional One

I hardly knew anything about the series ‘A World in a Jig-Saw’ by Queensway Press. Many people will be familiar with this manufacturer because of the Mammoth puzzles, but I only knew about these geographical puzzles from a picture on the internet - no more. So, I was all the more excited when Penny got in touch and offered to buy the complete series of 6 continent puzzles from her collection. All in complete condition - which is a real rarity for cardboard puzzles from the late 1930s.
And at the house party in February, the time had finally come: neatly packed in bags and in excellent condition, she presented me with one of her precious treasures. I was deeply touched and still am today! Receiving collector's items from another member is always very emotional for me and they not only find a place in my collection, but also in my heart.

Each puzzle has the same die cut pattern and consists of 209 cardboard pieces. Next to the map of Europe, you find Asia, Australia, Africa, North and South America as well as a map of the polar regions.

Unfortunately, I do not know who was the illustrator of these pictorial maps.

Buckminster Fuller's Dymaxion World

Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:10:59 GMT

Welcome back to my next column of MAPPING THE WORLD with Maria! The new year started with a fascinating virtual meeting in January, in which Jackie took us into the world of moving puzzles. I would like to revisit this great topic today:

The Moving One

While hunting for new world map puzzles, I came across a newspaper article from the American LIFE magazine from 1943. As the world cannot simply be projected from the 3D representation (sphere) onto a 2D form, there are always distortions in the size of the countries and continents. To prevent this, R. Buckminster Fuller developed a moving map made of triangles and squares and called it "Dymaxion World".

This amazing article was accompanied by a 14-part template for rebuilding the map. A puzzle, so to speak! But as paper is not very suitable for puzzles, I wanted to reinforce it. As the card segments were also printed with information on the back, I decided to make a kind of sandwich out of acrylic glass. This protected the card parts and yet you could read both sides. Sliding the parts together also worked much better.

I ordered custom-fit acrylic glass blanks on the Internet, coated them with a spray adhesive and pressed everything together firmly. This resulted in 8 triangular and 6 square puzzle pieces.

I had already put so much effort into making the parts, so I wanted to present them appropriately. My head was buzzing with a folding box in which I could store the parts together with the original article from the magazine.

Thought - done! I found an old wooden box in my cupboard, which I first painted brown. Small, glued-in pieces of wood formed the holders for the puzzle shapes. I glued blue felt to the bottom of the box as protection.

I stuck the article cover picture of the inventor of Dymaxion World - Buckminster Fuller - on the box lid. I also cut the original LIFE Magazine logo with the year of publication out of the magazine and stuck it on as well.

As I had this issue twice, I also had the article twice. This should also be kept in the box. I bought a felt bag for it in the shop - unfortunately in grey. As I had already made a kind of puzzle mat from dark green velvet fabric (folded next to the puzzle pieces), I decided to colour the grey felt with dark green acrylic paint. Now it just looked more harmonious!

The variable arrangement of the pieces creates new world maps and turns the puzzle into a moving map! Some of these different representations you find in the original article: Buckminster Fuller's Dymaxion World

Otto Maier Ravensburg - Same game, different design - Edition 2

Tue, 08 Oct 2024 16:27:02 GMT

Another geographical patience game by the German manufacturer Otto Maier from Ravensburg is this mosaic puzzle.

Published in 1899 (and later), I own three varieties of this game as well. Also, the content is different to each of them, e.g. instead of a German map they added a map of the Switzerland or of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire.

The cut is different, too. The maps with the triangular pieces have different orientations.

Otto Maier Ravensburg - Same game, different design - Edition 1

Tue, 08 Oct 2024 16:21:30 GMT

The Geographical Patience Game by the German manufacturer Otto Maier from Ravensburg was the first puzzle in the history of the Ravensburger Puzzle Company.

Publishing in 1891, you can find this first puzzle game in different varieties. In my collection I have three of them with different boxes, sizes and maps. And not ONE set is complete... but I'm really happy that I have these varities of the oldest puzzle of Ravensburer history!

Mapping the World with Maria 2 - The FAR-FAR-AWAY One

Thu, 22 Jun 2023 07:46:27 GMT

Thank you for visiting my website and welcome to Part 2 of my BCD column "Mapping the World with Maria".

The FAR-FAR-AWAY One

Text will follow after publication in BCD Jigsaw Magazine Autumn 2023.

Not jet a member of the BCD Jigsaw Club? Then join here!

Patriotic Picture Puzzles - A complete series about World War 2! (mh-0537)

Mon, 13 Feb 2023 10:07:43 GMT

Wonderful and interesting jigsaw series with dates and facts about World War 2.

5 Puzzles, each 300 cardboard pieces made by Franklin MFG. Philadelphia / USA in 1942/1943.

The world map was drawn by Stanley Francis Turner (1883-1953) and exists in at least 25 different versions (1940-1945).

Got to item.

A cute Spanish Cube Puzzle (mh-0532)

Thu, 15 Dec 2022 17:19:31 GMT

You can find lots of old geographical block puzzles in France but to get one from other countries is more than difficult - especially from Spain. So, like every time I have the chance to buy rare items I'm so happy about this small treasure.

Unfortunately, there is no hint about its manufacturer or the map maker. It has 12 cubes made from cardboard (NOT wood!!!) and was made in the late 19th / early 20th century. In total, it shows six maps (the World, America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Spain with Portugal.

Go to item.

The great RMS Berengaria combined with a world map! (mh-0515)

Fri, 20 May 2022 14:12:14 GMT

A small but historical doublesided jigsaw from the American WILDER company. No. 111.
Made from thick plywood. 35 pieces only, but with a great image of the 'RMS Bengaria', a former German ship.

Read more information at the wikipedia website en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Imperator .

Go to the item.

Atlas Géographique - with 14 puzzle maps! (mh-0482)

Fri, 20 May 2022 13:56:03 GMT

Some years ago I could buy some great wooden map puzzles, 14 in total made by Guillaume Issleib and published by Issleib & Rietzschel, Gera (Germany).

The original maps were used for a Popular Atlas in France:

"Petit atlas populaire sur toutes les parties de la terre à l'usage des écoles et des familles dressé et puplié. Complet en 14 cartes typographiques coloriées." from 1873.

So all the 14 maps were used to made this collection of jigsaw puzzles. Now I had the chance to buy the same one - but with a box and with a different cut! And this time there is a manufacturer at the box: 'J.L.' - Jullien / Du Val & Logeat.

Go to the item.

Wiggin's Sectional Geography - Silent Teacher series (mh-0475)

Fri, 01 Oct 2021 15:04:42 GMT

This is an item I had on my wish list long time ago - since I've discovered Joe's amazing website icollectpuzzles.com.

A doublesided jigsaw with 54 7mm-solid-wood-pieces showing the maps of the world an the United States.

This teaching puzzle was made by D. & M.C. Wiggins from New Haven, N.Y. which probably was manufactured for the Silent Teacher series.

At the upper and lower part of this map you can find the history of the genesis and exploration of the world.

Some lower texture was cut for the jigsaw - so I will try to find the original print.

Unfortunately there is no box but the jigsaw is in great condition. I guess it's from the 1880s.

Go to the item.

Around the World with Joseph Scholz (mh-0474)

Fri, 01 Oct 2021 15:00:48 GMT

This German geographical game (No. 291) from the 1900s is a forerunner of the "Geographical Puzzle Game" (No. 491) - both made by Joseph Scholz.

It's called "Around the World" and includes 6 map boards with its continents (Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America and Oceania). Each map has 8 small cards on which you find questions about geography and politics. The answers were printed at the map boards.

Go to the item.

Stamps & Geography - A rare German cube puzzle (mh-0473)

Fri, 01 Oct 2021 14:57:52 GMT

Some new amazing stuff for my collection - bringing two of my passions together: map puzzles and stamps!

An antique German cube game titled "Brief-Marken" (Postage Stamps - Timbres Poste) with 70 "cubes" cut into halves (3,7cm). It's from the 1870s because of the map made by Issleib & Rietzschel in the late 1860s-1870s.

Unfortunatley there are missing two pieces - but because the models are there I can replace them.

I love the extraordinary box with its design and the gorgeous and interesting-looking clasp for opening the box.

Go to the item.

"Atlas Patience" - A small German treasure (mh-0472)

Mon, 21 Jun 2021 08:27:41 GMT

To find geographical puzzles from the middle of the 19th century is not so easy - especially if you are looking for German ones. So I was excited to get this small but awesome collection of puzzle maps from the 1850s / 1860s:

The box sizes 14,7 x 12,7cm and the maps only 13,0 x 10,0cm. There are 24 maps showing the two hemispheres, continents and countries in the 1840s.

An interesting map is the one of the 27 Northamerican Free States (including Texas as the newest one in 1845). So we can narrow the period of the maps down to 1845-1850.

Unfortunately there is missing the upper piece of the Turkish Empire. But it's okay for a game of the middle of the 19th century.

Go to item.

Manufacturers Life Insurance Co. Jigsaw (mh-0460)

Thu, 08 Apr 2021 08:42:29 GMT

A really crazy world map puzzle from a member of the BCD!

It has an unusual strange cutting style and the wooden pieces look like little people beckoning to somebody... It was so funny to assemble it because I needed to laugh with every piece I hold in my hand! Like the pieces were saying "Hi" to me...

In the internet I saw a similar one with another boring cut - but without a "original" box too. I guess that they were a giveaway without a box or in a bag / envelope.

The box says "A Rutherglen Jig-Saw" (that's what I'm reading) - but no idea, what that could mean (except that Rutherglen is a town right next to Glasgow / Scotland. Unfortunatley there is no allusion to any manufacturer.

What's about the map? Well, it shows the world in the 1930s and its principal trade routes including distances between them. The main routes go from London / UK which is marked in red. That's a bit untipical for a company (Manufacturers Life Insurance - ManuLife) which was founded in Toronto / Canada in 1887.

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My first French Mosaic Puzzle (mh-0447)

Thu, 25 Mar 2021 10:58:18 GMT

Got new stuff from Spain (todocoleccion.es). It's a vintage mosaic game with 6 maps - each has 42 squares and a different colour on its backside.

Unfortunately there is neither a producer nor a map maker on the jigsaw so I have to do a research. But the maps seem to be of an atlas using for schools.

It's my first (!) mosaic from France. Usually they made cube games and jigsaw puzzles. So it's some kind of a little treasure in my collection.

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"Play & Learn" World Map Puzzle (mh-0429)

Wed, 24 Mar 2021 09:53:02 GMT

A nice vintage world map puzzle with a map from George Philip & Sons from the 1930s. The series called "Play and Learn" and includes several map puzzles.

This map was used quite often for jigsaw puzzles. I don't know how many copies I have... But I will check it!

Go to item.

Advertising Jigsaw Puzzles for Colgate-Palmolive (mh-0441)

Tue, 23 Feb 2021 11:41:43 GMT

An amazing map jigsaw collection of the company COLGATE-PALMOLIVE!

These advertisement puzzles were given to people in Belgium in the late 1930s (aprox.) when they bought special products of Colgate. They produced two series: the first one contains 8 jigsaws of different art paintings (no. 1-8) and the second series has 8 maps (no. 9-16) - no. 16 is the shown world map.

Each jigsaw has 100 pieces and all the maps were cut in the same pattern.

Showing maps are:

No. 9: Belgium
No. 10: Belgian Congo
No. 11: Europe
No. 12: Asia
No. 13: Africa
No. 14: North-America
No. 15: South-America
No. 16: World

The envelopes were printed in two languages - French and Dutch. And the puzzles were wrapped in an advertisement paper which informs about the production and from where they get their raw materials.

Go to item.

Geographical Puzzle from Joseph Scholz (mh-0398)

Thu, 11 Feb 2021 15:17:19 GMT

A German geographical puzzle game (No. 431) from 1900-1910 made by Joseph Scholz Publishing House.

I found this game in a nearby unplayed condition. All the pieces are present even the toy money is stored in its original small bag.

The box includes 6 map boards with its continents (Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America and Oceania) and 180 puzzle pieces showing countries or regions.
Go to item.

Puzzle Géographique (mh-0440)

Mon, 08 Feb 2021 10:49:09 GMT

A vintage French wooden puzzle game from aprox. 1880s-1890s. It includes 8 maps in a wooden box. The title is "Puzzle géographique" which is uncommon for French jigsaws in this time period. Usually they called "Atlas géographique" or "Jeu de patience / géographique".

All maps were printed by E. Dufrénoy and published by the Library Hachette & Cie., Paris. The world map was graved by Erhard, the map of Asia by G. Bagge.

Only the map of Oceania has the information of its maker Richard Cortambert (1836-1884).

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Italian Cube Puzzle (mh-0423)

Sat, 16 Jan 2021 13:55:01 GMT

A wonderful new cube puzzle from Italy! Really hard to find anything vintage from this country. The maps are from Giuseppe Galli and were published by Antonio Vallardi (Milano), aprox. 1900-1910. The box is missing but the cover survived showing a map of Italy (upper left). The puzzle comes with the map templates except the one for Central Italy. I'm trying to get the original atlas.

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Atlas géographique (mh-0424)

Tue, 05 Jan 2021 14:13:53 GMT

Some information about the manufacturer “Jeux & Jouets Français” (JJF) (Database from <a href="http://www.jeuxanciensdecollection.com" rel="noreferrer nofollow">www.jeuxanciensdecollection.com</a>:

Some of the most popular French toy manufacturer (Mauclair-Dacier (MD), Simonin-Cuny (S.C.), Wogue & Lévy (AWGL), Paul Perret and later in 1905 Delhaye Frères) band together to found the new company “Jeux & Jouets Français” – French Games & Toys. The company exists till 1931.

Map puzzle details:
The jigsaws of South America, Europe, France, Africa and Asia were engraved by the French A. Martin. The editor was JJF and the maps were printed by Roche (rue de l’Estrapade 7, Paris).

The map of Oceania was published by Mauclair-Dacier (MD); the engraver and printer were the same as above.

Only the world and the map of North-America are different. The “Mappemonde” was drawn by A.R. Fremin for the atlas from Ambroise Tardieu and was published by Auguste Logerot.

North-America was engraved by E. Guillot (1, rue Friant, Paris), published by the editor E. Bertaux (25, rue Serpente, Paris) and printed by Monrocq (3, rue Suger, Paris). This map comes from the Atlas Grosselin-Delamarche.

Go to item.

Atlas géographique by Saussine (mh-0419)

Fri, 11 Dec 2020 14:21:16 GMT

New day, new arrival! This French jigsaw atlas I bought because it was cheap and has such a lovely lithograph cover.

The box is complete but it was stitched to fix it. The world map is missing two little pieces and some paper at one piece. Europe is complete but France is missing one piece too. The puzzle is from the 1880s.

Go to item.

Carte Géographique (mh-0418)

websitebuilder@1and1.de — Tue, 08 Dec 2020 10:49:09 GMT

A wonderful new item for my collection:

A vintage French puzzle game from aprox. 1880s-1890s. It includes 8 maps made by Richard Cortambert (1836-1884).

Usually you find such French games in a budget version of 3 maps (World, Europe and France) or 7 maps (World, Europe, France, Asia, Africa, North- and Southamerica together, Oceania). The version with 8 maps was the most expensive one.

The game was published by Library Hachette & Cie., Paris - printed by E. Dufrénoy.

The lithograph from the cover of the box was made by J. Minot (5, Rue Béranger, Paris).

Go to item.

Patchwork Jig-Saw Puzzles by King-Larson & McMahon Co. (mh-0417)

Mon, 07 Dec 2020 14:33:20 GMT

Here it is - Puzzle 400 in my collection! And it's a very speacial one. I don't like the word "rare" because lots of people are using it untruly, but it's hard to find this item in the internet. And the best of it: it's complete!

Manufacturer: US-American company King-Larson & McMahon, Chicago ("Created by the makers of Battle Checkers") .

The puzzle comes with 4 envelopes, each contains a puzzle with old American war air planes painted by Charles Hubbell. The puzzles are doublesided so if your are putting them together you will create a world map showing distances between countries and cities.

In total there are 658 pieces - the box promotes "over 1300 playing pieces" - so they counted the pieces twice because you have a doublesided fun!

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The Geographic Educator - a puzzle globe from the 1920s

Thu, 02 Jul 2020 09:49:10 GMT

Hard to find, especially if you want to have a complete one! But here it is: The Geographic Educator from 1927!

For me a really spectacular piece of history. The map shows main steam ship routes including the world's first nonstop transatlantic flight of a single person by Charles Lindbergh in May 1927.

There was no other comparable puzzle globe before and after its distribution from 1927 to 1929. Starting in 1927 the production of the toy lasted only 2 years. The company, the Geographic Educator Corporation, based in New York City, USA, fell prey to the Great Depression in 1929.

Go to item.