Dissected puzzle
John Wallis (d.1818)
Category
Toys
Date
31 Mar 1788
Materials
Wood and paper
Measurements
Puzzle - 590 mm (width); 400 mm (height), Box - 220 mm (length); 182 mm (width); 65 mm (height)
Place of origin
Ludgate Street, 16
Order this imageCollection
Sudbury Hall Museum of Childhood, Derbyshire
NT 665766
Summary
A dissected puzzle with its original box. The dissected puzzle has the name 'Chronological Tables of English History' for the instruction of 'Youth' printed on along the top edge. The puzzle has 32 picture pieces and five border pieces but there are several pieces missing. The puzzle is made with printed paper glued to the top surface. The puzzle has traces of red stuck to the back of the pieces - possibly an old mount. All the edges of the picture pieces and some of the edges of the border pieces are shaped to interlock with other pieces. Each picture piece shows a half-portrait of a king or queen of England inside an oval frame bearing the name of the monarch. The portraits are coloured with pink, blue, yellow and grey, and the oval frames are yellow. A blue swag is draped above the frame; this has the dates of birth, accession, death and the length of reign of the monarch printed on it. The paper has a design of a lion and unicorn flanking an oval which is surmounted by a crown. The following inscription is printed inside the oval ' Wallis's Royal Chronological Tables of English History on a Plan similar to that of the Dissected Maps. Publish'd March 31st 1788 by John Wallis No.16 Ludgate St London: Price 10 6.' Below the oval and the animals is a banner printed with the motto 'Dieu Mon Droit'. A label pasted to the inside of one wall of the box lists all the monarchs shown on the puzzle - William I, William II, Henry, Stephen, Henry II, Richard I, John, Henry III, Edward I, Edward II, Edward III, Richard II, Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI, Edward IV, Edward V, Richard III, Henry VII, Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary, Elizabeth, James I, Charles I, O. Cromwell, Charles II, James II, William and Mary, Anne, George I, and George II. Total number of items is 39.
Marks and inscriptions
On the bottom border of the puzzle: '[pieces missing] Street, London; and Sold by John Binns, Leeds; and Lewis Bull, Bath.' On the label on the lid: 'WALLIS'S/ ROYAL/ Chronological Tables/ of/ ENGLISH HISTORY/ on a Plan similar to that of the/ Dissected Maps./ Publish'd March 31st 1788 by/ John Wallis No.16 Ludgate Str[t]/ LONDON [colon]/ Price 10 6.'
Makers and roles
John Wallis (d.1818), engraver and publisher