In addition to offering the standard values of putting a jigsaw puzzle together, the puzzles in this grouping offer the user one or more novel aspects. Here are two examples.
The idea for using a jigsaw puzzle by which users determine something about themselves was also the subject of Springbok's Your Secret Self, a 1970s jigsaw of 280 pieces in 8 different colors. There was no one pattern for completion of this puzzle - a user chose which pieces were to be used. When a puzzle was assembled, the user consulted an enclosed booklet on the psychology of color to determine what the subconscious color selections and combinations meant with respect to a personality.
This puzzle was donated to the Museum in 1975. It is one of a series of 12 such puzzles published by the American Publishing Corporation, Waltham, Mass.
These puzzles were produced in the late 1960s. The puzzle's function was not only to provide a user an opportunity to assemble a jigsaw puzzle, but also to provide a user with their horoscope.
This example is for people born between April 21 and May 21. The other puzzles in the series are each for a different birth date period.
Along with116 irregularly shaped jigsaw pieces, there are 4 square pieces. Each of these pieces have numbers printed on them. They are turned face down, mixed, and put aside while the rest of the puzzle is assembled. When the balance of the puzzle is assembled, there are four places left open for the pieces that have been put aside. The four pieces are then selected one at a time and placed into the assembled puzzle in the openings. Placement of each piece creates a certain numerical sequence on the face of the assembled puzzle. A user then consults an enclosed Zodiac Horoscope to determine the meaning of the numeric sequences.
The pieces and the enclosed printed horoscope listing are enclosed in a 8.5cm round metal container which has a plastic lid. The horoscope listing is a 27.7cm long x 21.4cm wide sheet of paper with a list of behavioral attributes associated with the number sequences found on the puzzle squares.
Last update April 3, 2010