Photo: Grapevine, June 13, 2012
Puzzle: Jack and the Beanstalk
Size: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 49cm x 68cm
Producer: Master Pieces, #71145
Notes: Jack and the Beanstalk is an English folktale. The tale is closely associated with the tale of Jack the Giant-killer, and is known under a number of versions. Benjamin Tabart’s moralized version of 1807 is the first appearance in print, but “Felix Summerly” (Henry Cole) popularized it in The Home Treasury (1842), and Joseph Jacobs rewrote it in English Fairy Tales …
Puzzle: Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Size: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 49cm x 68cm
Producer: Master Pieces, #71146
Artist: Scott Gustafson
Notes: “The Story of the Three Bears” is a fairy tale first recorded in narrative form by British author and poet Robert Southey, and first published anonymously in a volume of his writings in 1837. The same year, British writer George Nicol published a version in rhyme based upon …
Puzzle: Thatched Cottage
Size: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 73cm x 48.5cm
Producer: The Canadian Group, Sure-Lox, Photo Gallery 10 puzzle pack, #42610-72
Notes: Once more, no location is indicated by the puzzle producer.
In modern usage, a cottage is usually a modest, often cozy dwelling, typically in a rural or semi-rural location. However there are cottage-style dwellings in cities, and in places such as Canada the term exists with no connotations of size at all. In the United Kingdom the …
Puzzle: Thatched Cottage
Size: 750 pieces
Dimensions: 59.7 cm x 39.4 cm
Producer: The Canadian Group, Sure-Lox, Photo Gallery 10 puzzle pack, #42510-57
Notes: The puzzle producer has not once again indicated the location of the cottage.
Although thatch is popular in Germany, The Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium and Ireland, there are more thatched roofs in the United Kingdom than in any other European country. Good quality straw thatch can last for more than 45–50 years when applied by a …
Puzzle: Neuschwanstein Castle
Size: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 73cm x 48.5cm
Producer: The Canadian Group, Sure-Lox, Photo Gallery 10 puzzle pack, #40617-13
Notes: I have put together another puzzle of the Neuschwanstein Castle before, 500 pieces.
The inspiration for the construction of Neuschwanstein came from two journeys [of Ludwig II] in 1867: one in May to the reconstructed Wartburg near Eisenach, another in July to the Chateau …
Puzzle: Castle Mespelbrunn
Size: 750 pieces
Dimensions: 59.7 cm x 39.4 cm
Producer: The Canadian Group, Sure-Lox, Photo Gallery 10 puzzle pack, #43550-26
Notes: Mespelbrunn Castle is a medieval moated castle on the territory of the town of Mespelbrunn, between Frankfurt and Wurzburg, built in a remote tributary valley of the Elsava valley, within the Spessart forest. One of the most visited water castles in Germany, it is frequently featured in tourist books.
In 1957 Mespelbrunn Castle was one of …
Puzzle: Madrid, Spain
Size: 500 pieces, 1 missing
Dimensions: 37 cm x 52 cm
Producer: GPC Puzzles, Regency Collection, #1550-08
Notes: The Plaza de Cibeles is a square with a neo-classical complex of marble sculptures with fountains that has become an iconic symbol for the city of Madrid. It sits at the intersection of Calle de Alcala (running from east to west), Paseo de Recoletos (to the North) and Paseo del Prado (to the south). Plaza de Cibeles was originally …
Puzzle: Windsor Castle, Britain
Size: 750 pieces
Dimensions: 59.7 cm x 39.4 cm
Producer: The Canadian Group, Sure-Lox, Photo Gallery 10 puzzle pack
Notes: Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and for its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it has been used by …
Puzzle: Springtime at Chambord
Size: 500 pieces
Dimensions: 48.26cm x 35.56cm
Producer: The Canadian Group, Sure-Lox, Photo Gallery 10 puzzle pack
Notes: I have previously put together another puzzle of Chamboard Château, 1000: http://fingeringzen.com/puzzles/puzzle-chambord-chateau.
Chambord is the largest château in the Loire Valley; it was built to serve as a hunting lodge for François I, who maintained his royal residences at Château de Blois and Château d’Amboise. The original design of the Château de Chambord …
Puzzle: Butchart Gardens, Victoria
Size: 500 pieces
Dimensions: 48.26cm x 35.56cm
Producer: The Canadian Group, Sure-Lox, Photo Gallery 10 puzzle pack
Notes: The Butchart Gardens is a group of floral display gardens in Brentwood Bay, British Columbia, Canada, located near Victoria on Vancouver Island. The gardens receive more than a million visitors each year. The gardens have been designated a National Historic Site of Canada due to their international renown. [Wiki]
According to the official site, the …
Puzzle: Coombe Cottage, England
Size: 500 pieces
Dimensions: 48.26cm x 35.56cm
Producer: The Canadian Group, Sure-Lox, Photo Gallery 10 puzzle pack
Notes: The only site containing any information about the Coombe Cottage that I could find, is the marketing site for the accommodations at the cottage itself:
Coombe Cottage is a delightful, 200 year-old traditional, end-terraced cottage with exposed beams and updated extensions overlooking farmland views. It is situated in the picturesque village of Goodleigh, to the east of …
Puzzle: Thatched cottage, England
Size: 500 pieces
Dimensions: 48.26cm x 35.56cm
Producer: The Canadian Group, Sure-Lox, Photo Gallery 10 puzzle pack
Notes: Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge (Cladium mariscus), rushes, or heather, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. It is a very old roofing method and has been used in both tropical and temperate climates.
Thatching methods have traditionally been …
Puzzle: Castle, Germany
Size: 500 pieces
Dimensions: 48.26cm x 35.56cm
Producer: The Canadian Group, Sure-Lox, Photo Gallery 10 puzzle pack
Notes: Thanks to JLuecking’s comment below, I now know that this castle is the Castle of the Teutonic Order, and it is located on the Mainau Island, Lake Constance (Bodensee).
Mainau is an island in Lake Constance (on the south shore of the Überlinger See near the city of Konstanz, Baden-Württemberg, Germany). It is maintained …
Puzzle: Violin by Victoria Francés (from Favole book)
Size: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 48.26cm x 68.58cm
Producer: Heye, #29197
Artist: Victoria Francés
Notes: Victoria Francés was born on October 25th, 1982. From her early childhood she was fascinated by the beauty of the forest in Galicia, where she spent much of her infancy. After traveling to cities like London and Paris she was hypnotized by the atmosphere there, the same that brought to life legendary masterpieces of Gothic literature. Her illustrations and …
Puzzle: Paris, France
Size: 100 pieces
Dimensions: 23.17cm x 26.35cm
Producer: RoseArt, National Geographic series
Notes: The Eiffel Tower (French: La Tour Eiffel, nickname La dame de fer, the iron lady) is a wrought iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris. Built in 1889 as the entrance arch to the 1889 World’s Fair, it has become both a global cultural icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in …
Puzzle: Easter Island, Chile
Size: 100 pieces
Dimensions: 23.17cm x 26.35cm
Producer: RoseArt, National Geographic series
Notes: Easter Island is a Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian triangle. A special territory of Chile that was annexed in 1888, Easter Island is famous for its 887 extant monumental statues, called moai, created by the early Rapanui people.
The name “Easter Island” was given by the island’s first recorded European …
Puzzle: Cairo, Egypt
Size: 100 pieces
Dimensions: 23.17cm x 26.35cm
Producer: RoseArt, National Geographic series
Notes: Cairo (literally “The Vanquisher” or “The Conqueror”), is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Located near the Nile Delta, it was founded in the year 969 A.D. making it 1,042 years old. Nicknamed “The City of a Thousand Minarets” for its preponderance …
Puzzle: Country Living by Thomas Kinkade
Size: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 69cm x 51cm
Producer: Ceaco
Artist: Thomas Kinkade
Notes: “In the country, wildflowers grow in profusion. To me, these bluebonnets, scotch broom and wild poppies symbolize the abundant blessings of Country Living; these are the tangible pleasures that surround you day in and day out where the air is pure and the sun is bright. This scene might be found any place where the hills and valleys …
Puzzle: Faery by Nadia Strelkina
Size: 750 pieces
Dimensions: 51cm x 68cm
Producer: Lafayette Puzzle Factory, Goldenline Fairies series, #3921
Artist: Nadia Strelkina
Painting: photo
Box: photo
Notes: A fairy (also faery, faerie, fay, fae; euphemistically wee folk, good folk, people of peace, fair folk, etc.) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, a form of spirit, often described as metaphysical, supernatural or preternatural.
Fairies …