Puzzle: Hearst Castle, San Simeon, CA, U.S.A.


Size: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 73cm x 48.6cm
Producer: The Canadian Group, Sure-Lox
Notes: Hearst Castle is a National Historic Landmark mansion located on the Central Coast of California, United States. It was designed by architect Julia Morgan between 1919 and 1947 for newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, who died in 1951. In 1957, the Hearst Corporation donated the property to the state of California. [Wiki]

Depicted on the puzzle is the …

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Puzzle: You better be good!


Size: 1000+ pieces (oversized)
Dimensions: 68.58cm x 88.9cm
Producer:  SunsOut, #19208
Artist: Nicky Boehme – Ms. Boehme studied Technical Art at The Oakland Art Institute in California, and went on to become the Art Director of several national art agencies. It was at this time that she received numerous awards as an illustrator and graphic designer.

She has many feature articles on her art in national magazines and trade publications. Her art has been …

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Puzzle: Tea Rooms


Size: 750 pieces
Dimensions: 59.7 cm x 39.4 cm
Producer: The Canadian Group, Sure-Lox
Notes: A tea house or tearoom is a venue centered on drinking tea. Its function varies widely depending on the culture, and some cultures have a variety of distinct tea-centered houses or parlors that all qualify under the English language term “tea house” or “tea room.”

Tea drinking is a pastime closely associated with the English.  Tea first arrived …

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Puzzle: Purple Sea


Size: 1000 pieces
Producer: Golden, Royale
Notes: A sea generally refers to a large body of salt water, but the term is used in other contexts as well. Most commonly, the term refers to a large expanse of saline water connected with an ocean, and is commonly used as a synonym for ocean. It is also used sometimes to describe a large saline lake that lacks a natural outlet, such as the Caspian Sea.

Sunset or …

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Puzzle: London Street Scene


Size: 500 pieces
Dimensions: 35 cm x 48 cm
Producer: Handley Printers Ltd., SK6 1BR, Made in England, jr Deluxe, The Edwardian Collection
Notes: London is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its founding by the Romans, who …

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Puzzle: Eggplant Scene


Size: 1000 pieces
Notes: I do not have a record of the producer of the puzzle as I do not have the box anymore. A clarification is welcome – if you have any clue as to the details regarding this puzzle, I would much appreciate that information.

The eggplant, aubergine, melongene, brinjal, or guinea squash (Solanum melongena) is a plant of the family Solanaceae (also known as the nightshades) and genus Solanum. It bears a fruit of …

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Puzzle: Computers: The Inside Story


Size: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 60.96 cm x 76.2 cm
Producer: Springbok
Notes: Computers: The Inside Story

Don’t let a little ol’ computer scare you —
The way it works is simple as can be,
With byte-by-byte instructions to prepare you,
You’ll have its number quick as one-two-three!
Of course, you’ve got to get the problem stated
In just the proper language, so to speak,
Make sure that all your …

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Puzzle: Dairy Farm, Wisconsin


Size: 500 pieces
Dimensions: 48.26 cm x 35.56 cm
Producer: The Canadian Group, Sure-Lox, Images
Artist: Dennis Hallinan
Notes: Dairy farming is a class of agricultural, or an animal husbandry, enterprise, for long-term production of milk, usually from dairy cows but also from goats and sheep, which may be either processed on-site or transported to a dairy factory for processing and eventual retail sale.

Most dairy farms sell the male calves born …

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Puzzle: Old Postcards, Lusitania


Size: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 69.85cm x 54.61cm
Producer: Guild Puzzle
Notes: A postcard or post card is a rectangular piece of thick paper or thin cardboard intended for writing and mailing without an envelope.

In some places, it is possible to send them for a lower fee than for a letter. Stamp collectors distinguish between postcards (which require a stamp) and postal cards (which have the postage pre-printed on them). While a postcard is usually …

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Puzzle: Michelangelo – La Volta Della Cappella Sistina


Size: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 48 cm x 67.5 cm
Producer: Edizioni Musei Vaticani, Art Collection series
Notes: The Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, Vatican City: Michelangelo took on the painting of the Sistine Chapel ceiling when he was in his thirties and worked at the task virtually alone with great determination between 1508 and 1512. The nine central panels hold the stories of Genesis from Creation and Original Sin to the rebirth of humankind after …

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Book: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum

Title: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Author: L. Frank Baum
Source: audiobook
Text: http://publicliterature.org/books/wizard_of_oz/1
Audio: http://librivox.org/the-wonderful-wizard-of-oz/

Notes: Being a child, I have read the Russian version of this book (there are 6 books comprising the series based on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz), written by Alexander Volkov, the first of which is almost identical to the L. Frank Baum’s original. I have also enjoyed listening to The Dark Side of the Rainbow …

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