Puzzle: Taste of Tuscany, Café Barocco


Size
: 500 pieces
Dimensions: 48.26cm x 35.56cm
Producer: The Canadian Group, Sure-Lox, Taste of Tuscany series
Box:
photo
Notes:
Tuscany (Italian: Toscana) is a region in Central Italy. The regional capital is Florence.

Tuscany is known for its beautiful landscapes, its rich artistic legacy and vast influence on high culture. Tuscany is widely regarded as the true birthplace of the Italian Renaissance, and has been home to some of the most influential people in the history of arts and science, such as Petrarch, Dante, Botticelli, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo Galilei, Amerigo Vespucci and Puccini. Tuscany has a unique culinary tradition, and is famous for its wines (most famous of which are Chianti, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Morellino di Scansano and Brunello di Montalcino). Most of the frescos, sculptures and paintings in Tuscany are also held in the region’s abundant churches and cathedrals, such as Florence Cathedral, Siena Cathedral, Pisa Cathedral and the Collegiata di San Gimignano. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Beech Walk Road


Size
: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 73cm x 48.57cm
Producer: The Canadian Group, Sure-Lox, Country Roads series
Notes:
Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.

Beech wood is an excellent firewood. Some drums are made from beech, which has a tone generally considered to be between maple and birch, the two most popular drum woods. Also, beech pulp is used as the basis for manufacturing a textile fibre known as Modal. The wood is also used to make the pigment known as bistre.

Beech was a common writing material in Germanic societies before the development of paper. The Old English bōc and Old Norse bók have the primary sense of beech, but a secondary sense of book, and it is from bōc that the modern word derives. In modern day German, this connection is even more apparent, with the word for “book” being “das Buch” and “Buche” for beech tree. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Lupine Lined Road


Size
: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 73cm x 48.57cm
Producer: The Canadian Group, Sure-Lox, Country Roads series
Notes: Lupins or lupines (North America) are the members of the genus Lupinus in the legume family (Fabaceae). The genus comprises between 200 and 600 species, with major centers of diversity in South and western North America, and in the Mediterranean region and Africa.

The yellow legume seeds of lupins, commonly called lupin beans, were popular with the Romans, who spread the plant’s cultivation throughout the Roman Empire. The name ‘Lupin’ derives from the Latin word ‘lupinus’ (meaning wolf), and was given with regard to the fact that many found that the plant has a tendency to ravage the land on which it grows. The peas, which appear after the flowering period were also said to be fit only for the consumption of wolves. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Morton Arboretum Road


Size
: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 73cm x 48.57cm
Producer: The Canadian Group, Sure-Lox, Country Roads series
Location site:
http://www.mortonarb.org/
Location: The Morton Arboretum, in Lisle, Illinois, covers 6.9 square kilometres and is made up of gardens of various plant types and collections of trees from specific taxonomical and geographical areas. It includes native woodlands and a restored Illinois prairie. The Arboretum has over 4,100 different species of trees, shrubs and other woody plants from around the globe. In all, there are over 186,000 catalogued plants. The Arboretum has 26 km of hiking trails and 14 km of roadways for driving/bicycling.

The arboretum was established on 14 December 1922 by Joy Morton, founder of the Morton Salt Company. Joy Morton’s Thornhill Estate, established in 1910, formed the basis of the Arboretum’s original area. Mr. Morton’s father Julius Sterling Morton was the founder of Arbor Day. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Monaco


Size
: 500 pieces,  1 missing
Dimensions: 45cm x 35cm
Producer: Leap Year
Location: Monaco or Monte Carlo, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a small sovereign city-state located in South Western Europe on the northern central coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It is surrounded on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about 16 km from Italy.

Monaco is the name of the country and its capital (and only) city. It is famous as a tax haven, and wealthy foreigners make up the majority of the population at approximately 84%. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Hilton Head Lighthouse


Size
: 504 pieces
Dimensions: 27.3cm x 45.7cm
Producer: Mega, Encore! series
Location: Hilton Head is a resort town (located on an island of the same name on the Atlantic Ocean) in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. The island gets its name from Captain William Hilton. In 1663, Captain Hilton identified a headland near the entrance to Port Royal Sound, which he named “Hilton’s Head” after himself. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Coliseum, Rome, Italy


Size
: 750 pieces
Dimensions: 59.69cm x 39.37cm
Producer: The Canadian Group, Sure-Lox, Wonders of the World series
Location: The Colosseum, or the Coliseum, originally the Flavian Amphitheatre (Latin: Amphitheatrum Flavium, Italian: Anfiteatro Flavio or Colosseo), is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire. It is considered one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and Roman engineering.

Occupying a site just east of the Roman Forum, its construction started between 70 and 72 AD under the emperor Vespasian and was completed in 80 AD under Titus, with further modifications being made during Domitian’s reign (81–96 AD). The name “Amphitheatrum Flavium” derives from both Vespasian’s and Titus’s family name (Flavius, from the gens Flavia).

Capable of seating 50,000 spectators, the Colosseum was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology. The building ceased to be used for entertainment in the early medieval era. It was later reused for such purposes as housing, workshops, quarters for a religious order, a fortress, a quarry, and a Christian shrine. [Wiki]

Puzzle: The Sleepy Shopkeeper by Mike Wilks


Size
: 550+ pieces
Dimensions: 46cm x 61cm
Producer: Great American Puzzle Factory
Author: Mike Wilks (b. 1947, London) is an artist, illustrator and author of nine books including the global bestseller The Ultimate Alphabet (Pavilion Books, 1987). [Wiki]
Note: Puzzle within a puzzle – find over 1000 things that begin with the letter “S”. “Who would think that here in the nooks and crannies of the sleepy shopkeeper’s store would be over 1,000 subjects starting with the letter “S”?   Sure – there’s a skeleton, a sailboat and some spectacles, but where’s the snake and the sled and the ship? You’ll enjoy this double challenge as you find all the “S” items and put them in to place to form a spectacular puzzle.” [Puzzle page]

Puzzle: A Court Reception

Puzzle without any missing pieces:


Size
: 650+ pieces, 3 pieces missing, 3 pieces damaged. Update: Sincere thank you to Cliff from Albany, NY who sent me the missing 3 pieces. His puzzle was missing 5 different pieces, and so between the two of us we could put together a complete one.
Dimensions: 48.26cm round
Producer: Jaymar Specialty Co.
Piece: Adaptation of a porcelain plate decoration, Chinese, K’ang Hsi Period (1662-1772), The Metropolitan Museum of Art
History: The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 1654 – 20 December 1722) was the third emperor of the Qing Dynasty and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, from 1661 to 1722.

Kangxi’s reign of 61 years makes him the longest-reigning Chinese emperor in history (although his grandson, the Qianlong Emperor, had the longest period of de facto power) and one of the longest-reigning rulers in the world. However, having ascended to the throne at the age of seven, he was not the effective ruler until later, with that role temporarily fulfilled for six years by four regents and his grandmother, the Grand Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang.

Kangxi is considered one of China’s greatest emperors. He suppressed the Revolt of the Three Feudatories, forced the Kingdom of Tungning on Taiwan to submit to Qing rule, blocked Tzarist Russia on the Amur River and expanded the empire in the northwest. He also accomplished such literary feats as the compilation of the Kangxi Dictionary. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Grand Teton


Size
: 500 pieces
Dimensions: 48.26cm x 35.56cm
Producer: The Canadian Group, Sure-Lox, National Parks series
Location: Grand Teton National Park is a United States National Park located in northwestern Wyoming, south of Yellowstone National Park. The park is named after the Grand Teton, which, at 4,197 m, is the tallest mountain in the Teton Range.

The origin of the name “Teton” is not definitive. One possible origin is that it was the name given by French trappers in the area. (“Tetons” means breasts in French) Another possible source is that the mountains derive their name from the names of one of tribes in the Sioux Nation. [Wiki]

Puzzle: North Cascades

North Cascades, med
Size: 500 pieces
Dimensions: 46 cm x 28 cm
Manufacturer: TCG, #40790-3, #40299W-98
Photographer: Alamy
Location: North Cascades National Park is a U.S. National Park located in the state of Washington. The park is the largest of the three National Park Service units that comprise the North Cascades National Park Service Complex. Several national wilderness areas and British Columbia parkland adjoin the National Park. The park features rugged mountain peaks.

In 1971, the park had 318 glaciers with an area of 117 km², the most of any US park outside Alaska. All the glaciers in the park have retreated significantly from 1980-2005 and the rate is increasing. The recent warmer climate has led to more summer melting and more winter melting events, reducing winter snowpack. Several glaciers in the range have melted away in the last decade. Boston Glacier, on the north slope of Boston Peak, is the largest glacier in the park with an area of 7 km². [Wiki]

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Puzzle: Victorian Splendor


Size
: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: cm x cm
Producer: Springbok
Poem: If I could select any house in the world
or the dwelling that I would call home,
how quickly I’d pick a Victorian manse,
a house with a high stained-glass dome!

I’d surely want turrets and towers, all rounded
and stretching straight up to the sky,
and right on the top of the tallest of all
my personal banner would fly.

Each window would sing out the artisan’s praise,
beveled panes would be etched with designs
all drawn from the heart of a fantasy world
with the lightest, most delicate lines.

Gingerbread fretwork would grace the veranda
while brass knobs embellished each door,
and mantels of marble from Pisa and Florence
would frame cozy hearths on each floor.

Then down in the garden where roses would wind
’round a latticework trellis just so,
there’s be a gazebo with wicker settees
where I and my callers might go.

And just for the times when I need to retreat
and leave behind everyday cares,
I’d have a small room just for daydreaming in
at the top of some steep, hidden stairs.

Yes, if I could choose any house in the world,
I know that’s just what it would be —
a showplace designed in Victorian times,
the perfect relection of me!

[Hazel Haupt, puzzle box]

Puzzle: After the Shower by Kevin Daniel


Size
: 500 pieces
Dimensions: 45.72cm x 60.96cm
Producer: Karmin International
Artist: Kevin Daniel
About the Artist: When Kevin Daniel began dabbling in paints and completing portraits as a young man in the early 1960s, he had no thought that he was nurturing the beginnings of a profession that would last a lifetime. As he studied the Renaissance masters’ paintings and portraits from books and museums, his thoughts were only on how much he enjoyed doing it.

In his twenties, this Minnesota native began concentrating on painting animals and wildlife, discovering that people really appreciated the realism and natural beauty he brought to his subjects. He painted wildlife in natural settings, bringing the viewer into remote scenes untouched by humankind.

Now Kevin has returned to the romantic creativeness of the masters’ portraits he studied as a teen. He has turned his camera on family and friends to feature real people in his paintings.

Kevin has become increasingly interested in children as subjects for his portraits because he senses in them an innocence and carefree existence that is readily identifiable. Kevin recalls real life situations to bring the most honesty he can to his imagined settings. If people feel as excited about viewing his paintings as he does when creating them, he is satisfied. [Puzzle box]

Puzzle: Basler Stadtplan von Matthäus Merian, Historisches Museum Basel


Translation:
City Map of Basel by Matthäus Merian, 1615-17
Size: 500 pieces
Dimensions: 49cm x 36cm
Producer: Historical Museum Basel
Story: “Since it was executed by Matthäus Merian in 1615 and presented to Basel’s City Council, the large map of the city of Basel, a handcolored pen-and-ink drawing now housed in the Historical Museum, has always been greatly admired. Its correct reproduction of numerous details that have since disappeared make the map an incomparable document on the image of the 17th-century city.

Careful observation will reveal that this is not only an artistic work but one based on geometry as well, a fact alluded to by the compass drawn in on the scale of measure. If one follows Merian’s career, however, it would seem that there was no time available to him for this kind of work. Born in 1593, Merian went to Zurich when he was 16 years old to be educated under the engraver and painter Dietrich Meyer. After his apprenticeship Merian traveled to Nancy and then to Paris where he worked out a map for the city of Paris in 1615. When then could he have surveyed the city of Basel? I make bold to assume that Merian’s city map took Hans Bock’s survey, commissioned by the government in 1588, as its basis. This assumption in no way diminished Matthäus Merian’s great contribution in service to his native city.” [From F.Burchhardt. Über Pläne und Karten des Baselgebietes aus dem 17.Jahrhundert (On 17th-century maps and plans of the area in and around Basel)]

The large city map was published in 1615/17 as an etching on four plates. It is 72.5 cm. high and 109 cm. wide. © Historical Museum Basel 1998.