| Custom Wooden Jig Saw Puzzles-Little Cut-Up Puzzles |
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| "That was fun, but you really ought to try one of my Grandfather's puzzles." |
With these innocent words uttered by me, Pete Bura, in the spring of 2006, Puzzle Art was born, or rather conceived. The occasion
was of my helping my bride of four years, Deanna, complete an 88 cent cardboard jigsaw puzzle she had picked up at, er, a certain
well-known giant retailer. She would buy puzzles like this, play them once, and throw them away.
We pulled out 'Mary had a Little Lamb', the 402-piece puzzle shown below, and had a great time with it deep into that night and well
into the next day. Though the picture looks fairly coherent here, the only colors that stood out were the green bow and the red socks,
and there was no way of knowing what they were or what they attached to because they are color line cut, as is virtually every detail
in the picture. Everything else looked like various shades of beige with muddy patterns that could barely be discerned. Nonetheless,
we sorted by color as best as we could, and started putting pieces together.
The pieces had very odd shapes and very often all you had to hope for was finding a tab that looked like a foot, or a claw, or had a
couple of funny bumps. Many times, I would have a pile of pieces that obviously went together (the chair, for example) and not have
the foggiest idea of how to begin. Well, it was a great experience, and afterwards I asked myself, as I have several times over the
past 30 years or so, what would it take to make terrific puzzles like this myself.
was of my helping my bride of four years, Deanna, complete an 88 cent cardboard jigsaw puzzle she had picked up at, er, a certain
well-known giant retailer. She would buy puzzles like this, play them once, and throw them away.
We pulled out 'Mary had a Little Lamb', the 402-piece puzzle shown below, and had a great time with it deep into that night and well
into the next day. Though the picture looks fairly coherent here, the only colors that stood out were the green bow and the red socks,
and there was no way of knowing what they were or what they attached to because they are color line cut, as is virtually every detail
in the picture. Everything else looked like various shades of beige with muddy patterns that could barely be discerned. Nonetheless,
we sorted by color as best as we could, and started putting pieces together.
The pieces had very odd shapes and very often all you had to hope for was finding a tab that looked like a foot, or a claw, or had a
couple of funny bumps. Many times, I would have a pile of pieces that obviously went together (the chair, for example) and not have
the foggiest idea of how to begin. Well, it was a great experience, and afterwards I asked myself, as I have several times over the
past 30 years or so, what would it take to make terrific puzzles like this myself.
'Mary Had a Little Lamb', a Little Cut-Up
puzzle by Harold E. Hamlen, my
maternal grandfather.
I can't make out the name of the
original artist, nor do I know the
production date. I believe it was one of
his later puzzles, made about 1940, and
according to my mother, it was a
personal favorite of his.
I apologize for the cut lines not showing
too well in this photo, and I will try for a
better picture soon.
puzzle by Harold E. Hamlen, my
maternal grandfather.
I can't make out the name of the
original artist, nor do I know the
production date. I believe it was one of
his later puzzles, made about 1940, and
according to my mother, it was a
personal favorite of his.
I apologize for the cut lines not showing
too well in this photo, and I will try for a
better picture soon.
Throughout his adult life, Harold Hamlen enjoyed carving wood and he made
many items, such as picture frames, jewelry boxes, and a chandelier with carved
chains supporting it. At Christmas, he and my grandmother sent out greeting
cards printed from wood or linoleum blocks he carved. Sometime in the early 30s
he acquired a Delta scroll saw and began scrolling (a popular adjunct for wood
carvers even today). He suggested an improvement to the saw, to the blade
holder I believe, and a grateful Delta Machinery Company gave him either a new
saw (one way I heard it and chiefly recall it) or a drill press. His first jigsaw
puzzles were made for his children, my mother Betsy and her younger brother
Ward. As jigsaw puzzles were a huge popular fad at the time, it did not take
long for friends and neighbors to start bringing him pictures and asking him to
make puzzles for them.
My grandfather had a good position as assistant treasurer with the Springfield
Facing Company, and his family was not in any significant financial discomfort
during the Great Depression, so I had always thought his puzzle-making was not
much more than a hobby. However, during the peak of jigsaw mania during 1933
and 1934, he opened a workshop in a commercial building, hired an assistant,
and made puzzles professionally using the brand name of 'Little Cut-Up'. His
label featured a picture of my Uncle Ward, who was indeed a little cut-up of the
first order, who could today be a poster child for Ritalin. Little Cut-Up puzzles
were sold in department stores, and my grandfather also ran at least one puzzle
lending library during this frenetic period. Demand for puzzles was so heavy that
my grandfather did some stack-cutting (cutting more than one puzzle at a time),
and I recall seeing one puzzle that was a 'second' that had animal outlines
showing in a completely unrelated scene.
many items, such as picture frames, jewelry boxes, and a chandelier with carved
chains supporting it. At Christmas, he and my grandmother sent out greeting
cards printed from wood or linoleum blocks he carved. Sometime in the early 30s
he acquired a Delta scroll saw and began scrolling (a popular adjunct for wood
carvers even today). He suggested an improvement to the saw, to the blade
holder I believe, and a grateful Delta Machinery Company gave him either a new
saw (one way I heard it and chiefly recall it) or a drill press. His first jigsaw
puzzles were made for his children, my mother Betsy and her younger brother
Ward. As jigsaw puzzles were a huge popular fad at the time, it did not take
long for friends and neighbors to start bringing him pictures and asking him to
make puzzles for them.
My grandfather had a good position as assistant treasurer with the Springfield
Facing Company, and his family was not in any significant financial discomfort
during the Great Depression, so I had always thought his puzzle-making was not
much more than a hobby. However, during the peak of jigsaw mania during 1933
and 1934, he opened a workshop in a commercial building, hired an assistant,
and made puzzles professionally using the brand name of 'Little Cut-Up'. His
label featured a picture of my Uncle Ward, who was indeed a little cut-up of the
first order, who could today be a poster child for Ritalin. Little Cut-Up puzzles
were sold in department stores, and my grandfather also ran at least one puzzle
lending library during this frenetic period. Demand for puzzles was so heavy that
my grandfather did some stack-cutting (cutting more than one puzzle at a time),
and I recall seeing one puzzle that was a 'second' that had animal outlines
showing in a completely unrelated scene.
Though the jigsaw craze faded, he continued making puzzles from time to time, until his advancing disability caused him to retire and
move to Cummington, MA, his boyhood home. Or, rather, he was semi-retired in that he started up an insurance business despite
being house-bound and nearly totally blind. He was featured by a regional newspaper for his inventiveness in dealing with his
paralysis (systems of pulleys and slings for getting around, and levers for answering the phone and tuning the radio), and for his craft
work.
While I was growing up, there was always excitement when my mother would set up a card table and bring out a big puzzle box.
Every family member would get involved in sorting and trading pieces and contributing their little sub-assemblies to the whole. Mom
was the real expert, though, and I gained much respect for her ability to crack the really tough sections. Afterwards, we'd leave the
finished puzzles out to admire the pictures for several days.
It's not clear to me where my grandfather's work stands with collectors, but collector Bob Armstrong notes that a Little Cut-Up puzzle
was a favorite of his as a child, and collector Joe Seymour has my grandfather on a rather short list of smaller manufacturers
represented in his collection. I know of at least three truly outstanding puzzles in the family collection, including the one shown above.
My mother is well along in years and has not been able to put her hands on the other two that I'm thinking of, or a certain photo of
Harold Hamlen at his scroll saw, but we'll keep trying!
My thanks to puzzle historian Anne D. Williams for sharing some information from her files.
move to Cummington, MA, his boyhood home. Or, rather, he was semi-retired in that he started up an insurance business despite
being house-bound and nearly totally blind. He was featured by a regional newspaper for his inventiveness in dealing with his
paralysis (systems of pulleys and slings for getting around, and levers for answering the phone and tuning the radio), and for his craft
work.
While I was growing up, there was always excitement when my mother would set up a card table and bring out a big puzzle box.
Every family member would get involved in sorting and trading pieces and contributing their little sub-assemblies to the whole. Mom
was the real expert, though, and I gained much respect for her ability to crack the really tough sections. Afterwards, we'd leave the
finished puzzles out to admire the pictures for several days.
It's not clear to me where my grandfather's work stands with collectors, but collector Bob Armstrong notes that a Little Cut-Up puzzle
was a favorite of his as a child, and collector Joe Seymour has my grandfather on a rather short list of smaller manufacturers
represented in his collection. I know of at least three truly outstanding puzzles in the family collection, including the one shown above.
My mother is well along in years and has not been able to put her hands on the other two that I'm thinking of, or a certain photo of
Harold Hamlen at his scroll saw, but we'll keep trying!
My thanks to puzzle historian Anne D. Williams for sharing some information from her files.
Harold Hamlen died at the age of 62 in 1955, when I was not quite 3 years old. I can remember him very, very slightly from a summer
visit just prior to his death, namely impressions of his kindliness and also of his frailty and how he moved stiffly with his spine fused
due to rheumatoid arthritis brought on by spinal meningitis he contracted as a recruit during WWI, which also caused him to lose most
of his vision in his later years. I remember being afraid I would hurt him when someone sat me on his lap, and later being sad at
seeing his empty wheelchair when my mother took my sisters and me with her from Ohio to Cummington, Massachusetts for his funeral
and a long visit. So, most of my knowledge of my grandfather comes from family stories about him and, of course, his puzzles.
visit just prior to his death, namely impressions of his kindliness and also of his frailty and how he moved stiffly with his spine fused
due to rheumatoid arthritis brought on by spinal meningitis he contracted as a recruit during WWI, which also caused him to lose most
of his vision in his later years. I remember being afraid I would hurt him when someone sat me on his lap, and later being sad at
seeing his empty wheelchair when my mother took my sisters and me with her from Ohio to Cummington, Massachusetts for his funeral
and a long visit. So, most of my knowledge of my grandfather comes from family stories about him and, of course, his puzzles.
| © 2006 Puzzle Art |
