GWR jigsaws
1924-1926 puzzles
The "Caerphilly Castle" Railway Engine/The Caerphilly Castle/Caerphilly Castle 1924 until 1928 (Total sold 77,686)
The British Empire Exhibition was held at Wembley from 1924 until 1925 and for a period during the first year the GWR displayed their new locomotive 'Caerphilly Castle', number 4073, on their stand in the Palace of Engineering. As a promotional item and souvenir the GWR published a jigsaw puzzle of this famous engine. The launch of the puzzle was heavily promoted and featured in an articleClick or tap to reveal our hidden page about the launch of this puzzle in the May 1924 issue of the Great Western Railway Magazine. This was the first of what would become the GWR series of jigsaw puzzles. The puzzle initially retailed at 5 shillings but was so expensive that very few sold. The decision was quickly made to sell it at near cost and this pricing policy was applied to all subsequent puzzles until jigsaw production ceased in 1939.
This puzzle was initially sold in a blue box with a large monochorome label attached to the front which stated Size of Picture 24" x 8½" although it was first advertised as being 29 inches by 9 inches in size. The cut of this puzzle changed over time with some versions being a 'push fit' with others having a varying degree of interlocking.
150 Pieces (approx. 23½" x 8½")
This version of the puzzle is unusual as it is the only one which we have ever seen that is not cut to the locomotive outline to some degree or other. We believe this could be the very first version of the puzzle as sold at the British Empire Exhibition in 1924 for 5/- (five shillings). The later more intricate outline may have been an attempt to make the puzzle more appealing when the price was reduced to 2/6 only a matter of weeks after first going on sale. The box label bears neither GWR branding nor any indication that it had been manufactured for them by the Chad Valley company, again suggesting that this was a very early version.
Whilst still being sold in the same blue box, at some point the labels gained a light border
Later label with border
Courtesy of Derick Brown, below which was also added Manufactured by the Chad Valley Co., Ltd., Harborne and Published by the Great Western Railway Co., Ltd. but still carried no other form of GWR branding.
150 Pieces (approx. 22½" x 8½")
Our example came without its box. It is cut to the rarer push-fit, non-interlocking, design and follows the locomotive outline very closely around details such as the front coupling. Close examination of the completed puzzle reveals four small holes. One can be seen in the leading wheel and another on the smokebox door with the two at the tender end being less obvious. We wondered what they were there for and decided they must be intentional and possibly part of the early production process.
150 Pieces (approx. 23½" x 8½")
This version has rather angular interlocking pieces. Whilst retaining the detailed outline cut around the front coupling and to the rear of the tender, the lamp brackets and rear tender step have been omitted. Although the box has been lost, this puzzle came with the guide picture on a fragment of its original blue box lid.
From 1926 until its withdrawal in 1928 the puzzle was sold in, what would be for a time, the standard brown box and cream label used for all GWR jigsaws. The label on these later brown box versions carried a different guide picture to that on the original blue boxes, although the image used for the jigsaw itself remained unchanged. Whilst remaining at approximately 150 pieces, the size of the jigsaw is now noted as being 24" x 8", although that size was still not entirely accurate. The outline was also much simplified at the front of the locomotive and to the rear of the tender probably to reduce production costs.
150 Pieces (approx. 23½" x 8½")
The title on the guide picture of this version has dropped the parenthesis round the name of the engine. This is an interesting version of the puzzle as it has a more fluid interlocking cut and retains the now standard simplified outline. The puzzle appears to have been first cut into a series of vertical interlocking strips, and then almost all of these strips have been simply divided into pieces with slightly wavy horizontal cuts with little effort given to making them interlock. Quite a number of pieces look to have broken free from the strip before the cut was completed. This cut may have simply been the result of an experiment or a novice cutter learning the craft.
150 Pieces (approx. 23½" x 8½")
We feel that this is the final version of the puzzle. The title on the guide picture has now dropped the 'The'. It has a more fluid interlocking cut on, with few exceptions, the horizontal as well as the vertical cuts. Included in the box is an original postcard
Click or tap to see a larger image of the locomotive with technical details on the front, and advertising for the first three ‘volumes for Boys of all ages’ over-printed on the reverse.
The Cathedral/"Cathedral" 1925 until 1935 (Total sold over 30,000)
This jigsaw features a painting of Exeter cathedral exterior signed by the artist Fred Taylor, and uniquely also carries a map of the GWR network on the reverse, although no reference is made to this on the box label. The rather dark painting was used on a poster advertising the impressive book 'Cathedrals' which was first published by the GWR in 1924 priced 2/6 and then in hard back form at 5/-.
Several reference sources quote this puzzle as being produced from 1926. The January 1926 edition of the Great Western Railway Magazine makes a passing reference to there being two jigsaws on sale. 'The painting book has been a success, and the two jig-saw puzzles have proved "best sellers", no fewer than 50,000 copies of the "Caerphilly Castle" engine jig-saw having been sold.' The December 1925 edition carries an advert for just the Caerphilly Castle puzzle, but an article within the magazine itself, titled 'Seasonable Gifts', confirms the identity of the second puzzle. Under the heading of Jig Saws it states that The Great Western Railway has proved that jig-saw puzzles are as popular as ever by the success which has attended the sales of the "Caerphilly Castle" and "Cathedrals"[sic] puzzles. These are just the thing for the Christmas tree., so this puzzle must have first been published during 1925.
A promotional slip was included in the Caerphilly Castle jigsaw boxes for a time which described this new puzzle and suggested that You are pleased with the "Caerphilly Castle" Puzzle, You will have still better value in the "Cathedrals" Puzzle.
150 pieces (approx. 15¾" x 11¾")
This, the second jigsaw to be published by the GWR, was initially sold in a red or blue box with a full size white label printed in red with a large monochrome guide picture illustrating the completed jigsaw. The label states Manufactured by the Chad Valley Co., Ltd., Harborne, and Published by the Great Western Railway Co., Ltd.. First published with about 150 pieces, the puzzle was increased to about 200 pieces in 1934 before being withdrawn from sale in 1935.
The early editions of this title are unique in being the only GWR puzzles to have been sold in this style of box and label.
150 pieces (approx. 15¾" x 11¾")
The puzzle is now packaged in the standard brown cardboard box with a cream label.
150 pieces (approx. 16" x 12")
The puzzle has been renamed "Cathedral" with the title on the guide picture dropping the 'The'. The other copies of this puzzle in our collection are cropped slightly and so the signature at the bottom appears as Fred but this copy does not have the signature cropped and so it is seen in full as Fred Taylor.
200 pieces from 1934 (approx. 15⅝" x 11½")
The puzzle has been increased to about 200 pieces and is now contained in the final book type box which still retains a monochrome guide picture. One slight anomoly with our example is that the box spine does not carry the puzzle name as, rather than being near the bottom, a GWR roundel label has been placed on the box spine where the puzzle name label would normally be and the label on the front bears the early ornate GWR initials rather than a matching GWR roundel. This suggests that it may well have been produced during 1934 when labels were being changed, with old stock being used up on the box fronts and the latest labels starting to be used on the spine.
The St.Julien 1926 until 1928
Advertised as having about 150 pieces, this somewhat unique and rather short lived puzzle was on sale from 1926 until 1928. The unsigned image appears to have been derived from a larger painting by Charles Pears which was used on a poster advertising New Fast Turbine Steamers St. Julien and St. Helier now running between Weymouth and the CHANNEL ISLANDS Accelerated Services. The poster was printed by David Allen & Sons Ltd, 4 Lisle St, London.
This puzzle is cut to the outline of the ship and masts, with a wavy bottom edge, although the guide picture gives no indication of this. Our two examples illustrate how different operators approached the cutting of the outline slightly differently. The bottom edge of the second example is less wavy and a few more details are picked out, however less rigging lines have been left with the cutting being closer to the masts than with our first example.
150 pieces (approx. 27⅝" x 10¾")
150 pieces (approx. 27¾" x 10¾")
The ship was built by John Brown & Co. on the Clyde, being delivered to Weymouth in May 1925, and was used as a passenger ferry between Weymouth and the Channel Islands. She had two funnels, one of which was a dummy and this was removed in 1928. The June 1939 issue of the Great Western Railway Magazine carried a short article featuring this vessel. It gave its overall length as 291ft 3ins, with a beam of 40ft and a gross tonnage of 1,952 being certified to carry 1,048 passengers. In 1937 both the first class and third class passenger accommodation was refitted and modernised, providing both more covered space and expanded facilities for food and drink. When war broke out in 1939 she was first put to use ferrying troops but was soon converted into a hospital ship. She took part in the evacuation of British troops from Dunkirk and Cherbourg in 1940, spent a period operating in the Mediterranean, and supported the D Day landings. Returned to the GWR in 1946 she passed to British Railways on 1st January 1948 and was eventually scrapped in 1961. View a gallery of imagesClick or tap to scroll through the gallery of images taken from the Great Western Railway Magazine to see the St.Julien at different times during service.
Two puzzles each of 75 pieces (each approx. 12¾" x 5¾")
The Railway Station 1926 until 1929 (Total sold over 14,327)
At first glance the label suggests that the box contains a single puzzle of about 150 pieces. However, above the single guide picture is printed Two Pictures, Each 13" x 6", this being the only indication that the box actually contains two small puzzles, each in its own compartment. The first puzzle, which features in the guide picture, illustrates Paddington Station in 1862 and is based on a picture by the artist W.P.Frith. This was the subject of a larger puzzle published in 1930 and is described in detail on a later page. The second puzzle is of the same station but in 'modern' times (1926) and bears the name of the artist Tony Royle.
We have seen an example of this puzzle containing a sheet advertising a print of the W.P.Frith picture. It says PADDINGTON STATION by W.P.Frith, R.A. The original of this picture painted by W.P.Frith, R.A., in 1862, hangs in the Art Gallery of the Royal Holloway College, Egham, and a duplicate painted by the artist at about the same time is in the possession of the Great Western Railway. A copy reproduced by the colour-gravure process, mounted ready for framing, can be obtained from your dealer or direct from Stationery Superintendant, Great Western Railway, 66, Porchester Road, London, W.2. PRICE 2/6
