Puzzle, 121 Puzzle Set (a Tangram)

Description:

Puzzles popular in one era often reappear in another. Invented in China around 1800, a seven-piece puzzle known as the tangram proved wildly popular in Europe and then in the United States in the early nineteenth century. This is a twentieth century version of the recreation.

The seven black wooden pieces are arranged in a square box. Also in the box is an instruction leaflet that shows 121 ways to arrange the pieces. Printing on the lid of the box reads: 121 PUZZLES (/) Carrom Co. Ludington, Mich. Further text reads: 15 Hours of Fun (/) 15¢.

The Carrom Company was in business in Ludington under that name from 1912 until 1939. The firm took out a copyright for the term “121 puzzle set” in about 1934. The instructions indicate that the term is copyrighted. Hence the date assigned to the object.

References:

Library of Congress, Catalog of Copyright Entries. Part 1. [B] Group 2. Pamphlets, Etc. New Series, Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1934, p. 1086.

Jerry Slocum, The Tangram Book, New York: Sterling Publishing Co., 2001. This volume does not specifically discuss this particular form of the tangram.