Buried Treasure Found in My Own Closet: Western Publishing Company's "First Stars and Stripes"

"First Stars and Stripes," Western Publishing Company, 1000 pieces, 22 x 28  inches

I thought that all my old puzzles had been lost during the housecleanings that preceded each of several home relocations we have made over the years - BUT LOOK WHAT I JUST FOUND!

I went into a closet this afternoon that's located in a room I almost never go into and spotted one of those large plastic storage bins that I haven't opened since they were filled and placed out of sight who-knows-when-ago. Something made me pull the lid off of the bin, and this puzzle was sitting right on top of everything else stored in it. Now I'm wondering if it's worth the time and effort to go through a few more storage bins that we have around the house to see if I managed to save any of the other puzzles I remember having.

This particular puzzle is titled "First Stars and Stripes," and is apparently part of a "Golden Americana Flag Series" that Western Publishing Company was producing as the United States was approaching its bicentennial celebration.  It was actually produced in 1972, making me wonder if the series was spread over three or four years of puzzle-releases. Western Publishing Company even makes note on one end of the box that it is "publisher of Golden Books."

A quick look at what's inside the box indicates that this is a quality puzzle with thick, cleanly cut pieces and sharp colors. The colors are, in fact, brighter than those shown on the cover of the puzzle box. 

I don't really expect to find anymore of my old puzzles around the house, but I know that I won't be able to rest until I check...so I'm off to do just that.

Milton Bradley Big Ben Puzzle: Cactus Slim and His Cowboy Crooners

"Cactus Slim," Milton Bradley Big Ben, 2000 pieces, 24 x 32 inches

I made my usual Sunday morning stop at a nearby Tuesday Morning store today, and walked out with a puzzle that still makes me smile to think about it. This is one of those rare times that two of my hobbies/passions collide in a way that seems just about perfect. Oh sure, I've got a bunch of puzzles featuring baseball (a perfect mesh for me) or books and/or bookstores (another perfect mesh for me), but this is a first for me: a jigsaw puzzle featuring old-time country music and singers.

I'm always on the look-out for unusual puzzles anyway, those that don't fit the list of usual suspects: puzzles featuring cats, dogs, wolves, fairies, unicorns, glitter, lighthouses, castles, Kinkaid, Wysocki...you know the drill. When I see something different, I almost always grab if it it's priced reasonably...but one featuring a country music band? I knew I would be buying this one no matter the price. As it happened though, "Cactus Slim and His Cowboy Crooners"  turned out to be a real bargain; a 2000-piece puzzle that was marked at $6.99, already a bargain price - and then I found out that the ding on the bottom of the box was worth another ten percent off even that low price.

Bottom of the box:

If you look carefully, you can see the tear around the tire and fender of the bus where the box-bottom got punched in by something. I haven't opened the puzzle yet, but I'll be making a repair from the inside because this is a puzzle I plan to add to my permanent collection.

Just another reminder of why I love puzzling so much.

Favorite Puzzles: "Oh, I Wish He Was Ours," - Civil War Art by Mort Kunstler

This is one of my all-time favorite puzzles - for a lot of reasons - but mainly because I have spent so many hours reading Civil War history, visiting battlefield parks, and visiting Civil War museums that I feel a close kinship to soldiers on both sides of that terrible conflict.  It all started for me when my grandmother shared memories of her own grandfather, a man who survived the Civil War despite having seen action in a Louisiana infantry unit during some of the Civil War's major battles (Shiloh and Vicksburg, for instance).  It still amazes me sometimes that I heard stories from her that she had heard directly from him.  That really compresses time and helps me comprehend just how young a country the United States still is.

"Oh, I Wish He Was Ours" by White Mountain, 1000 pieces, 20 x 27 inches

Puzzles like this one are getting hard to find at anything resembling a reasonable price.  Why?  Look no further than that red battle flag up in the corner, and you will have your answer.  That flag just may be the most politically incorrect thing in this country right now because of how it's been misused by radical racist groups to intimidate minority populations.  I understand...but I love Mort Kunstler's Civil War art and do not believe that these puzzles should be taken off the market because of what a few idiots have done.  The folks at White Mountain will tell you that they just didn't sell well enough to justify prouction, but I have to wonder if there is not more to it than that.

"Oh, I Wish He Was Ours" is part of a whole series of Civil War produced by White Mountain, but interested collectors should be warned that, if they don't already own the puzzles, they will have to pay dearly for some of them on the collector's market ($50-$100 per puzzle).  

Here are some of the other Civil War puzzles produced by Kunstler and White Mountain:

Chamberlain's Charge, 1000 pieces, White Mountain

"The Civil War," 1000 pieces, White Mountain

"Magnolia Morning," 1000 pieces, White Mountain

"Generals Brought to Tears, " 1000 pieces, White Mountain 

"Model Partnership, " 1000 pieces, White Mountain

"Candlelight & Roses," 1000 pieces, White Mountain

I have only two others of the ones pictured here ("Soldiers Brought to Tears" and "The Civil War") and have been saving them for later. In the meantime, I'm always looking for reasonably priced copies of the others.

Wish me luck.