Handmade Wire Puzzle Set
Wire and Cast Sets
Wire and cast puzzles sometimes were sold as sets. The sets below come from the United States, France, England, and Germany.
Shinola Puzzle Assortment No. 1
| Ad Shinola Liquid Polish for Children's Shoes |
German Wire Puzzle Box
Definitely German but unsure of manufactuer.
German Wire Puzzle Box 2
Definitely German but unsure of manufactuer. Maybe Spear or C. H. Giesen?
Spear's Wire Puzzles
| Date 1930s |
| Maker J.W. Spear & Sons |
Date based on ad with copyright 1930 in the booklet and style of logo.
Popular Puzzle Compendium
| Maker Journet |
"Family" Compendium Of Puzzles
| Maker Journet |
only half of the puzzles pictured are original to the box
The Popular Puzzle Compendium
| Maker Journet |
International Box of Metal Puzzles
| Maker Gibson |
Gilbert Puzzle Party 1920
| Date 1920 |
| Maker Gilbert |
Missing spring
Gilbert Puzzle Party 1921
| Date 1921 |
| Maker Gilbert |
Complete without the box
This appears to be a handmade set. Came in a box that said "Wire Puzles 1964".
Gilbert Puzzles
Gilbert numbered their puzzles but I haven't been able to find a comprehensive list of their numbering systems. Here are the ones I have found.
| Number | Name |
|---|---|
| 1 | The Square Puzzle (matches) |
| 2 | A Match Lifting Stunt |
| 3 | 4 squres to 3 (matches) |
| 4 | 2 equilateral triangles from 5 matches |
| 144 | Pick-It-Out Card trick |
| X2234 | Coin or Disc Through Hole Trick |
| X2243 | Triangle Puzzle |
| 855 | Heart Puzzle |
| 859 | Star and Crescent Puzzle |
| 860 | Good Luck Puzzle |
| 867 | Two Ring Puzzle (Solomon's Seal) |
| 868 | Twin Links Puzzle |
| 869 | Twin Rings Puzzle |
| 871 | Shamrock Puzzle |
| 872 | Devil's Lock Puzzle |
| 877 | Question Puzzle |
| 878 | Three Ring Puzzle |
| 879 | Foxy Link Puzzle |
| 880 | Conjuring Rings Puzzle |
| 883 | Spiral Wire Puzzle |
| 884 | Nail Puzzle |
| 885 | Three Links Puzzle |
| 891 | Tangle Twister Puzzle |
| 892 | Satan's Own Puzzle |
| 893 | Spider Web Puzzle |
| 894 | Maniac Puzzle |
| 895 | Wishbone Puzzle |
| 896 | Heathen Ring Puzzle |
| 897 | Chinese Rings |
| none | The Mysto Crosses |
| none | Vampire Puzzle |
| none | The "Grapples" Puzzle |
| none | Chinese Ring On String |
| none | The Sphinx Card Trick |
| none | The Phantom Card Trick |
| none | Twisty Puzzle |
| none | Turtle Puzzle |
German Puzzles
List of puzzles from the German set. Haven't yet tracked them all down. For the ones that the names are missing, I put a description in brackets []
| Number | Name |
|---|---|
| 1 | The Witch Key |
| 2 | The Devil's Claws |
| 3 | The Wedding Ring in the Trap |
| 4 | The Egg Of Columbus |
| 5 | [Spring and Ring] |
| 6 | The Naughty Twins |
| 7 | The Caught Heart |
| 8 | The Gordian Knot |
| 9 | The Lyre Star |
| 10 | The Ring of the Nibelung's |
| 11 | The Knotted Rings |
| 12 | [Ring and Two Paperclips] |
| 13 | The Ring Trio |
| 13a | The Ring Quartetto |
| 14 | The Iron "Bretzel" |
| 15 | The Vexing Spirals |
| 16 | The Siamese Twins |
| 17 | The Entangled Crosses |
| 18 | The Chinese Ring |
| 19 | The Double Witch Key |
| 20 | The Witch Trio |
| 21 | The Captured Chain |
| 22 | [A-B-C] |
| 23 | [Triangle and Key. In German the name is Das Dreieck] |
British Cast Puzzles
This is a list of cast metal puzzles from England. Many have a Registered Design (RD) number stamped on them which helps date when the puzzle was registered. Many were sold in sets by 'R. Journet' and 'H. P. Gibson & Sons' (previously called International Card Company).
| RD Number | Year Registered | Name | Sets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 147595 | 1890 | Stanley | |
| 514586 | 1907 | Maze (Ring and Plate) | |
| 527078 | 1908 | Heart & Anchor (Faith, Hope & Charity) | |
| 577846 | 1911 | ABC | |
| Two Keys | |||
| Star and Garter | |||
| Three Nags | |||
| Strongman | |||
| 631907 | 1914 | Tango | |
| 631908 | 1914 | Snakes and Scissors | |
| 631909 | 1914 | Three Snakes | |
| 631910 | 1914 | Fire Irons | |
| 631911 | 1914 | Lucky Star | |
| 631912 | 1914 | Anchors | |
| 631913 | 1914 | Salmon and Grid | |
| 631914 | 1914 | Hearts | |
| 631915 | 1914 | Sandow | |
| 637925 | 1914 | Aeroplanes | |
| 789052 | 1933 | CWS | |
| 849365 | 1947 | Sico Toys |