Great American Puzzle Factory Inc “California” by George Gorycki

When I saw this vintage puzzle on Ebay, I had to have it for my collection of California map puzzles hanging over my kitchen bar area.  It's copyright 1977, only three years after I was born, and made by The Great American Puzzle Factory Inc. from artist George Gorycki.  The Ebay listing showed it new in box, with the shrink wrap still on.  I opened it during a zoom conference call and had it complete in about six hours.  

Though the box looked fine, there is some moisture damage, mostly in one corner.  Because the water damage is on adjacent pieces, I think the puzzle was assembled at some point and put back into the box, then later shrink-wrapped and sold as new.  Whether it was the seller who shrink wrapped it or a past owner, who knows.  But I feel misled about the sale.  There's even one edge piece missing!  Since I completed the puzzle in one sitting, I don't feel there's any chance that I lost the piece.  I think it was not in the box.  Because the puzzle is vintage and I was so in love with the design, I decided to overlook it.

At 550 pc, The box says the finished size is approximately 18" x 24".  The key word is approximately.  I had to shave a half inch from one side of the puzzle when I went to frame it, or spend the money on custom framing after I had already purchased a frame.  Since there was one edge piece missing, I shaved from that side and left it at that. With the overlap from the frame, the missing piece is hardly noticeable.  But the design is no longer centered as it was intended to be.  Still, I love this puzzle and the details that are highlighted in the state!  I'll amend this post with a photo once it's hung in my kitchen. 

Springbok “California” by Charles Frace (1969)

I bought this vintage Springbok Circular puzzle off ebay many months ago, but had always assumed it would be missing pieces simply due to its age.  My fantasy to have state maps from various decades framed above a bar began when I completed a Hennessy California map and framed it above my coffee bar in my kitchen.  This was to be the second added to the collection.  

Copyright 1969, it's a large puzzle at a finished size of 26 1/4 x 24 1/4 inches.  It's quite detailed, with many landmarks of the state pictured throughout.  The little tableaus made the puzzle a lot of fun to complete. 

In addition to the beautiful image painted by Charles Frace, The back of the box had a great essay on the history of California, written by Reed Jarvis, Historian of the National Park Service. The side of the box advertised "more than 500 pieces."

I took a photo in progress to post to facebook as a demonstration of my Coronavirus pandemic activities.  I actually completed this in mid-March 2020, but only just recently photographed, so the post is a bit delayed.  The film business had shut down only the week before.  I can see in my progress photo the piece on the far right corner that is missing in my finished photo.  I vaguely remember a piece falling off and going under my refrigerator.  I figured it will turn up eventually, and because it's on the edge, I can add it when I come across it.  So I flipped the puzzle over and proceeded to glue it with mod podge, as the first step in framing.  Unfortunately, a bit of glue went underneath the puzzle without my noticing.  It's visible just about two inches from the missing piece, and it did tear the puzzle image.  So I'll have to come up with a creative way to frame this, or replace the puzzle when I see it show up again on ebay.  This is proving to be an expensive project!

Springbok "A Short Round of Golf"

Landon celebrated his 8th birthday in July.  His dad is a professional golf instructor, so I was excited when I found this 500 piece vintage Springbok puzzle #PZL2205 in a thrift store.  It's titled "A Short Round of Golf" and comically illustrates a mini golf course.  The finished size is 20in x 20in.  Landon's had a busy summer and is preparing to go back to school in just a couple weeks.  I'm glad he found time to complete this puzzle.

Milton Bradley "4828-4" Vintage 1968 Junior Jigsaw Puzzle

This is such a fun, vintage junior jigsaw puzzle.  It's copyright 1968!  Box is in decent, if not excellent condition, and all 100 pieces are complete.

Contempo "Clown Montage" - Vintage 1991

This Contempo 500pc puzzle is vintage, dated 1991.  It's titled "Clown Montage."  I picked it up at a thrift shop for just a couple bucks and couldn't be more pleased with my find. It's complete!  Given that it's over 25 years old, there were a few pieces that needed a bit of repair to keep the cardboard layers from splitting.  But the repair was easier work than the puzzle.  The box is in great shape, aside from the tape used at the thrift shop to assure the puzzle stayed whole.  Took me a couple months to carve out the time to get to this, but once I did, I started on a Sunday afternoon and finished it by Monday morning.  As a brand, Contempo is quality, with thick pieces and a tight fit.  I loved the vintage feel to the design itself as well - the colors are vaguely 70s and the pop notion fits right in with that theme.