Object Details
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.
Location
Currently not on view
Credit Line
Gift of Edith R. Meggers
date made
ca 1935
ID Number
MA.335287
catalog number
335287
accession number
314637
Object Name
Puzzle
puzzle
Physical Description
wood (pieces material)
paper (box, instructions material)
Measurements
overall: 1.2 cm x 9.5 cm x 9.5 cm; 15/32 in x 3 3/4 in x 3 3/4 in
place made
United States: Michigan, Ludington
See more items in
Medicine and Science: Mathematics
Science & Mathematics
Data Source
National Museum of American History
Subject
Mathematics
Mathematical Recreations
Link to Original Record
Record ID
nmah_694581