Cluster Puzzles

Introduction

First, what exactly is a 'cluster puzzle' tessellation? From this bare description alone, the premise is not at all obvious. Simply stated, these pieces can be described, in jigsaw terminology (of which genre these are generally to be found), of 'every piece a picture' that is, each piece is of a (ideally) whole real-life figure, such as an animal, or object. Ideally, these are of many different individual pieces so that a jigsaw-like appearance is obvious. Contrast that with a 'normal' jigsaw, where the piece is only a very small part of the picture. However, this can also describe a 'normal' tessellation. The difference here is that the tiles do not repeat in any way.

Cluster Puzzle Derivation
The term 'Cluster Puzzle' (of which I now propose to serve as the defining description of the genre; it not previously having a categorical title) is taken from the work of Alex Palmer, of the US. Palmer can be considered as if not the founding father of these than who brought the genre to prominence (as well as 'Jumble Fits'), with the insinuation of the pieces 'clustering'. However, Palmer was not the first person to have conceived the idea (as I discuss below, with 'forerunners'). Rather, Palmer can be considered to have brought jigsaw tessellations of this type to prominence (although as I learnt from his son, Kelvin, tessellation per se was not the guiding principle here) in which he produced a series of seven such puzzles, in contrast to his predecessors, which were very much of a one-off (or very near) nature. Likely, indeed almost certainly, the earlier references are all likely independently of each other. However, Palmer's work, in contrast to the other, earlier references, can be considered as of a more thoughtful, considered nature. Furthermore, although again he was not the first to produce these commercially, his commercial efforts were of a different league from previous efforts. First by himself, and then with the help of the family, and then later more seriously with the Cadaco toy and game company of Chicago, these went into serious commercial production selling about 750,000 units before the company discontinued the line. By the relatively high number of puzzles produced (seven), their inherent quality, and the sheer volume of sales, I consider that Palmer should have the honour of the title of their type, hence 'Cluster Puzzles'. Indeed, there is no official description of the genre, which makes research most difficult. Of the Palmer model, there are both forerunners to the genre and earlier instances. Indeed, there are as many as nineteen earlier instances by artists that equate to his work. However, detailing forerunners is not always a straightforward task, in that the format and tessellation principle is loosened somewhat, with gaps and overlaps, to greater or lesser degrees, in that what the artist is intending is vague and unclear.

c. 1909, Margaret Richardson/Mrs Hayden Richardson

This puzzle is noteworthy on different accounts; the first apparent 'true instance, without quibbles (qv) Sloan, and (unusually) a large number of pieces. The background to the design of the puzzle is unknown, although the creator is, Margaret Richardson. She was well-known as a 'standard' jigsaw puzzle designer, with Perplexity puzzles, between 1908 and 1910, and is of New York City [1]. It would appear that this is the only instance of a cluster puzzle that she did. 

c. 1930, 1933, Arthur W. Nugent

Arthur William Nugent (1891-1975), better known as Art Nugent, created at least three cluster puzzles, c. 1930 and 1933, although he was not primarily a jigsaw puzzle designer/maker. Rather, he was a cartoonist and children's puzzle designer for the Funland comic, notable for his long-running syndicated puzzle features (also known as Uncle Art's Funland), which he drew for four decades, with games, riddles, connect-the-dots art, crossword puzzles and anagrams. However, as far as I can ascertain, none of these featured cluster-type artwork. Another feature here is that the pieces are designed (as with others) as play pieces in their own right, that is, they can stand up.
Historically, Nugent's work is of the utmost significance, the second commercial instance, after Margaret Richardson.
Nugent shows three examples, all of a commercial nature, manufactured by George Leis and Frederick H. Beach, notable jigsaw puzzle makers of the day.

1934, Mrs Elspeth Eagle-Clarke

Elspeth Eagle-Clarke (1888-1969), of the United Kingdom, was a talented amateur artist who designed at least two commercial cluster puzzle instances (and possibly two others) for the Chad Valley company, titled 'Dragon's Land' and 'Elfin', both likely of 1934. The puzzles are historically significant, being just the fifth such instance and the third patent granted.  

1946, Jacobus Hendrik Schoonderbeek, Animal Puzzle

Jacobus Hendrik Schoonderbeek (also known as Jac. Schoonderbeek) (1894-1945) of Den Haag, the Netherlands, has produced a single known cluster puzzle, themed, of animals, in wood, apparently for children, and patented in three countries, detailed below. However, much remains unknown of this puzzle, It is barely mentioned or indeed pictured in the literature. The only references are a brief discussion and picture of a Swiss patent, as an aside, in Palmer, p. 13, and a single pictured reference on the Kolibri puzzle website, and of which that itself was misattributed!

1946+, George J. Paulus,

The above is just a small sample of a much larger body of work; a complete discussion would be of a book-length treatment! For a more in-depth treatment, see:
https://web.archive.org/web/20230326024950/https://www.tess-elation.co.uk/cluster-puzzles

References

Palmer, Kelvin (1). The Collector's Guide to Cluster Puzzles of the 1960s and 1970s. 2003.

Palmer, Kelvin (2). Website: www.azplerp.com

Sloan, John. 'The Blackbird Puzzle' in Philadelphia Press newspaper, 1901

Created 7 May 2024. Last Updated 7 May 2024