LONDON PARKS

One aspect of owning a Barfoot puzzle is having to find the clues that identify the manufacturer. For whatever reason, they did not make their names obvious. Perhaps there was a long gone booklet or slip of paper, but they didn't have the habit, as it was then and as it continues now, of emblazoning their names across the lid.

  The most telling clues on this puzzle are the angular tabs on the edge pieces and the cutting style on the inner pieces. These are both strong indicators that this was made at the Barfoot establishment. At the top of the picture is the Crystal Palace, which places this puzzles near the middle of the 19th century. This 12.25" x 8.5" puzzle contains 39 pieces.
A Double Puzzle
PICTURES OF PALESTINE


  This puzzle has the same angular tabs and cutting style on the inner pieces as the "London Parks" puzzle. Although there is no manufacturer's name on the box, it has one very useful clue. The initials J.R.B. are on the lower left hand corner of the picture insert that is with the puzzle. This 54 piece puzzle is 15.75" x 10.5" I can't identify the wood, a light colored hardwood. The box has mahogany sides and pine for the top and bottom. The reverse of the puzzle is a map of Palestine. I think this one is slightly older than the one above and would place it in the mid to late 1840s.
FOR THINE IS THE
KINGDOM
THE POWER AND THE GLORY
The Lord's Prayer


 I have not yet attempted to clean off some of the dirt that has accumulated on this puzzle. It also has tiny J.R.B.initials hidden discreetly in the corner and has what all Barfoot collectors love to see; a small cluster of pink roses (near the center, on the bottom). This 42 piece puzzle is 14.5" x 9.75".