Chad Valley jigsaws
Commemorative puzzles
In addition to the larger series of jigsaws for Dunlop, Cunard, and the GWR for example, and individual jigsaw puzzles for companies to sell or give away for promotional purposes, Chad Valley produced a number of individual commemorative jigsaw puzzles. We have in our collection a small sample of such puzzles and they are described below.
225 pieces (approx. 14⅞" x 10⅛")
THE ROYAL FAMILY.
300 pieces (approx. 18" x 12½")
We have two versions of this puzzle which shows the Royal Family in1934. Towards the bottom right of the image it says 'Copyright:- THE CHAD VALLEY CO. LTD., Horborne, England' and just above can just be seen 'Comp. H.J.Whitlock Birmingham'. The signature is indistinct and difficult to decipher so we may be wrong. However, there was an established photographic business
of that name based in Birmingham who are known to have photographed members of the Royal Family, so it is possible that they produced the photograph composition which was used as the basis of the painting.
The Duke and Duchess of Kent were married in the private chapel at Buckingham Palace on 29th November 1934 and so we believe this painting was specially commissioned by Chad Valley, possibly before the event, with the puzzle being published in late 1934. The title on neither copy of the puzzle refers to a wedding, and so we think it may have been re-titled before being published again in 1935 for the Silver Jubilee of King George V and Queen Mary.
The Royal Family are shown gathered around King George V and Queen Mary. The bride and groom to the left are Prince George, Duke of Kent and Princess Marina of Greece. To the right are Edward, Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VIII), the Duke and Duchess of York (the future King George VI and Queen Elizabeth), and Princess Elizabeth (the future Queen Elizabeth II) and Princess Margaret. On the far left are Princess Mary, her husband and family, and to the far right is the Duke of Gloucester.
Our 225 piece example of this puzzle is contained in a smaller Chad Valley book type box about 6¼" x 8⅛" x 2¼" in size, and the larger 300 piece example is contained in an unusually large book type box being about 7¾" x 9⅝" x 2¼" deep.
150 pieces (approx. 10⅛" x 13½")
Our example of this puzzle is contained in a small Chad Valley book type box, about 6" x 7⅝" x 2¼" in size. This unsigned painting is based on the official coronation photograph
Photograph by W. & D. Downey
J. Paul Getty Museum object number 1049DB
CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) taken at Buckingham Palace immediately after the ceremony. It shows King George V wearing the Imperial State Crown, and Royal Purple Robe of State with Mary consort wearing the State Crown of George V, and embroidered coronation dress. The ceremony took place in Westminster Abbey on 22nd June 1911 although we think that Chad Valley did not publish this jigsaw until much later, possibly not until 1935 to mark their Silver Jubilee. A hand tinted version of the original photograph was certainly used as its frontispiece by the Illustrated London News when celebrating the Silver Jubilee.
500 pieces (approx. 29¾" x 19¾")
This very large puzzle was published in 1953 and has the very long title of Historic and Educational Map of the Route of the Coronation of Her Majestey Queen Elizabeth II Head of the Commonwealth and is contained in a red lift-off lid box about 8⅜" x 11⅝" x 2½" deep. It was one of a series published by Chad Valley themselves as a souvenir of the Coronation, and these were quite possiby amongst the final hand-cut wooden jigsaws to be produced by them. The puzzle is a challenge to complete as the box label bears no relation to the jigsaw itself. Apparently this puzzle was also published in 60 and 300 piece versions.
The box label details the route to be taken on June 2nd both to, and returning from, Westminster Abbey. The puzzle takes the form of an illustrated map of central London with many buildings and places of interest identified with the route being outlined in red. Surrounding the map are the shields of the 28 boroughs of London, plus that of the City of London. Those boroughs were created in 1900 and were replaced on 1st April 1965 under the provisions of the London Government Act 1963.
