Accession No. RARE.2025.0155: Purchased, 2020 September
[identification of item], “Cubic Metamorphoses oder der Würfel in 6 Bildern” Puzzle Game, SPEC.RARE.0358, Rare Books and Manuscripts Library, Ohio State University
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Processsed by: Sierra McGee, 2025 July; Finding aid written by: Sierra McGee, 2025 July
The first known wooden puzzles were designed by John Spilsbury, a British mapmaker, in the 1760s. Spilsbury created these puzzles as educational tools to help children learn geography. In Europe, puzzles were marketed primarily for children as tools for learning geography, history, and fables. The industrial revolution brought significant changes to the production of wooden puzzles. New machinery and production techniques, puzzles could be produced on a larger scale. This shift made puzzles more accessible to the general public, transforming them from luxury items into popular entertainment for families. The use of lithographic printing on puzzle pieces allowed for colorful and detailed images to be mass-produced. With the rise of the middle class and the growth of consumer culture, puzzles became a popular form of entertainment.
The Biedermeier period (1815-1848) was an era in Central European art and culture during which the middle classes grew in number and wealth, and artists began producing works of art that appealed to the cultural sensibilities of the middle class. Writers, painters, and musicians produced works of art that emphasized life at home.
The “Cubic Metamorphoses oder der Würfel in 6 Bildern” puzzle game, dated circa 1850s, contains a set of six-sided wooden blocks with color lithographed images. The blocks display Biedermeier style images and can be assembled to show various scenes of children playing games. The images are titled: "Play at Ninepins"; "Amusement at the Water"; "Military Play"; "The Strayed Children"; "The Round Dance"; and "Blind Man's Buff". The top, bottom, and sides of the wooden box that originally held the game and the prints the puzzles are based on are also included in this collection. The box is damaged. Titles of the images are given in German, French, Italian, Spanish, and English on the puzzles and the prints.