A gem is found
“Shall we take a look upstairs?”
“You never know, there just might be a gem hidden away…”
And so the conversation goes every time we finish exploring the ground floor of a packed charity shop.
On this particular occasion we found ourselves not having to cram a large desk or new set of chairs into the back of the car, so it felt appropriate to explore the first floor to make our visit worthwhile.
We ascended the stairs, greeted by a vast array of dusty furniture and books. I began sifting through the usual assortment of second hand offerings; cookbooks best suited to war time rationing, companion books to sitcoms gone by and copious amounts of unwanted E.L James novels.
On the cusp of giving up on our search for that hidden treasure, we headed back to the staircase empty handed.
But then we spot it…
Nestled between two bookshelves and peeping through the spliced strings of a tennis racquet hid a brightly coloured box. Written proudly across its top and sides: ‘Shakespeare Country’.
Upon excitable further inspection, the box announced itself to be a jigsaw puzzle – 1000 pieces.
Well, if this charity shop had a basket, this item was going straight into mine, thank you very much!
The jigsaw puzzle
The jigsaw puzzle, which I believe to be around 30 years old, features a wide array of elements relating to Shakespeare’s life, works and hometown of Stratford-Upon-Avon. A domineering yellow banner present’s its title, running across the top of the puzzle. Beside this, the infamous image of Shakespeare’s monument housed in Stratford’s Holy Trinity Church, his final resting place. Detail of the church’s interior produce an intricate drawing in the top right corner of the puzzle. A border of green (perfect for swift identification of pieces) runs around each edge.
Clopton Bridge leads the way to a central image of Gower’s Shakespeare statue, surrounded by the flowerbeds which laze adjacent to the River Avon. A statue of Prince Hal grandly raises his crown - another stand out feature adorning the detailed puzzle. Above this is a large map of the town, pinpointing the dwellings intrinsically linked with the Bard.
These houses are magnified and annotated with their history to the left of the map, surrounded with foliage as if to showcase the beauty of their surrounding areas. To finish the biographical element of the puzzle, a small family tree – surprisingly detailed for such an item – adorns the bottom left area of the image.
A selection of Shakespeare’s best known characters are depicted in individual boxes on the right, completing this delightful and highly informative jigsaw puzzle.
I was impressed with the condition of both box and contents. Despite a small indent to the top corner of the box, it is in surprisingly healthy condition, especially considering its journey from original shop to first owner, and then the charity shop I’m so glad we visited.
Opening the box for the first time, I was surprised to see the pieces (hopefully all 1000 of them!) wrapped neatly in a plastic bag. Perhaps this suggests the puzzle has never before been opened and assembled, or maybe the original owner took care whilst packing their soon to be donated item.
There is very little in our world that doesn’t find itself heavily documented and scrutinised on the internet, therefore I was to find minimal content online surrounding this vintage item. There is an array of more recent Stratford-Upon-Avon and Shakespeare themed jigsaw puzzles currently on the market, although this particular version scarcely appears on Google.
Devoid of information regarding designers and manufacturers, I do hope to come across further clues about the origin of this delightful item. I wonder who owned it before me. Perhaps a fellow Shakespeare enthusiast was gifted this puzzle many years ago…
As is often the sad case, one can never be sure if a second hand jigsaw puzzle possesses every piece the box promises. I have started assembly and keep my fingers crossed for a complete set.
I can’t wait to finish the puzzle to see the final image in all its glory. Ultimately, I will frame the final result for protection and display.
Right - anyone seen a corner?
TN
You can view other Shakespeare items in my collection here. I will continue to upload items throughout the year, so check back soon for more!