Swan's Retreat, The

This is a rather unusual Gold Box puzzle, believed to be of c1930s origin and in a 450 piece format and featuring a shallow lift-off lid, as opposed to the more commonly seen full depth lid.

Brian Price, who so ably recorded vast amounts of information relating to this major British brand recorded this title as being available in 1932 in this size. He did not know its dimensions at the time of his research.

As well as its rather uncommon lid design, the puzzle also includes some colour line-cutting and a very stylish set of figural shaped pieces, some of which I have not previously seen used by the company. These shaped pieces have been carefully placed within and beyond the limits of the line cut sections, a trait more commonly associated with the "Super-Cut" series.

The puzzle features a colourful image by an unidentified artist and is in a highly effective portrait aspect. All in all a very nice example and, just maybe, one cut by Gerald Hayter himself!

Artist: Unidentified
Date: c1932
Brand: Victory
Material: Plywood
Nationality: British-England
Pieces: 450
Range: Gold Box
Series: Artistic
Size: 11 3/4" x 23 1/2"
Theme: Birds
Title: Swan's Retreat, The