Luftiges Ein mal Eins.
Bavaria: J.W.S. & S., [n.d., ca. 1900]. First edition. OCLC records no copies. We could not locate any other copies on the market at this time (June 2022). Each puzzle is printed in full color and has nine pieces that fit into a larger image. Each piece has a multiplication problem on its verso and fits into a matching space that shows the answer to the problem and text in German. Paint or ink stain to lid of box, some rubbing to edges. Inside of box lid printed in German with directions for the puzzle. The puzzles and paper holders are bright and clean. With all the puzzle pieces present, this is a remarkable survival, a rare mathematics teaching tool in very good condition. Red card box lettered in silver and with a glossy color printed onlay. Six puzzles (11 x 8”) and three circular color printed paper holders for puzzle pieces (3” diameter) enclosed in a box (14 x 12”). Item #17251
The German text in the puzzle piece spaces are simple sentences that add a basic reading component to the puzzle. The text seems to rhyme with the solution to the math problem: for example, 8 x 8 = 48, Achtundvierzig, which rhymes with “Mein Brüderlein ist lieb und herzig.”.
J.W. Spear & Sons was board game manufacturer founded in Nuremberg in 1879 by Jacob Spier (1832 – 1893). At its founding, the company produced home goods like table mats and photo frames, but games became their main product by the turn of the century. In the early 1930s, the company began operations in Britain, where the Spier family would eventually move to escape Nazi Germany (the Spiers, a Jewish family, anglicized their name to Spear upon their move to Britain). As the Nazis rose to power and began their campaign of seizing Jewish businesses, the Nuremberg factory was “purchased” by a German businessman, and eventually bombed by the Royal Air Force during World War II. The Spiers’ British factory converted to military production during the war. After World War II, the British factory returned to game manufacturing. The company acquired the rights to produce and distribute Scrabble outside of North America, and produced the popular Brickplayer construction toy. In 1994, the company was taken over by Mattel after a bidding war with Hasbro. As of 2017, J.W. Spear & Sons no longer operates, but about two thousand of its games are preserved by the German Games Archive in Nuremberg.
Price: $750.00