Lost in Transit
One GWR jigsaw we are never likely to see in our collection is this unique push-fit cardboard jigsaw with the title ‘Lost in Transit’. As with all the wooden jigsaws published by the GWR it was made for them by Chad Valley, but this puzzle was never intended for sale, instead being given to Goods Department staff by the GWR prior to Christmas in 1937.
The image by an unknown artist shows a very disappointed young boy and girl looking at their rather large and expensive, but badly damaged, model locomotive. At the top of the jigsaw are the words 'Lost In Transit! Damaged through Thoughtlessness! £84,000 was paid on claims last year, but compensation for unsatisfactory service still leaves dissatisfied customers' and at the foot 'Would’nt You be annoyed If Your Goods arrived Damaged? Please help to keep traders satisfied, and so prevent business being lost to other carrier'. The label on the box pushed home the message suggesting 'May you and yours find entertainment at home in solving this Jig-Saw Puzzle. If its message goes home, you will help to solve a big problem facing the Company'.
Close examination of the puzzle reveals that it actually consists of four identically cut 36 piece sections. This probably results from the fact that early presses were not powerful enough to cut a large puzzle in one operation, so they would be first cut into more manageable sections. Measuring about 9½" x 14½” when completed, the 144 piece puzzle was contained in a small lift off lid box about 5” x 5½” x 2” high.
This is a very rare jigsaw indeed as the image and tone of the message meant it was badly received and very few were kept, with many going straight into the rubbish bin. Only the odd one has ever appeared on the market and those that do carry a price tag of over £400, which explains why there isn’t an example in our collection! We are grateful therefore to David Shearer, curator of the Jigasaurus website, for his kind permission for us to use their images of the puzzle and its box.
It is perhaps not surprising that we can find no reference to this puzzle in the Great Western Railway Magazine, perhaps the powers that be thought it best to quietly forget about it. However, on a visit to the Great Western Trust archives in Didcot we were shown two reference to it in The Railway Gazette, which serve to confirm when it was given to staff. The first is a short paragraph in the edition dated 28th January 1938 which rather simply states that the puzzle was given to Goods Department staff for Christmas, and repeats the message carried by the puzzle. The edition dated 4th February 1938 carried an image of the puzzle with a caption which read 'The jig-saw puzzle distributed to G.W.R. Goods Department staff as an incentive to care in handling (see p.159 last week)'.
Click or tap on either thumbnail to see a larger image.
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