Sectional Checkerboard Puzzle


Patented by H. Luers and made by Selchow & Righter, NY, circa 1880.
(8.5 inches square by 3/4 inch cardboard box and 15 cardboard pieces, 14 distinct;
pieces based on 1 inch squares can be arranged in the box;
on the cover and pages 217-219 of the Haubrich book,
which lists this puzzle having 6,013 solutions;
solution on the left above is from Haubrich, and right is from the Luers patent)

Sectional Checkerboard Puzzle Continued, Inside The Box
Left is a solution a previous owner drew inside the box bottom, right is the label on the box top, and below is the label inside the box top.



Another Version Of The Sectional Checkerboard Puzzle
This version is nearly identical to the one shown on the previous pages, except the color of the label on the box top is a bit more brown than gray, and the pattern around the edge is a bit different (and this one has nothing inside the box top or bottom).



Sectional Checkboard Phenyo-Caffein Version


Phenyo-Caffein Co., Worcester, MA, circa 1900.
(5.25 inches square by 5/8 inch cardboard box and 15 cardboard pieces, 14 distinct;
pieces based on 5/8 inch squares can be arranged in the box;
also made with a wood box of the same dimensons and graphics)

The Pheno-Caffein Co. also made the Misfit 6 Piece Burr. The inside of the box bottom (on the right above) challenges the solver by stating that the dark square of the smallest piece can occupy any of the 32 dark squares. The sheet available from the company, on the next page, shows eight solutions (representing solution classes).

Solution Sheet From Phenyo-Caffein Co.



Further Reading
Luers Patent, from: www.uspto.gov - patent no. 231,963