Anchor Puzzle Tangram

a.k.a. Caricature, Cut-Up Square, Stone Tangram,
Union Stone Puzzle, Richter Anchor Stone Puzzle No. 8

F. Ad. Richter & Co., Germany, 1890's / early 1900's
(cardboard box 3.1" x 3.1" x 9/16", 7 stone pieces, booklet, and solution booklet;
the Anchor Puzzle Book dates this puzzle as first made in 1890;
described on pages 77-79, 96-97, 111-115, 128 of the 1893 Hoffmann book.
"casse tete" and "kopfzerbrecher" mean headache in French and German;
inside of the cover shows how to pack the pieces into the box;
inside of the box bottom has an add for "Dr. Richter's Pain-Expeller";
booklet has multi-language text inside covers and on pages A to Q at the front,
and 64 pages with 195 shapes to make,
where the last 16 pages are shapes made in combination with another puzzle;
second booklet has solutions)

An old design known as the Tangram, dating back to ancient China; seven tiles, called Tans, can be used to make different shapes. The Richter Company of Germany, known for stone building blocks, started making this puzzle and others in 1891. It is number 8 of over 36; see The Anchor Puzzle Book, The Tangram Book, Slocum and Botermans books, and also the Richter Summary later in these pages. Many versions of the tangram have been made, some packaged as two squares of half the area:


Dr. Richter's Pain-Expeller
Richter (1846-1910) had a number of business besides stone building sets and puzzles, including selling medicines (see the Richter history on the Ankerstein Page). Many of the Richter puzzles have adds or testimonials to his pain medicine. The add below is on the inside of the box bottom of the puzzle on the preceding page.


The Anchor Puzzle Tangram Booklet
The text on pages A to Q at the start of the booklet that precedes the 64 pages of shapes is very similar to that in versions of a number of other Richter puzzles (e.g., see the corresponding pages for the Tormentor and Pythagoras puzzles). Page L describes how the last 16 pages are shapes made in combination with another puzzle; shapes 180 to 183 use the Circular Puzzle, shapes 184 to 187 use the Tormentor, shapes 188 to 191 use the Cross Puzzle, and shapes 192 to 195 use Pythagoras. An English description similar to what is on Page L is given in the description that came with the "Puzzle Drive" version shown below.










Note: These pages are shown in order (left to right, top to bottom), except that page 64 (pattern 195) is shown with page 1 (patterns 1 through 4).

A Shape Page Formed From The Booklet
This figure was extracted from the page scans shown on the preceding page; the patterns are in the order as in the booklet (left to right, top to bottom), except that page 64 (shape 195) is shown with page 1 (shapes 1 through 4).


The First 48 Pages of Shapes
The shapes on the first 48 pages need only the pieces of this puzzle. This figure was cropped from the figure of all shapes on the preceding page; the patterns are in the order as in the booklet (left to right, top to bottom), except that the last 4 patterns (page 48) are at the end of row 1.


Anchor Puzzle Tangram, Continued


(cardboard box 3.2 by 3.2 by 5/8 inches, 7 stone pieces, and two booklets;
the inside of the cover shows how to pack the pieces into the box;
box is constructed with a lip on the bottom,
booklet cover says "The Anchor Puzzle 3rd Ed",
booklet inside cover for "Casse-Tete Persan" and cover for "Kopfzerbrecher",
which says that this is the "third edition" at a price of "15 kr.",
is followed by a 3 page French and German introduction,
followed by unnumbered pages of shapes similar to the puzzle on the first page,
followed by a final page, in German, that advertizes Anchor blocks
by referring to the picture on the back of the booklet;
second booklet is a work book with shapes to draw in and many blank pages)

Anchor Puzzle Tangram, Continued


(cardboard box 3 by 3 by 9/16 inches, 7 stone pieces, and two booklets;
similar to the version on the previous page;
a more compact box where the small bottom lip is hidden when the cover is on;
box top graphics and booklet front and back (shown above) are the same;
inside box bottom advertizes "ANCHOR PAIN EXPELLER" from 1890;
booklet is basically the same except it is in German and English;
booklet inside cover for for "Kopfzerbrecher" and "The Anchor Puzzle",
which says that this is the "third edition" at a price of "10 cents",
followed by a 3 page German and English introduction,
followed by unnumbered pages of shapes similar to the puzzle on the first page,
folloed by a final page, in English, that advertizes Anchor blocks
by refering to the picture on the back of the booklet)

Anchor Puzzle Tangram, Continued



(cardboard box 3.1 by 3.1 by 1/2 inches, 7 stone pieces, and booklet;
the inside of the cover shows how to pack the pieces into the box;
box bottom lists other puzzles for sale,
the booklet has 64 pages of the same 195 shapes as the puzzle on the first page,
along with the single loose double sided page of English directions shown above)
some versions have the same box cover with "UNION" instead of "ANCHOR"
and the same booklet cover with just "STONE PUZZLE" on a single line)

Anchor Puzzle Tangram, Continued



(cardboard box 3.1 by 3.1 by 5/8 inches, 7 stone pieces, and booklet;
the inside of the cover shows how to pack the pieces into the box;
box and booklet front show copyright, and booklet back shows the U.S. manufacturer;
the booklet has text on the insides of the covers and 48 pages
of the same 179 shapes as the first 48 pages of shapes on the first page;
unlike earlier versions of this puzzle, an explicit copyright date is shown)

Anchor Puzzle Tangram, Continued


(cardboard box 3.1 by 3.1 by 9/16 inches, 7 stone pieces, and booklet;
the inside of the cover shows how to pack the pieces into the box;
the booklet has 64 pages of the same 195 shapes as the puzzle on the first page,
however its cover is blank, and there is no text explaining that
the last 16 pages are shapes made in combination with another puzzle;
the pages of this booklet were used for the scans shown earlier)