5 JERRY SLOCUM AND DIC SONNEVELD
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The puzzle that started the Craze of 1880
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How to make your own IS-Puzzle.
Make a photocopy of the picture above. Glue it on a piece of stiff, thick
cardboard. (Crescent Illustration Board No. 215 works well.) Use a
drafting knife (X-acto) or box-cutter to cut out the yellow frame and 15
numbered blocks. Discard the white spacer. Glue the frame on another
piece of cardboard to form a tray. To help keep the pieces together, you
can make a cover for your puzzle. Copy the picture on the right and
glue it on another piece of cardboard.
Now enjoy your new puzzle by trying to solve problem # I on page 32.

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THE 15 PUZZLE
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14

Jerry Slocum and Dic Sonneveld
THE 15 PUZZLE
III
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THE WORLD CRAZY
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The puzzle that started the Craze of 1880
How America's greatest
puzzle designer, Sam Loyd,
fooled everyone for 115 years
THE SLOCUM PUZZLE FOUNDATION

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We are very grateful to the many puzzle collector friends,
libraries, historical societies and city historians that gave generously of
their time and information, shared their treasured collections of books
and puzzles and contrIbuted so much to this book
A very special thanks to Jack Botermans, Book Designer
Extraordinaire, for his wonderful cover and design of this book and
six other books that he and Jerry Slocum have jointly produced.
Our special thanks to Will Shortz, who so generously shared his
wealth of knowledge about Sam Loyd as well as his incredible files of
Sam Loyd articles, and large collection of early Fifteen Puzzles. The
section about Sam Loyd in this book would not have been nearly as
comprehensive without his generous help. Our sincere thanks to Will
for reviewing the manuscript and writing the Foreword.
We especially thank Dick Hess who wrote the Fifteen Puzzle
Impossibility proof Chapter, reviewed the manuscript and provided
many corrections as well as sharing his collection of Fifteen Puzzles.
Our very special thanks to Professor Donald Knuth who provided
amazing new and improved solutions to both Sam Loyd's and Henry
Dudeneys Magic Square problems as well as other problems using the
Fifteen Puzzle, reviewed the manuscript and contributed nurnerous
corrections and Irnp0rtant improvements.
Special thanks also to Dieter Gebhardt who found newspaper arti-
cles and ads that helped determine the story of the Fifteen Puzzle
craze in Europe and translated rnany German articles and ads. His
corrections, comments and suggestions on the manuscnpt were very
helpfuL Many thanks to Jerrys sister Phyllis Turner for her excellent
proofreading and to his niece Julie Shulick, who edited the rnanu-
script and made many corrections and improvements.
We thank and are very grateful to Historians Roy Dodge in
Syracuse, NY and Dwight Brown in Watch Hill, R] who were excep-
tionally generous and helpfuL They provided critical information
about people and events in their communities that could not have
been found in any other way They also did thorough and extensive
searches of newspapers and other documents In their communities.
Thanks also to Historians Dick Sullivan of Chittenango, NY and Tim
Stowell of Madison County, NY and David Alvord of Oneida, NY
Sincere thanks to Jim Davie and Ken Dobyns of the US Patent
Office for providing important information about US Patent records
that led us to the Chapman patent application. We are very grateful
for the wonderful information and advIce generously supplied about
the history of the Amencan School for the Deaf by Gary Wait,
Archivist, the advtce and outstanding cooperation by Thomas
Harnngton of Gallaudet University, for helping us find the 1880 pub-
lications of the deaf organizations in the United States and Harry Lang
for his search of deaf mute inventors.
Many thanks to Harold Raizer for taking many of the photo-
graphs used in the book and for sharing his excellent collecnon of
Fifteen Puzzles. Thanks also to Lynne Ahnert for sharing the photos of
@2006 The Slocum Puzzle Foundation
257 South Palm Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90212 USA
Published by The Slocum Puzzle Foundation
hooks@SlocumPuzzles.com
wwwSlocumPuzzles.com
LCCN: 2006901219
Printed in italy
her family home, which before her time was the home of N.F
Chapman. Thanks to Naoaki TakashIma, Dieter Mensenkamp, and
Angela Newing for their help with historical research, and Ton
Delsing for his new desIgn for a fifteen puzzle
Thanks also to Jim and Julia Heard, Fred and Ann Peitzman,
Ray and Gail Roulette and Wayne and Margaret Stark for arranging
playing, singing and recording The Fifteen Puzzle song.
Many thanks to the other puzzle collectors who generously
shared the Fifteen Puzzles In their private collections and allowed
them to be included in this hook including: John, Paul and George
Ergatoudis, Edward Hordern and James Dalgety, Mike Ciancio,i, and
Peter Hajek.
We give our sincere thanks to all the libraries and their staffs
that have been so important and so helpful for our research. Those
that were especially helpful and found important information
include: Elizabeth Metzger, Director, and Mickey Kissane, Archivist,
Canastota Public Library, Canastota, NY; Margaret Burri, Curator of
Manuscripts, Eisenhower Lihrary, John Hopkins University; Olive
Graham, Newcastle City Library, Newcastle upon Tyne, England; Jim
Green, Librarian, Library Company of Philadelphia; Jean Palmer,
Librarian, Onondaga County Public Library, Syracuse, NY and Jeff
Sohn, New York State Library, Albany, NY In addition, the following
libraries were very helpful; Beverly Hills Public Library, Beverly
Hills, CA; Boston Public Library, Boston, MA; Connecticut State
Library, Enoch Prau Free Library, Baltimore, MD; Huntington
Lihrary, San Marino, CA; Jervis PublIc Library, Rome, NY;
Kansalliskirjasto (The National Library of Finland), Helsinki,
Finland; Library of Congress, Washington, D.C; New York Public
Library, NY; The New York Society Library, NY; Oneida Public
Library, Oneida, NY; Onondaga County Public Library, Syracuse,
NY; State Library of Pennsylvama, PhIladelphia, PA; UCLA Library,
Los Angeles, CA; University of Minnesota Lihraries, Yale University
Library, New Haven. CT
We are greatly indebted to the many historical societies and
associations and their Archivists that have been so helpful in our
research. These include; Dale Neighbors, The New York Historical
Society, NY; Sarah Kozma, Onondaga Historical Association,
Syracuse, NY; The Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford, CI; and
The MadIson County Historical Society, Oneida, NY And thanks
also to: Myrna L Sullivan, Archivist, First Presbytenan Church
United, Syracuse, NY for her help with information about Anna
Belden, and Bill Meredith, Author, The Embossing Company, Albany
NY, for providing information about the Embossing Company, and
David Singmaster for his Sources in Recreational Mathematics
We also thank Leiden University, in partIcular the management
of the InformatIsenngsgroep, for their pennission for one of the
authors to use professional ICT-facilities for onlme research.
Text by Jerry Slocum
Research by Jerry Slocum and Dic Sonneveld
Design by Jack Botermans
Photography of puzzles by Jack Botermans, Jerry Slocum,
Harold Raizer and James Dalgety.
]SBN 1-890980-15-3
Publication date: June 2006

TABLE OF CONTENTS
CONTENTS
Foreword by Will Shortz 7
Introduction 8
Chapter 1- The Fifteen Puzzle Craze 11
December 1879: The Fifteen Puzzle Makes its Appearance 11
January 1880: Fifteen Puzzles Sell Well; New Manufacturers Appear 13
February 1880: The Puzzle Craze Begins 19
Is the Fifteen Puzzle Mathematically Impossible? 26
Several Fifteen Puzzle Solutions Appear 28
Five Solutions to the Fifteen Puzzle, and then some more! 30
Solution No.1-A. The First Quarter-turn Solution 30
Solution No.1-B. The Simplified Quarter-turn Solution 32
Solution No. 1-C. The Curtis Quarter-turn Solution 32
Solution No.2, The Round Bloch Solution 35
Solution NO.3. The Upside-down Solution 37
Solution No.4. The New Vacant Square Solution 38
Solution No.5. The Right-to-left Solution 39
Solutions Generalized 39
Scam Solutions 40
March 1880: The Craze Reaches from Coast to Coast. 41
Timeline of the Fifteen Puzzle Craze 58
National periodicals 59
International Fifteen Puzzle Craze 60
Chapter 2- Literature on the History and Solutions of the Fifteen Puzzle 1880-1900 66
Chapter 3- Who Invented the Fifteen Puzzle? 70
Chapter 4. Did Sam Loyd Invent the Fifteen Puzzle? 75
Literature on Sam Loyd and the History of the Fifteen Puzzle 76
Sam Loyd Fooled the World 94
Chapter 5. Did a Deaf Mute in Hartford Invent the Fifteen Puzzle? 95
Chapter 6. Did N.P. Chapman, a New York Postmaster, Invent the Fifteen Puzzle? 98
Chapter 7- Solutions and proof the Fifteen Puzzle is Impossible 110
Rewards and Wagers for Solutions 110
Magic Square Challenges 112
proof that the Fifteen Puzzle is Impossible to Solve, by Dick Hess 115
Chapter 8. Were Solvers of the Fifteen Puzzle Driven Insane? 121
Chapter 9, The Lasting Impact of the Fifteen Puzzle Craze 130
New Sliding Block Puzzles Flourish 130
A Legacy of the Fifteen Puzzle Craze: Swap-trick Puzzles 133
Another Puzzle Craze 135
Solutions and Credits 136
Bibliography and Sources 137
Index 143
5

FOREWORD
Puzzle Game,
Nouveaux Casse- Tete,
Americain, Manu],
Watilliaux, editeur,
Paris.
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1878.
Right: Das Blaue Wunder,
(The Big Surprise) Manuf-
Orion, Germany,
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FOREWORD
FOREWORD
Nowadays, in the world of puzzles, it's common for inventors and writers to give
credit to others who went before. Martin Gardner, perhaps more than anyone else,
led the way. In his many books and columns on recreational mathematics, he was
always scrupulous about crediting others for every puzzle, idea, and bit of
information he used,
So it's a little surprising to find that this convention hasn't always prevailed. In the
late 19th and early 20th centuries, Sam Loyd, the great American puzzle genius,
freely used others' puzzles without credit, passing them off as his own. More
surprisingly, he claimed invention of Pigs in Clover, a dexterity puzzle that caused a
national craze in 1889, as well as the ancient game of Parcheesi, neither of which he
had anything to do with. Both claullS, though, were repeated so often and so widely
that they were often accepted, and this "information" can still be found in standard
references today.
Now to this list of Loyds "hoaxes" we can add the 15 Puzzle.
The IS Puzzle is the granddaddy of all sliding-block puzzles. It was a worldwide
sensation more than a century ago - the first major novelty craze of the industrial
age, the progenitor, in a way, of Pigs in Clover, crosswords, Rubik's Cube, sudoku,
and all the other mental manias in the years since,
According to Loyd, he released the 15 Puzzle to an unwary world in the 1870s, He
said he was never able to patent it, because it did not have a "workable" solution,
and, therefore, he never made a penny from its success.
Its a wonderful story, which, as Jerry Slocum and Dic Sonneveld reveal in this
surprising, entertaining, and painstakingly researched book, is completely untrue.
Jerry and Dic pinpoint here, for the first time anywhere, the start of the IS Puzzle
craze, and trace its spread, week by week, around the U.S. and then the world. They
refute Loyd's claim to the puzzle's invention, Then identify the real Inventor, track the
puzzle's long, twisted route to market, and explain why the inventor's name has
essentially remained a secret for 125 years,
This history took years to research, including trips to every library, institution, and
puzzle collection around the country that could possibly have relevant information.
The quest for the origin of the 15 Puzzle was itself an historical puzzle of sorts, with
a "solution" every bit as surprising and satisfying as any other.
This is a book that everyone interested in puzzles will enjoy.
Will Shortz
7

INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
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The Fifteen Puzzle appears quite simple, The instructions are written on the
cover,
"Place the Blocks in the Box irregularly, then move uncil in regular order."
The diagram on the cover of the box and the figure on the left, shows fifteen
numbered square blocks in regular order.
- I;;
To solve the puzzle, you must first dump the fifteen pieces out, then ran-
domly place them back in the box and slide them around until they are in
"regular order",
-;;;-, I When people proceeded to try to put the blocks in numerical order, some-
I thing mysterious happened, They became fascmated with the puzzle, and
could not put it down or stop trying to solve it. Early in 1880 the puzzle became so
popular, it was called a "craze" and every household seemed to have at least one,
13
1
The Fifteen Puzzle
solved.
The Philadelphia EVENING BULLETIN commented,
'The game itself is innocent in looks; a little box filled with fifteen numbered blocks,
with one vacant space. But in results the game is a fiendish monster. It takes away the
clergyman from his pulpit; the Doctor is led away from his suffering patients; the
school teacher neglects her pupils; the business man forsakes the counting-room for
the quiet corner and the mysterious box of numbers; in fact everybody is studying,
fooling with, and confounding the thing, while the insane asylum managers are
enlarging the capacity of their institutions in the expectation of an increased number
of patients."
The puzzle craze even overshadowed the new and popular operetta "Pinafore" and
politics.
The PH]LADELPHIA RECORD added,
" 'Pinafore and Puzzle Prattle Prohibited' is the latest word of warning, Scarcely has
the country settled down to the considerations of the momentous questions which are
to agitate it next fall in the selection of a candidate for President, when along comes
the "Puzzle Boom," and the Sherman boom, the third-term boom and all the other
smaller booms take a back seat for the noble exhilarating and complex Game of
Fifteen.
At last the opportunity offers to the Yankee nation to get even with the sons and
daughters of Britannia for inflicting the country with 'Pinafore.' A ship load of the
Fifteen Puzzle has been dispatched to Great Britain. In a weeks time a wall will go up
from the little island in the sea; the madhouses will fast fill up; trade will wither and
r-r-r-evenge will be ours, The potato hug, the grasshopper plague and the yellow fever
never swept the country so relentlessly as has this apparently harmless little Game of
Fifteen, "
8

The puzzle was the subject of dozens of poems, cartoons, songs and music, plays
and even political cartoons about the upcoming Presidential election.
The Jervis Post, NY, EVENING GAZETTE and UTICA MORNING HERALD added poems:
One More Unfortunate.
"She couldn't get the puzzle solved,
For lack of time-a minute,
And if you would avoid her fate,
Why, never you begin it."
EVENING GAZETTE;]ervis Post, NY, March 11, 1880.
Push, Brothers, Push
Push, brothers, push With care,
Push the 14 to the 15 square;
The 6 to the 7, and you've got it there;
The 10 to the 9, or you don't care where,
But the 15 and the 14 they will stick there.
Push, brothers, push with care
Till your minds are all a jumble and you tear your hair.
WORLD; Utica Morning Herald, March 2, 1880.
And the NEW YORK TIMES wrote;
"No pestilence has ever visited this or any other country which has spread with the
awful celerity of what is called the 'Fifteen Puzzle', It has spread over the entire coun-
try. Nothing arrests it. It now threatens our free institutions, inasmuch as from every
town and hamlet there is coming up a cry for a 'strong man' who will stamp out this
terrible puzzle at any cost of Constitution or freedom,"
The puzzle had a similar impact on Europe about a month after the craze reached
its peak in America.
The major factor in the fascination with the puzzle from the beginning was that some-
times the puzzle, although a bit difficult, could be solved, and at other times no solu-
tion could be found, no matter how long or hard one tried,
Chapter 1 tells the story of how the Fifteen Puzzle craze began and provides time lines
of the spread of the craze across America and overseas,
The true story of the Fifteen Puzzle craze has never been told, Although much has
been written, no accurate history of the puzzle has ever been documented, The
authors believe that after 125 years, now is time to "set the record straight", determine
the inventor, tell the story of the invention of the puzzle, how it came to be manufac-
tured, and document the worldwide puzzle craze that resulted.
Our research for this book revealed many surprising new and interesting facts and sto-
ries about the origin and history of the Fifteen Puzzle, This puzzle's amazing history
has proved to be a fascinating and rewarding search for the truth.
INTRODUCTION
B fs.w.-
'ftUZZ'LE
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5. 6. 1. 8.
9. ICt 11. 12
13. 11t.. 15.
The Boss Puzzle.
Ceramic pieces in metal
box with leather inset in
cover.
9

INTRODUCTION
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Buffalo Bill Cody.
The Approach
Newspaper stories about the rise of the Fifteen Puzzle, as the puzzle began to be
sold and caught the attention of the press and public, provide a captivating story of
the puzzle craze, The story has surprises and unexpected twists, turns, controversies
and contradictory claims. To help you get a feeling of the remarkable history of the
Fifteen Puzzle and the events of the Fifteen Puzzle craze, we have included many
quotes from daily newspapers, mostly in chronological order. Of course we could not
read all the articles about the Fifteen Puzzle from all the newspapers. The Centennial
Newspaper exhibition of 1876 listed all the American newspapers. The list contained
8,129 newspapers that were regularly published in the United States that year, We put
special emphasis on the papers in the towns and cities where the puzzle was invented
and first manufactured, These included all the available newspapers published in New
York, Boston, Hartford, Syracuse, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington D.C.,
Providence, Albany and many small towns in upstate New York and
Massachusetts. We found advertisements and articles about the Fifteen Puzzle
in the more than 280 newspapers and magazine sources listed in the
Bibliography.
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The Times and Events of 1880
Our research on the Fifteen Puzzle craze of 1880 was a marvelous journey
back into the world before radio and television, electric lights were beginning
to replace candles and gaslights, and crude telephones were beginning to be
installed.
The United States was a very busy country in early 1880, The Gilbert and
Sullivan operetta, H,M.S, Pinafore, was a smash hit on Broadway and was being
performed by traveling companies in theatres across the country. And Buffalo
Bill and his Band of Genuine Chiefs were entertaining in opera houses.
....
,'" I
Thomas Edison's new electric light was being ridiculed by Count DuMoncel,
the esteemed French authority in electricity, even though he had not yet seen
it. Various companies were installing several versions of telephones. The Bell
telephone was rented for $20 per year. The DeRuyter telephones being installed in
Madison County, New York were purchased, They operated by vibration, without bat-
teries.
Tho C&I'T4UI ...4 swm:T LlTTLC B1ITTIi1ICUP,
1I\'\1I.'t:_\"-Q..'j."\;nb6"I'It_ _'
I H.M.S.PINAFORE
H, M. S. Pinafon' Poster.
,
,
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"
Thomas Edison's new
electnc light.
10
The United States declared that the Isthmus Canal, later called the Panama CanaL
would be controlled by the United States because of its importance to the economy
and defense. And the Womens Rights movement was working for legislation allowing
married women to be able to enter into legal contracts and obligations of all kinds, as
well as to vote and hold office in schools.
The horse and carriage were used for local transportation, but railroads provided fairly
rapid transportation for people, mail, and freight between large and small cities and
even many small towns across the country.
And 1880 was also a presidential election year.

THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE CRAZE
December 1879: The Fifteen Puzzle Makes its Appearance
CHAPTER I
...
 T HE--GE M PUZZL E. x ... ol
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5
Rice also made arrangements for a Boston five and ten-cent store, Cary, Fulton &:
Co. to sell his Gem Puzzle and included their name on one version of the puzzle, The
puzzle initially sold for 50 cents, then 25 cents and then lower, so by the first of
March it could be sold for as little as 5 cents. The price reduction was due to improve-
ments in the manufacturing process and competition between various manufacturers
that had l{uickly sprung up in Boston, New York and other cities, One major improve-
Matthias J, Rice had no idea that he started the historic Fifteen
Puzzle craze when he began manufacturing his "Gem" version of the
Fifteen Puzzle in mid-December 1879, Mr. Rice, born in Vermont,
moved to Boston at age 28. He had woodworking skills and also
worked as a piano maker for nine years. In 1869 he started a "Fancy
Woodworking" manufacturing business, The products he manufac-
tured for the next ten years were Stereoscopes, fancy boxes, and card
and cabinet frames, In 1878 he became seriously ill with a spinal dis-
ease and was confined to his hed, an invalid. Mr. Rice described how
he came up with the idea to produce the Fifteen Puzzle in an interview
published in the Boston Herald on March I, 1880. Early in December 1879,
a man came to work on the windows of his home, Mr. Rice told the work-
man that he would like to get hold of a small wooden product that could
be made cheaply in his shop and would be popular on the market.
A few days later the man returned and showed Matthias a puzzle that
was crudely made by deaf* students in Hartford and was being sold in
Boston for 75<): apiece, The puzzle consisted of a small square hox, ahout
three inches on a side, with fifteen square numbered wooden blocks and a
vacant space that allowed the blocks to be rearranged by sliding them
around, Mr. Rice immediately introduced it to the workers in his shop, The men in
his shop criticized it. saying that it could not be very successfuL Matthias asked all the
leading toy dealers in Boston to carry his Gem puzzle, but they all refused at first.
Finally, Banfield, Forristall &: Co., a fancy goods dealer who sold "Yankee Notions".
clocks, cutlery, stationery and toys, agreed to sell the puzzle, From that day in
December 1879, until the puzzle craze ended six months later, he could not manufac-
ture enough Gem Puzzles to satisfy the demand, Rice packaged fifteen beveled and
numbered square wooden blocks in a cardboard box and in some deluxe versions he
included a wooden frame surrounding the blocks,
The cover of his Gem Puzzle shown in Figure 1,1 shows the diagram of a solved
puzzle and the instructions; "Place the Blocks in the Box irregularly, then move until
in regular order." These simple and somewhat ambiguous instructions were a crucial
factor in the development of the Fifteen Puzzle craze. Later, almost all the manufactur-
ers copied Rice's cover layout and instructions, and some even copied the name
"Gem".
3
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6 7 8
10 11 2
4 I )
Fig. 1.1 Matthias Rice's
Gem Puzzle Number O.
*In 1880 deaf people
were called "deaf mutes"
or "deaf and dumb."
II

ment in manufacturing efficiency was made by Mason and
Converse, a New Hampshire toy maker. Morton Converse
found out that the common approach for making the puzzle
was to have the numbers stamped on each wooden block and
then have blocks sorted by girls and placed in the boxes.
Converse reduced the labor costs considerably by having hlank
blocks placed in the boxes and then stamping the numbers on
all the blocks at one time with a die stamp, He could sell his
puzzles for a nickel (S) each and still make a good profit.
About a week before Chnstmas, 1879, Henry A Chapman
stepped into a store on Main Street, Hartford, Connecticut and noticed a square box
containing fifteen blocks, numbered 1 to IS. His Yankee curiosity was aroused, and he
inquired what it was for. A clerk told him it was a puzzle, the solution of which was
to arrange the blocks in numerical order, The clerk mixed up the blocks In the box,
and Chapman soon solved the puzzle in triumph. Then the clerk reversed the 14 and
15 blocks, and the clerk asked Mr. Chapman to do it once more, He worked on it a
long time and finally gave it up as impossible, After that he thought no more of the
matter until February 1880, when articles began to appear in different newspapers
about the remarkable 'Game of Fifteen'. In March 1880, he wrote and published a
small booklet about the puzzle, titled, The Mystic Square, A Few Facts about the 13-
Chapman: 15-14 which described his early experience with the puzzle and mentioned that "var-
Mystic Square book ious rumors are afloat as to the origin of the game,"
.. _______..----------.-----;-  The store where he found the puzzle was probably Pond and Child, Books &:
_________  '. {\\\"tt... \ News, 301 Main Street. The Hartford Times mentioned that the puzzle was sold
,;",?\\t.. there. Dewitt C. Pond, one of the owners, lived on Asylum Street in Hanford,
----::--"""'..) not far from the American Asylum for the Deaf and Dumh, .J
,

CHAPTER I
15
Tilt::
.H'8tic Square.
  I
II . T II
('lUryftIOnTF.D,) . 10 It 12 1
A T1'eaU.e 011 tile IS H 111
Gamcs 01" Iu' nnd 34.
All al_' tho OA)IY.8 or FIFTEEN aDd
TlIIRTk'.YOUJC; In "OlaUona of t"-latter br _hleb
the Jlwnbon eoun' tbII1T.rctar-bol1&o11t&1J,., yert'"
..u,. and "Jacon""", l"tIe. 10 _... poItpakL
,,",oa-J.  funol.&b",1 oDIII'plk-atJoD.
II. A. CIU......AN.
mcb2'T  11«>01 MI lfaJl1 .L, IlvUonJ, CoIiD.
Hartford ad for The
Mystic Square Book.
The Game of 34, also
called the Game of 16,
refers to a magic square
puzzle. All 16 blocks are
arranged so that the sum
of the numbers In every
row, column and
diagonal IS 34.


,.,
I'
\
'"
On March 17, 1880 the BOSTON DA]LY ADVERTISER published an article that
describes the beginning of the Fifteen Puzzle craze in Boston three months
earlier. December 17,
"It is three months since the 'Gem Puzzle'" appeared here, It seemed but
a fitful fever, yet it still rages. One box was seen at the Somerset Club,
another in a certain window down town, In less than twenty-four
hours every house in Beacon street contained one at least; in less than
a week the puzzles were to be bought at every store and any stall;
and in less than a month it controlled the hour in banks and har-
¥-'ft'O¥-U'C><A''''''''
": ,,., .... rooms, legislation halls and gambling-houses, hotels and horse-
""", ' cars, everywhere in shon, It has gone west, like the star of empire; New York,
Philadelphia and Washington on its own power. In the national capital little darkys at
street corners are to be seen diligently shoving the numbers about, and it is even
whispered that during Logan's late long speech, in our dignified senate chamber, an
experienced ear might have recognized the click of the little blocks, By this time it has

.,
*Later the name was
changed to the American
School for the Deaf.
12

THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE CRAZE
reached California One common cause, stronger than those of nationali-
ty or party, now binds the great American people, It is the mystery of
] 3, 15, 14. If the inventor should come forward and declare himself as a
candidate for the Presidency he would receive the universal vote,
Millions should be reserved for the MAN who first thought of printing
the numbers on the little Hocks, and then enclosing them in a neat and
tidy little box, who added the expressive diagram upon its cover with
the terse and peremptory directions underneath, and then sent the com-
pact and completed 'Gem Puzzle' forth to the world for twenty-five
cents, to cover himself with glory, and, let us hope, to fill his pockets,"
Ua\'e you seen tile B:Jss
Puzzle? So imple, so I>CI'-
I»rxing, it eclipses all
otlIer 80Itait.c games, and
is selling cnormously. 25
cents b1.iy it at
LORING'S.
Corner Bromfield and 'Vashlnglon Bla.
n JII'O -
January 1880: Fifteen Puzzles Sell Well; New Manufacturers Appear.
Probably few readers noticed the advertisement on January 6, 1880 in the Boston
Evening Transcript for another version of the Fifteen Puzzle, called the "Boss Puzzle"
(Fig. 1,2)
The ad said the puzzle "is selling enormously", According to the New York Sun, the
Boss Puzzle was produced by D.E Maguire, "the Boston newspaper man". He intro-
duced the puzzle in New York and probably named the puzzle, "Boss" because of the
publicity about the political hosses of New York City at that time and the attempt to
remove them from power. He also used the term, 'The New Solitaire" on the box
cover and "it eclipses all other Solitaire games" in the ad to imply that his puzzle is the
NEW Solitaire (diamond), replacing the "Gem" (diamond). The card game by the
D.E MagUIre's Boss
Puzzle
to.
"--
...
,
II

 ",,-
\
"'].
, 
t\
) \2
\" \\
J
1
Fig. 1.2. Thefirst ad
for the Fifteen Puzzle,
January 6, 1880.
) 11.' "UU
I, '-- l'
'£L-
f g m . 1
m I 1iI
mlEm'tE
fiim
Number Pu::::le.
Manuf McLoughlin
Bros., New York.
LJ
The Boss Coffee Pot.
---- l of late years considerable attention has been turned toward
an improvement in making coffee. Like working out the gem
puzzle people sometimes hit it by accident. The "Boss" coffee
pot is an improvement in the right direction. (1880)
.t...........
13

CHAPTER I
name "solitaire" is also played by one person and sometimes the player can wm and
sometimes he or she cannot. This ad was the first published item we found about the
Fifteen Puzzle.
He manufactured the puzzles in New York, had specially designed machines built to
make the puzzle and initially sold the puzzles for a quarter, Maguires salesmen began
their sales effort by taking the puzzles to the stores, ferry hoats and hotels. They often
left samples against the wishes of the shop owners, who did not believe it would selL
But sell it did, better than any puzzle before,
Rice and Maguire were not able to exclusively keep their puzzle names, "Gem" and
"Boss," and many other versions of the puzzle by other manufacturers used those
names. Rice did submit the "Gem Puzzle" label design for registration with the United
States Patent Office on March 5, 1880, And it was granted April 13, 1880 (Fig, 1.3),
This label registration IS similar to a trademark and gave Matthias Rice very little pro-
tection, And by the time the label was officially registered, the craze was dying down
within the Eastern United States,
An ad in the Boston Transcnpt on January 12 for the puzzle mentioned several ver-
sions from different manufacturers including, "Gem Puzzle, Solitaire, Fifteen and
Number Puzzle." (Fig. 1.4) So it is clear that sales of the puzzle were rapidly increas-
The Gem Puzzle NoS
Manu! M 1- Rice.
Boston.
-,.
. -,
.Ii
Fj'HA T 1 8VI:;y :;'U:.Lledh
.. Ulbtn I.UZ:Etc:" .-tioUtlLlr,,:' .. Fir.
LITTLE teen... 'NumbD" U"ZI8." et.c.. coat.
Lrntlfy'" ::rc;n11. J'':.
il2:1 'W8.IIbJDKLoD .tr"l. rountl .tore Dort.1I of Wink".
(Ul!lt JIII.U.
1  3 4
u lJ
9 1() 11 1"
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
",
. r:
PATENT OFfICE.
.)
---
13. il1!\'.....6,r,tJI, """-  '\;;:- f7..t' 'ID1h
 _ ......go .,' \\\..,;!ru.\\J. IIi I.UJ ,'\i)w.,JivOl.lu.tIM..ili'
...... "" 1f#Ia;4- .r"....... \l!IIL
"'I>
...Io.id.
1 2
5 6 7 R
9 10 1 l
1 t3 -1 15
,

,
"' \\ \,.
, 'JJ V;IJ«\
,.p,"h
, I
Right above: Fig. 1.4
Lovejoy's Gem Puzzlc
ad, January 12, 1880.
'7" ..I..," J,u..   _."  _I d. k. d.
""'"   u"'" .sU .-J d. "- """'.,." 9''''''. !T..J....&.t.
'..""""'" ,;;.. ....... ......p.
Right under: Fig. 1.3.
Gem Puzzle label regis-
tration.
t 5,
:tie 1'5Ii....' .tff'f, .7l.w......r '" ..I
d. 9".9'......"'-
'11'-'''''. -:.) -'7
  ..-e'go......
?    d. 'it........ .SiI.w
14

THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE CRAZE
!
 'j
THE NEW PUZZLE
Is for sale at the Thffacl and Needle 8tore under lIotel
Ikl'keleJ_- ___._____.___[DJ3t,_.._.._'al7_ _
I' - r.i'I:l'I' IJ<>
!)  1'U'ZZ,i.:E
i-
I . 1 2 3 4 6. 
I «c Z u-oL ...::
I o ' 5 _ 6 _ 7 - 8 ,.,-QrL;
I "  ( I, \) c:  /
, W £:-< _ It N .
\ 9 10 -1112- 0  "
!::rz. --- MG::
...10 1 13 14 15 \o/!;;J
g I H
I PIne alc JnOl:K lit th.--I.hJJ. ncq.;ulml). Rnd-lhc.h
. mn,,'" tlu:m without tnking out. till in J('gulzlf I
I order a"l all \'(>.
..... V othillJ or the kindlu:"" h ">Ii fiO PO) Jlnr '
:....  (1-'. fln:ol._ 'J.'lYh i
- - - ..
( , 1I1..I,I"o..l..,' HI".
The Boss Puzzle. Manuf-
Bruce Pnnt, San Francisco,
Calif-
11:-"
.---
-- ---...... ......"....
The Boston Transcnpt,
Jan.19.
,
j
;'
TI:; fI Jj. .p,_;i:-'- 
, .- 1 06 N. I:.! :. !
i' }o'Ul" Sale" .f. WHIT:l'd. 3: Kau,1I
i..... . .__
The Worcester Gazette,
Jan. 20,
, .
fEW FUSION PUZZLE.
"X HE c:;t E» !
a.t ...,.,,1Mfto hi- .. (""u.
S,..,... 8roR.. 13.7 Wlllti.."tOll St.,
JOlt." J M.... J..+ I t
-
,"  TU.'l lIo!'iS J-."ZZl,l'l. ",. ,
", tJ:TH'j (; al!!.' 01 F'Jrtttn!.l 't
--.-
f>:1

N
N.
P
p."
3,41- 1 -
- lA
7 8 1 ;;j,
1-1 12 j 
t:'::1
r
::at
f>o1
I:.!:J
f%1

E-o
1 2
516
9 10
13 14 15
11Q(klll1tr.IE':lI[  I:u tbl:lmt-C IcnrJ.lar m cr withwt
re.v".!I1t th, illc):. frtm Ule EO%.
',,\
. 
..,. c;:. ,..:t:1.("'I(O n" .& CO. ,
NEW YORK. q
'. a!o};:;T /'11 .\S\ Allllltf." l'OIt 2,; ('I., . '
The New Fusion Puzzle
IS called,
"The Gem."
The term "New Fusion"
refers to cooperation
between political par-
ties in some states.
The Boss Puzzle,
Manuf E. G Selchow,
New York.
ing and many entrepreneurs had already begun to manufacture
and sell it.
On January 19 'The New Puzzle" was advertised in the
Boston Transcript, and 'The Boss Puzzle" was advertised in the
Worcester Gazette on January 20,
Rice was obVIously annoyed that others had copied his Gem
Puzzle, which, of course, he had copied from a version made by
a Hartford deaf student. His Boston Transcript ad, figure 1.5, ran
from January 26 to 30, 1880,
With tearful eyes and angry mien-
With wasted form so thin and lean-
With hectic fiush that's never seen,
Except on one who long has been
Devoid of happiness serene-
A box lay near her, (white and green,)
Quite full of blocks; one space between.
"Say, Maiden. say. what does it mean?"
"I'm working at the 'Gem Fifteen!'"
Syracuse Sunday Times, March 7, /880.
15

CHAPTER I
In the January 22, i880 issue of THE BOSTON EVENING TRANSCRIPT, we found the first
brief note about the Fifteen puzzLe in a newspaper. It read:
WHO CAN DO IT r
RlC'8 GEM I'UZZ.LE. The Gl'eat
Ol'hrilj.JlI. Beware oC' Imlmtions. BI!
sUJi'e.lou ask r. this. he only accurate.
ly m:t.de. tho!l'oughly eliable l'uzzle ill
the market. nud tnke no other. I
tbf£t::f111 be Btunlpe:v1.\ irIC.m8 or)
Jo.20 14WF1 19 WIIol",bu-m st.. Boo""n' l
Fig. 1.5 Rice's Gem
Puzzle ad, Boston
Evening Transcnpt,
January 26-30.
Right: Rice's Gem
Puzzle, no. l.
Humor of 14-13-15.
Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
The saddest are these, "1ft hadn't been
For that one block that came between,
I could have got the whole Fifteen!"
A Prize Offered r
TIlE 15 PUZZLE.
" 110 IJ.' DO 1'1"
I.."'"l\etor
$Qr...OO
T.:.:TII, .. n., 1:..1" "n a.bI...r or (;"11011,,"1, and
_Ie I.,. MY }IIH 11111'.""11)111 "..rani loG IDd
r(eM') ..IJa.t,I, I.. II" .,..I l'.mo,,,""'"
IWKI( Tl/lIlE WHUU: WORLD.
""lib. nllnJkr In r'OIfllllr ur<l"r.I""1I1 I to n. IhMl
(raIUliJiJ_ 1I.a .4 anel .3 &lJfll'tlx",«d.
'lull "1I'r Il&IIdlvoud fur ooe O>OIlUl,
Drl Charles K. Pevey,
Pen}'!! DeD'a. Roo"!!, Wort-f'r, .U/I.
Fig. 1.6 This was the
first ad with a reward
for a solution to the
F(teen Puzzle.

\.
"
"

.
J
'
.
D
)
]
...
""
"
"Down in State Street the 'Gem PuzzLe' is all the rage in odd
moments of Leisure, and there are stalwart men who declare that
when all is right up to and including twelve, the thing can't be
worked right if the remaining bLocks stand 15-14-13, But they
are wrong. There is no combination that cannot he worked nut. "
On January 24,1880, Dr. Charles K. Pevey, a dentist in
Worcester, Mass. first advertised in the WORCESTER EVENING
GAZETTE a reward of a $25, set of teeth (Fig,1.6),
"the Best, on rubber or celluLoid," for the soLution to the
Fifteen Puzzle.
His ads continued on January 26,27 and 29. (See page 110, I II
for more about Dr. Pevey's rewards.)
On January 28 the WORCESTER DA]LY Spy wrote:
"Dr. Pevey's prize for the correct soLution of the 'IS' puzzLe is
exciting a lively interest in the subject, with no success as yet
achieved. "
And the next day, The WORCESTER Spy announced,
"Dr, Pevey authorizes us to state to the public that in order to make it a 'Leetle' more
interesting, he offers $100, cash, in addition to his offer aLready made, This amount he
has deposited with us in good faith "
On January 29, 1880 the WORCESTER EVENING GAZETTE published the following
article,
16

THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE CRAZE
The Great Local Puzzle.
"Within the last few weeks all classes in the community have been
absorbed in a new puzzle, consisting of square blocks numbered from
I to 15, and a case large enough for sixteen blocks, One puzzle is to
put the blocks in the case indiscriminately, and then bring them into
numerical order by moving them about and without lifting them from
their places, This, though difficult, has often been accomplished.
A more difficult task is to set all the numbers in order except Nos.
14 and 15 which are transposed, and then, moving as before, to
bring all into numerical order. This, it has been claimed, has been
often done, but thus far no one has secured a record of the moves
which will bring about the necessary result. Dr. CK Pevey has
become so interested in this problem that he has offered a $25. set of
teeth to anyone who will show him how it can be done. Today he adds
$100. in cash to the offer, limiting the solution to 9:00 o'clock tomorrow
evening. It should be understood that the solution which brings four
numbers, includmg the 12, on the last row and only three on the third
row, is not accepted as legitimate. *
The manufacture of the puzzle is becoming quite extensive, Messrs.
Snow, Woodman &: Co., of this city, game publishers, are making them
at the rate of 2000 per day, and are enlarging their facilities in order to
keep up their orders. but their success is not likely to warrant a general
undertaking of the business, for like other novelties it will 'wear out,' and the public
will seek newer diversions."
....
1
5
.
On January 31 the WORCESTER EVENING GAZETTE published another article about the
puzzle,
The Mystic Fifteen, A card from Dr. Pevey,
Apropos of the new puzzle, which is taking so much attention just now, it is probable
that in the simple form of it, not counting special experiments like that propounded
by Dr. Pevey, the little blocks have never been put into the board twice alike since the
puzzle was invented. If the little frame held only 3 blocks, then they could be
arranged in 6 different ways: if it held 4, they could be place in 24 ways; if 5, then
120 combinatIOns would be possible; and with 15, the enormous number of
1,307,674,368,000 combinations can be made, a number which is beyond human
conception. This number is of course found by multiplying 15 by 14 and that result
by 13, and so on down to 2. The mathematical genius can calculate whether the
aggregate length of that number of little blocks would reach to the moon, or some
l The MACON TELEGRAP alludes to the Fifteen puzzle as the simple game which no one
can do, except when alone.
The DAILY CH RONICLE and CONSTITUTIONALIST, Augusta, GA, March 10, 1880
I
2
4
t
8
7
, I
8
The Sliding Number
Puzzle, The Gem
Puzzle, The Solitaire
Puzzle of Fifteen.
* This was the first "solu-
tion" published for the
Fifteen Puzzle,
17

CHAPTER I
such useful speculation. To the finite mind it suggests a reason why a man of
average intelligence can keep moving the little blocks three hours al a stretch
without reaching any satisfactory result.
Although Dr. Pevey's prize has not been won by anybody, there are plenty
of persons who stoutly maintain that they have accomplished the feat, not
once, but several times. Their difficulty has been in keeping a record of the
moves. Last night, a boy claimed the prize. It was found that his plan was at
one point to turn the 9 around and make a 6 of it, and at another point to
turn the 6 around into a 9.
This of course is not legitimate and his claim was not allowed. It could be guarded
against by printing a dot, or period after each figure, as is done in the numbers used
in the game of Lotto.
Dr. Pevey maintains that a !>olution of this problem is mathematically impossible, and for
the same reason that two trains of cars can not pass each other on the same track. The
numbers are all in their places, with the exception that two are transposed, and, there
being only one vacant space, the two can not pass each other so as to change places. It
is of no use to go up the board or down the board: there will always be two numbers
transposed.
William goes a-courtin',
With her silent sits,
Both engaged in sortin'
Wood in little bits.
Not a word they utter-
Cur'ous kind 0' courtin'
Now and then they mutter:
"Th irteen-fifteen-fourteen:'
--NEW YORK MAIL
Our Pelt has gone
clean daft over
the "IS" puzzle.
So absorbed was
he in its mysteries
last Sunday night
that he forgot all
about his engage-
ment with the
future Mrs. Pelton.
FORT COLLINS
COURIER (CO),
MARCH 18, 1880
18
Dr. Pevey Explains.
The reason why I wanted you all to help me work out the puzzle was to convince
that girl. You see she said she worked it out; she knew she did, and if I said she did
not, I simply doubted her veracity. Now to doubt the word of a young lady is high
treason and of course should be punished as such, so I stopped to think how] could
convince her (without putting it into words) that she did not do what she said she
did. From her looks I made up my mind it was no easy task and would probably
require the whole population of Worcester to help me. For she hnew she did it! And that
you know would ordinarily settle it, but take what it would or cost what it would, she
must be convinced, but now that we have all given the matter a weeks careful study,
and without a single favorable result. Prohably she will no longer contend that she
did it.
At first some of us, as you know, rather held to it that it
could be done, and that perhaps she was right. But now that we
are all of one mind, that it can not be done, and that we were
mistaken, we will laugh over our week's fun and proceed to busi-
ness again.
Respectfully,
Chas. K Pevey
Pevey's Dental Rooms, cor. Main and Pleasant Streets, Worcester, Mass.
4

(
\

\ \ t,_
15'6 1 t
\ 9 \0_ H \
\3 '4 \ 5
\
\
...
\
1
Jr

February 1880: The Fifteen Puzzle Craze Begins
THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE CRAZE
In early February ads for the Fifteen Puzzle began appearing in new cities. The
Washington Post and the Washington Evening Star began a series of daily ads by WHo &:
O.H. Morrison, that ran for twenty-two consecutive days, beginning on February 4 for
"The Gem Puzzle; or, the New Solitaire Game" which sold for 2S cents (Fig. 1.7).
On February 11, the ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT (NY) published the first of fourteen
consecutive large daily ads, shown below, for 'The Game of IS!"
__.__ .. _ .J ,
I --r-------.- ----- ,
THE GAIME OF 15 J
THE GEM PUZZLE.
TUB NEW BOLITA1ItE
2/13 4 f
6 1 7 8)
  \  " 12 [
A Capital Puzzle!
I,
I
f 9 I
113 I
t '
I
t
6
lfBW' aDd PI..BA8JNO. SOld WLOLJl8ALB_4
G RBTAlL. bJ'
SGRANTOI,WETMORE & GO,
\ 1
-
..
The Gem Puzzle.
1 234
5 6 '7 8
9 10 11 12
13 14'15,
--
Below: Fig. 1.7 This
Washington Post ad and
a similar one in the
Evening Star ran daily
for almost a month.
'D1eGem Puzrle;or.the New Solit:ureG:um,', 25
8entpost.pa1d UpOlt ncelpt 01 pI1ee.
W_ H. 11& o. H. _OBBUIO."
LAW BOOKSELLERS A.."ID STATIONERS.
"'l5 PENNSYLVANIA AVF.U E.
The Game"i iifteen
I .) : -I.
- 
; .
::.:: .') H 7 R .....

,/' 
 H 10 11 ! ,:t; ,,,
=- -
x
- :::r
1:3 14 15 J
The (; ""111: Puzzle
,'1 , ,J
b.-. IT 10 IH - - i'IIR
Left: Rochester, New
York, newspaper ad for
the Fifteen Puzzle ran
for 2 weeks.
Far left: The Gem
Puzzle. Sent to any
address for 25 cents.
Left: The Gem Puzzle.
The New Solitaire.
Manuf Richard
Schwarz, 497 & 499
9' Washington, Boston.
Far above: The Game of
Fifteen, the Gem Puzzle,
The New Solitaire.
Manuf, Alvan L
Lovejoy, Boston.
Above: The Game of
Fifteen, the Gem Puzzle,
The New Solitaire.
Manuf E. G. Selchow &
Co,NY
19

CHAPTER I
On February 5th The Youth's Companion, a nationwide weekly magazine, published an
ad for the "Boss Puzzle". This popular magazine published many ads for the Fifteen
Puzzles during the next ten weeks and provided an opportunity for readers across the
country to purchase the puzzle by maiL Other nationwide magazines that advertised
the puzzle were Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, Harpers Weekly, Scientific Ameriwn
and The Independent.
THE GEM OR DOSS P1JZZLE. I.'A. Po..lble :llIIpO..llbIJlt7. n no! ..oa'
" Ilmpl4. Jla intricate, non-plud..(/, COII/OVlldillV, amarillg, JWolXikill!b a1l<1 e"'''t"1ainjPlg 1>111...1" Jbat bas e,.".. i!"en
 . . ,Invented. Hare ablarblnl!( tbao ch".I, aod mo..." eotertainl"g tb.au biJJl.rd., It. .al" In tbl. clly. tho put manth,
 ' '. b.. been UNPAUAI.LJl:I.II:D, the d"m..ud .mouodn to.. rfer:l rage; aDd PROII'Ii;SSOIlS. I.A.WYERS, MERCHANTS,
i:7, """  SCIICIITISTtI.INYENTORS, ANn EDITOUS, ladle. 8"'1 ehlln havo ackoowledtJod .ptludl".r tho wbole Illfiht a\"er It
/,1 "'.  . whll. a IiUle cbild b.. frequently gat It out In three mluutu. Alma.t oyery II'uo o.f au,r daUy PAt"'rl hn coo-
.' . - : &alned 10me mentlo.o. of It for the put manth, edltar. and ..dltorial .Iair. awnlol' up te, thel1' InablUty to. do. It,
 .' -/ .ad Dther. bave wan bat. enough to lo.t a Ufe-tllne by I'et-tiol' It aut "ftrlt time t.....l08'." Tho 'a1l0WIDI' .. a
.' _ ';"..-....  ...mpl. af tbe hundred. at editarlal nallce. thl. wonderful Pllza:!e h.. recel\'ed: "DOoon in SlG' «ffa 'I 'ONII
".:- Pv:::x"" I. all t"l1 raile I., odd fIt_'. 0/ lelaure, and tiere iII'e 6laltDarr tKm 1<'10 dll1"o! tial wiatt All il riilAlllJJ Co
. - . mull..eludlng twelve. tie tiling tan', be worked right if tit rm.lllining bloch etand Jli-If-.I3. Bwt tie" anwroltg.
2'''erel. no. cOtltblftatlon that "atlt",t b. worked out. "_BoffoD TraD.erlpt, Jan. 22"l. If you want to drive overytblDIr elae aut of
your head, to. be enret'tllned and nDn-plullied .. 1'011 neYer were befare, to amUI«' a whale 1I00RboJI'I, to have !lnort' full at your fiieDch
eXlleDIII tbar. you ever ImogloM po.alble, tI,en buy a II GIUiI PUZZLE." It wll1 ,'leIlJ a return of eayment 1II'ol1b . tbouaaod time.
h. pnoe. If y<>u CtM't de It yau 'wlll hav(> tile ulllr.ctlan (If kllowlllll' tbat bundred. or otbon are III tbe Mmll bos, and If 1'aU can do
h you wm find to )'Ollt' lor:.rI.e that you cat1'UcU Amo IH. done, Il16ud the «cDlaine "Oem Puzzlo" to aDY al!ldre81 packed In a n«,at
c..". b.. 'Ixl'!eil. (oranty M& centl. B".. man, prepaid. fj ccnlll O&trL (An eXlra fllle etyle, llOlIlbed hard w04Iod liO cellt..) 8. IV.
T.J R1't'EB. BoatoD. H...... P. o. Box 83'2'-1:. TlletradOluppl!led 8t a liberal dlllCouut. Btampaaud .n..er'oken,
Fig.1.B Ads for the
F{teen Puzzle in
nationwide magazines.
Above: S.N. Turner;
Feb. 14 in Harpers
Weekly. Far right:
Haves and Ricard,
Feb. 19 in Youth's
Companion. Right: A
Dickenson, Mar: 18, in
The 1ndependent.
Fig. 1.9 Little Buttercup
Puzzle with circular
blocks
Manu{ B. F Gould, 40
Bromfield St., Boston
Far right: Youth's
Companion, ad by B. F
Gould, Boston, Feb. 19.
*This was the first time
that a puzzle with round
blocks was mentioned.
20
THE GEM PUZZLE,
I !.III OR GAME OF
!! I  " PIPTEEN "
hl4'.!. .
lO"-"tlhPH'I"lUIIN l'IIIIW
fte mod tuotaatln« PuuJ.s e'f"rr Il1veJJted. PrIce
ndqC*l to 16 ('leD.... or two fol' g$ ftDta.. B7 man. I
-...J:::-......... '11iICK1I:1'i""N.
Boy ,. eJ! y...':'7..
\
THE GEl' PUZZLE.
THE NEW SOLITAIRE. O,'er :I(),OOO oold llince
Chrlolm:l.. Jnlere.llng 10 voung and old. Sent to any ad-
drese on 1"t"ceipt of 25 cents. money or tam})s Tbe trade
,uppUed. Add.'e.. HAYES & RICARD.
:
1
....
"'
Little Buttercup Puzzle.
 'fhe 1II000t fn!'Cim\Uns;: ':lUne eVf'r UI:.de. :\JnlJ'" by mull.
iO t"IIUI. Lrge dLI't"ouut to u,:enu .pnll tlf'''''''''''. If,nYR roln
",,,,,ey selling till" t;:lllle. IJ. .'. GOULII. 4U IImmlleld
lrl"er.. 1\0"'01'. )'8"".
-
On February 9, the FITCHBURG DAILY SENTINEL, mentioned in an article,
"The latest dodge is to have the blocks made to read 'little Buttercup' and then to
transpose the I and the P With the quartet of t's most anyone ought to work out the
combination."(Fig. 1.9).' Little Buttercup was a popular character in the operetta
Pinafore.

THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE CRAZE
On February 12, 1880 the BOSTON HERALD published a poem about the Fifteen
Puzzle. Many poems about the puzzle in newspapers followed.
Facts and Fancies.
The Gem Puzzle.
Full many a gem-the puzzle you have seen- .-.J.
The dark, unfathomed caves of lying bare:
Full many a sorely puzzled wight, 1 ween,
Will lose his patience and will loudly swear.
But who, unto dumb foolishness a prey,
This pleasing, anxious puzzle e'er resigned
When he could lie, "I did it'other day,
But how, I cannot now quite bring to mind?"
Nor you, ye proud, impute to these the fault
If never anyone believe their tales:
You know full well they'd scarcely earn their salt
By puzzling o'er it till their reason fails.
No further seek their lying to upbraid.
Or ask them how they did the blasted thing;
The puzzle 't is that liars them has made,
The wicked swear-words to their lips does bring.
Boston Transcript, February 12, 1880.
0/ CP7V-e,,'-
The same day, the WORCESTER DAILY Spy wrote:
'The "IS" puzzle excitement continues unabated, and about as many people are
confident that the transposed 15 and 14 can be readjusted as there are who think it
cannot. Snow, Woodman &: Co. are overrun with orders for the puzzle, and have
twenty hands working twelve hours a day on them, and then can't keep up with the
demand. "
And on February 13, the FITCHBURG SENTINEL, reported on
"one of the most brilliant social parties ever held here, with between 300 and 400
of the ladies and gentlemen best known in our social and business circles in atten-
dance. Many took part in card parties, while others wrestled with the 'Game of Fifteen
Puzzle. m
"It is a good thing
for Job's reputa-
tion for patience
that he died
before the Gem
puzzle was born:'
MOUNTAIN
DEMOCRAT,
PLACERVILLE,
CALIFORNIA.
The lamp posts
will come in handy
one of these days
to hang the man
on who is making
the 15 puzzle in
this city.
DAILY GAZETTE,
COLORADO SPRINGS.
21

Far right: Ad for the \.
Favonte Puzzle Co.
THE
FAVORITE PUZZLE.
I  :J 4: ,
s..; ::r"
.m
C1> ., " N !;
f  6
N it
1 
The Favorite Puzzle,  I() 11' l:
d 9
The New Solitaire, It's a 
Puzzler: Manuf- Hill & 
Co, American Novelty I 1314 \p
Stores, 19, Charing
Cross,
London & New York.
CHAPTER I
15 PUZZLE
A Most
Faednating
GAME
of S I an.
p
The 15 Puzzle. England.

...
The 15 Puzzle. France.
22
On February L4, THE BOSTON GLOBE advertised, The Favorite Puzzle.
r - 11£ FA \'OUI'I'£ PlrZZLE CO., D3J/
, U. vel' hlllaue"t. funal.h Woodl.'l16Ud J>:lP"1' 00"''''
" .Jtb all their rxxl.. With or WW.tOIU tWt 18 block.
l' w110c:eDU/onampLo 1IOx. . 2/,- tl3
I
J I
1'5
»
lJ
4,
f1
7
8
(;
JI 1
15 ' 18
...  , .....? .. r-- ..
if
.
-
On February 17, 1880, the ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT AND CHRON]CLE published an article
describing the puzzle and its impact on the community
"15"
The Diabolical Invention of Some Enemy of Mankind.
"Only a few short weeks ago an innocent advertisement appeared in the newspa-
pers, and an unsuspecting public read that the new game of "15" was for sale. That
was all, but few realized the deadly meaning concealed beneath those apparently
harmless words. A gentleman who saw one in the store, and it looked so simple that
he took it home to amuse the children. In ten minutes from the time he tried to
explain to the little people how the thing was done, he was oblivious to all outward
things, and went on, hour after hour, moving the little blocks of wood with the fever-
ish intensity of a madman. A neighbor called in, and seemg at a glance how the puz-
zle should be worked out, bought one and tried it. He is still trying. And so the infec-
tion spread. To-day there is hardly a pleasant home in the city that has not the dark
shadow of "15" across its threshold. Men demand it, women plead for it, and chil-
dren cry for it. And when it catches them it never lets go. Occasionally some one will
get the fifteen numbers in the proper order, but his elation is short lived. To save him
he cannot tell how he did it, nor can he do it again. All theories are wrong and expe-
rience is of no avaiL It is worse than a malignant fever, and no one can tell the
moment when he will be made a victim. Young men carry the game in their hip
pockets, the same as Texans do their revolvers, and it is even more fatal in its use It
is produced on the slightest provocation, and instantly the spell is worked. Men

THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE CRAZE
sware (sic) and throw it from them, but they pick it up again and go on moving the
blocks of wood up and down, to the right and to the left. One lady worked at it from
3 o'clock in the afternoon until 10 o'clock at night, and then her husband was com-
pelled to take it from her hand by force and send her to bed. He owed his own safety
to the fact that he was blind.
It is the last three numbers that disturb the mental equilibrium. It is plain enough
sailing until then. It is there the trouble commenced. What will be the result, no one
can telL Unless there is a speedy relief, we must become a nation of block
moving idiots. No punishment is too great for the man that sent this infliction
upon an unprepared community. We can see him in imagination trying to
make the numbers come right on a red-hot piece of sheet iron. Could he be
found there would be no escape from the howling populace.
Up and down,
Left and right
Almost done,
Never right."
Previous puzzles, which people could either solve or were unable to solve
without the solution, did not prepare the public for the new baffling property
of the Fifteen Puzzle, where sometimes the puzzle could be solved and other
times (with a different arrangement of the pieces), a solution was impossible.
This unknown and counterintuitive property of the same physical puzzle
made it so fascinating and so frustrating, and rapidly created the worldwide
Fifteen Puzzle craze. Newspapers reported about people who successfully
solved the puzzle on their first try, considered it easy, then bet large sums of
money that they could solve it again. Half of the time they lost their bets.
The popularity of the puzzle in Rochester in mid-February was shown when
an advertiser referred to the puzzle to bring attention to his ad.
The Game of "15".
"Have you tried
the game of
'IS' said \
Mr. Blank to his I
friend. No he
replied, but I have '
tried Bassett's \ " "
Horehound r.
Troches and I tell
you they cured my
cough in no time.
Well here is my car
Goodbye. "
\
':!
\
'"
They all do it -
the puzzle - and
yet they don't.
THE DAILY
CHRONICLE AND
CONSTITUTIONALIST,
AUGUSTA. GA.
MARCH 11.1880
I

co'--jre.sa-r-, art.
.'
 'f !  ' 1  .
. ,7;;- .
, /t ,    /
.  I L..Al ". '.
@ #.?9'i\  , ;""
 ..- J,:",...I _ .. A
'4fff" tldJii/>-/'
'>.;,: t ' .  ' -:Ii' 'N _'J  ..:-1'>' ..1
iii\,.b ,  i: "I'=.I_I;}J/,  ,' . ' - :-F 0 '
""" _  _J:;./ f, h ':)
, ',:o...;.u.u:--.. \",. . -
- :...
C)I'I"e '?o""" h"ry bOl- /5S IUJJ/ Qlld
n1t,),. blaC''f/::,nd/
,

The Game of Fifteen, The
Gem Puzzle, The New
Solitaire, sent to any
address for 25 cents.
23

CHAPTER I
..
r'-;:;t l
Oft CAME OF IDand 10. 'I
f _--.:.:: :;;:;;= .. -!.  I
t! 1 2 3 " '
I I " '56  7 8 l'
. , 1011 12 i 
: ! 14 15 _ , I
 Pt........... Meca. "It ,,.. ..... ...,.......11'. c.i.
. ,...." ....... .,,,111 I" ............. ......,. ..
L.--=-::a-":-""""
- -- - .
On February 20, a small note published in the ONTARIO COUNTY
JOURNAL, of Canandaigua, New York, said,
"Probably N. P Chapman, postmaster of Canastota, NY,
wilL during the coming few weeks, be the most heartily cursed
man in the country He invented the 'Game of 15.' "
A week later, the NEW YORK SUN, pubhshed an article that credit-
ed a deaf mute with the invention.
"A deaf mute in Hartford, Connecticut is said to have invent-
ed the notorious game of fifteen."o
"'IJ:C nUhTUN ."uzzr.:I>:
R.ery onv b, ..cknu: fnr "J1t;r o 2' I:.DJ"f'ln,," l' It III n
f.r:J;t :3:1-:1: lK:':::i I-Jlt:itUOJI'lb,::g(t:I::::i
""-J=ul.tr.. n'f\- vnrlRf[nn In Ihrn'a:" Is IIrkl1n.dedJ!c(1 10.
a....Th...JMn.hto..u.....t blucl("ol.lIu"'ll1...rkrt. no .61110)nll
::.:n&  ;r=:'::\,i'a,f..::;';!':lr;iccr
",ntcl' u..}Tn I.C'J:;ZLE. .J. JlOW..\RV A co. "'.
1I.ll1uvcrt. 110&1011. It. rJU
nos TON I'VZZL. "or 20c.
°"11«""4: J');UI'r. un! un I>t'.lUnlte bloc
:::  J:'tn;.vrt'i :1I)iieS:
:':CI;. ':..(j'.IAl):.t"J::;. l:sn;:
Far above: The Boston
Puzzle. Circular blocks.
Manuf-l-F Ingals,
Lynn, Mass.
Above: Ads from the
Boston Globe, February
19, above, and the
Youths Companion,
March Il,for the
Boston Puzzle.
Right: The Champion
Puzzle. Manuf- New
York & Eastern News
Co., Grand Central
Depot, NY.
* Chapter 3, Who invent-
ed the Fifteen Puzzle1,
examines both stories
and also Sam Loyd's
claim that he invented
the 14-15 Puzzle.
24
"In the time of Henry III, of France. King and Court did
nothing else than play at cup and balL Bilboquet in hand, the monarch spent his days
in tossing up his toy, and if not adept in King-craft at least he had the satisfaction (if
history is to be believed) of being known as the most expert cup and ball juggler of
his time. Such games, human distractions, giving relaxation to the mind, are inherent
to mankind.
Has not Mr. De Vinne.__ shown quite conclusively that printmg was not as much
due to the desire man had to study as to
amuse himself! Playing cards, engraved
from rough wood blocks, ante-date print-
ed books. Once that cards were cheaply
produced, and amusement could be
derived from them, the question arises,
Did they first serve for such games as
are called to-day solitaires, in which a
single person can indulge, or for
round games?
These remarks are called forth in
regard to a puzzle which is just now
the chief amusement of the New
York mind, and that is the game of
the number 15. It is so well known
as not to be worth describing. Suffice to say, that it
has assumed the character of a mental epidemic, for,
day and night, thousands of men and women, of
boys and girls, are at it, moving to and fro the mys-
By this time, the Fifteen Puzzle craze was deeply rooted and
rapidly spreading.
On February 23, 1880, the NEW YORK T]MES published an
editorial about the Fifteen Puzzle.

I ' : Th-..:.._
;: pIOn Fuzz] .,...
«> «> 1 S ' l " I;>:
«> 
Iii :<; 2
::
...
[::
.q
or>.
;;-;
f;;:4
N
«>
3
-I
P.
t-<
t;;
f-'Jt>;J
8 f;]
f-'Jt-<
:tIt:1
12 2
('Ie>
q
!<;
f-'J
f-'J
IIIIUI. ... II..., 0
l ;1N'e II.-\;\(j '11 r"lIr
/... W York &. "'" ... I
, <...,,,,,. ' . ,. aster12 
'Jlr"'n."..,t .J.vew"",..,
,..\(.-\\I...  . \.,t,.......""D. 
.r I' ""'.i'''' ".,.. 
r,., \ I --=::...
5
6
7
9
10
11
13
1'1
15

THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE CRAZE
terious numbers. You will find the box with the numbers in the market-stalls,
in the brokers offices, in the club-rooms, and in the newsroom sanctum. With
more patience than time, certain obstinate people have been known to sit up
all night at it, and still the numbers baffled them, for there is one certain
combination which refuses 'to come right.' In a month from now. the whole
population of North America will be at it, and when the 15 puzzle crosses the
seas, it is sure to become an English mania. In the meantime, it is the street
vendors who are making a harvest out of the puzzle business."
The New )'(Jrh Times Editorial was amazingly accurate with its prediction
that, "In a month from now, the whole population of North Amenca will be
at it." Before the end of February 1880, ads for the Fifteen Puzzle began to
appear in the Chicago Tribune.
Meanwhile, the question of whether the puzzle is impossible or really can
be solved became a roaring controversy that fanned passions and stimulated
the craze.
1.'2.,3;'1- ,S,G.7.8,9,IO.II.IS.
."'''''\,
1lJ.  " , J ) ,
'!?;:-t  " '  \' I ' I
......,....t.....-.1IiI  \ J '"
;t" W >';>t:S: . - ."v, /2;:
..' . , ,,' #f;?
, J/ /[,/
- -'  j'
lJ .. -q{f '
 ,
, _\ 5'
\
\
4
. 3
6
, G
tB0
j:.
.3;
. 1
1 16

CULATOR
'UZZLES.
Calculator Puzzles. Two
Games in One. England.
J
\ : -.--". ., "a..
\\
\ ; ': "\. 4
\ /
;,
;) , ,
.;,.",... ,
'.

Tht., "(,,(lJn" Puzzlt'
0 ] 2 3 4-
<..> ,.

 - () 7 H
 ::I
... 
<..>
 ....
::> ..
z n 10 11 12 0
« 
::E
z 
0 c
z
=> I:J 14 15 
.In...-k. I" th.' "'n .r....tr..lnr1J
11111U In re orch,r
<NT TO ANY ADORE FOB , CENIS

STA.TlOSEJ&Y. &c:.
,
C  0el) i
ULVER3I.GE,.:!
. ()YNE&.eo.fJ!
'tail St.utiODC1"ie1, .
':U8 and 1.20 Mon':J"Oe-st.
I
. .
Tho Latest Novelty.
Tbc Gem Pu%::Jc.
Price 25 Cents.
Dominoes, Dice, Checkens.
'Backgammon and Chc:c1cr-Boards.
PJayiDg-Casds. .
CanI.Bozea arid Counters.
Ivory and \-Vood Chessmen,
Cribbace.Brds.aDd Piaa.
J
-
--
1
Above: Royal Crescent,
Margate 15 Puzzle,
England.
Far left: The Gem
Puzzle. Manuf by
Union Manufactoring
Co., Washington St.,
Boston, Mass.
Left: The Gem Puzzle
arrived in Chicago by
February 29, 1880.
25

CHAPTER I
Is the Fifteen Puzzle Mathematically Impossible?
On January 31, the WORCESTER EVEN]NG GAZETTE published an article by Dr. Pevey,
described on page 17, about 'The Mystic Fifteen". This was the first published state-
ment that the puzzle was sometimes "mathematically impossible".
On February 19, 1880 a letter to the ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE shows the
level of frustration with the Fifteen Puzzle.
Another Puzzle. Manuf-
A. S. Payne Inc.,
N. Bennington, VI
,,..--...--...--.)(
 ANOTHER PUZZLE 
CanI23-1 lt
\,,0«5678 cane
J do 9 10 11 12 be J
 it 13 14 15 done 
(' A. S. PA YNJ<. In('. r Ii
, )' 1'0... Denni,,lm.. VrmnDI 
)(..---;>)(
\
2
'1
6
6
1 8
9
10
" Tn
.
'3
r4
15
Celebrated Block Puzzle.
Manuf O'Brien Novelty
Co., Pasadena, CA.
f
Greatest Puzzle the World
. Ever Knew.
1
A Michigan man has taken oath
before a Justice of the Peace that he
has solved the game of fifteen, making
the numbers come in rotation when
the final numbers had previously
stood thirteen, fifteen, fourteen. He
will be elected President of the
Sazerac Lying Club.
THE DAILY CHRONICLE AND
CONSTITUTIONALIST, AUGUSTA, GA, MARCH
14.1880
I
THE CELEBI{I\TED
BLOCK PUZZLE
LaD 'I . \. 1ft c, .r L
k .. P
t
FULL DIREOTION8 IN BOX
It Looks Easy!
Tr} h
by
O'BBIEK KOVELTY GO., PBSBDEJB,lJRL.
"15 A Fraud."
To THE EDITOR OF THE DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE.
"Sir: Whoever invented "the game of 15" either understood it or he did not If he
understood it, in sending it into market he knowingly perpetrated a fraud upon the
public. If he did not understand it he has unwillingly perpetrated upon the public one
of the hugest jokes of the season.
He calls it The Gem Puzzle' and gives as directions, 'place the blocks in the box irreg-
ularly, then move until in regular order': i.e., move until they are regularly arranged
consecutively from 1 to 15, and gives a diagram of the numbers on the box as they
will be when so arranged. Multitudes have looked and studied, and worked to accom-
plish this task under the delusion drawn from the statements on the box, that under
26

THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE CRAZE
all circumstances its accomplishment is possible. Thus hours have been wasted and
headaches super induced, only to result in failure and mortification at not being able
to accomplish what only a few moments before the merest child has easily done,
The fact is the 'puzzle' amounts to nothing. It does not rise to the dignity of a 'game'.
If in placing the blocks in the box they happen to fall into the right position they can
be moved into numerical order, but if they do not it is impossible to move them into that
order.
To illustrate. They may be so placed, so that coming to the last three - numbers 13, 14
and IS., they may be left in six different forms:
First-Regularly 13 14 IS
Second- Irregularly 14 15 13
Third - Irregularly 15 13 14
Fourth- Irregularly 15 14 13
Fifth- Irregularly 13 15 14
Sixth- Irregularly 14 13 15
If it so happens that they come out in any of the last three forms, 4th, 5th or 6th,
it is impossible to move them into 'regular form,' and all the time spent in the attempt
is wasted. If it so happens that they come out in either the second or third form the
merest child can easily move them into 'regular form.' Again, all the numbers and
squares except the last five, numbers 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15, with the six places, three
in each of the last rows in the box, are entirely useless, except as they aid in conceal-
ing the fraud, by making the task of discovering that the 'puzzle' cannot be accom-
plished under the above conditions more difficult.
I have assumed that the mover commences at number 1 and moves to number IS.
The same result will be reached in the last numbers, commence where and work as
you may"
Rochesler, N.¥. Feb. 18,1880,
The February 20th edition of the ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE contained
the following concise and comprehensive analysis.
The Great Trouble.
To THE EDITOR OF THE DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE.
"Sir Your correspondent in this morning's paper might have gone further in regard
to the '15' puzzle and stated that the transposition of any two adjoining figures, only leav-
ing the others in regular order, would make the puzzle impossible of solution."
ROCHESTER, FEBRUARY 19TH 1880.
On February 20, the ONTARIO COUNTY JOURNAL (NY) published the following;
'The local excitement in relation to the 'Game of 15' has nearly subsided, it having
been conceded by those whose attention has been directed to the very simple princi-
ple upon which the game depends that the solution of the puzzle, under certain con-
ditions, is simply a mathematical impossibility"
1 2 3 4
tJ 6 7 8
.
"GUOFY"
Th,.
 PUZZLE
THAT
WILL
CHASE THE BLUES
I PRICE - - . TEN CE...-TS
L--
, ft_
.- .......,..",.""'."-
"Goofy" The Puzzle That
Will Chase The Blues.
Manuf W Scott Craw-
ford, Nonistown, PA
5
R
27

CHAPTER I
To solve the puz-
zle, find the square
route.
DAILY GAZETTE,
COLORADO SPRINGS.
Washington never
told a lie. but if
the Gem Puzzle
had existed in his
day we fear that
he might have said:
"Oh. I've done it.
done it lots of
times; but I can't
tell just how."
BOSTON TRANSCRIPT.
Thirteen, fourteen,
fifteen, is merely a I
numerical continu- I
ation of that musi-
cal nuisance, "My
Grandfather's
Clock:' which
everyone knows,
stopped short at
I 2, as do all other
clocks:'
ATHENS MESSENGER,
OHIO
Several Fifteen Puzzle Solutions Appear
One of the fascinating aspects of the Fifteen Puzzle craze is that just when it
appeared that there was agreement that sometimes solutions of the puzzle are impos-
sible, numerous types of "solutions" were published. First we quote from five letters
published on February 22 by the ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT AND CHRON]CLE, which appear
to be completely contradictory to the published conclusions of Dr. Pevey, and "R."
just described.
Five Letters that claim solutions of the Fifteen Puzzle are alwavs possible.
The Game of "15" Settled at Canandaiga.
To THE EDITOR OF THE DEMOCRAT AND CHRONlaE.
"Sir: The Game of Fifteen' like the measles has visited nearly every household in
this village. It affected the old, the middle aged and the young alike; during the day in
stores and public places men, boys and youth could he seen racking their brains over
the hidden secrets of the problems. In homes, maidens lovers and children were wont
to forget their meals and lose sleep because of the intense interest it awakened. It
provoked merriment, disappointment and complications as no other 'puzzle' had ever
before done. In some circles it was feared that the intellects of those who could not
'work it' would give way and flood the world with lunatics. Many threw down the
blocks protestmg against the possibility of reaching the desired result. while others
toiled to achieve a triumph, Even the press caught the mfection and made It a'theme.'
Such has been the effect of 'the game of IS.'
It no longer has chaTms for several persons in Canandaigua, they having overcome
every obstacle, and can do the game as easily as though it never had any complica-
tions, For the benefit of your readers, and those who have thought it impossihle to
work out certain complications such as the following: 15, 14, 13 - 13,15,14, or 14,
13, 15, as claimed by'S.' in Thursdays Democrat and Chronicle, we respectfully
infoTm the public that David Hannah, a young man in the employ of DeGraff & Smith, of
\ this village, can do the puzzle after placing the blocks in any form
described by any person who doubts the statement. This we believe, is the
first announcement of a victory over the
game, and Canandaigua is to be congratu-
lated for having solved a problem which
has had such an effect on the public gen-
erally. The 'craze' is on the increase;
lawyers, clergymen, laymen, in short all
classes are absorbed in the intricacies of
the game; they never become so mixed
however, but that young Hannah can see
a way out of them." R
.
.
.
.
.
: 
"
. ;:
. 
.
I :
JL
E 15 PUZZLE 1]
 : : II
:i .
: .
c
0( .
" .
.
.
.
.

[@
1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12
13 14 15
':'ir-.Ion T  .,!  ,-",
Thc 15 Puzzlc. Manuf Milton
Bradlcy Co., Springfield, Mass
28


2
4
3
6
8
7
10
11
12
1.S
14
Canandaigua, Feb. 21, 1880.
15

"15" Not a Fraud.
To THE EDITOR OF THE DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE.
"Sir: In your issue of the 19th inst. a correspondent says that the
puzzle of 'IS' is a fraud, and that it cannot be worked under all cir-
cumstances. I am quite sure that he is mistaken. No maUer how the
blocks are arranged in the box, I am positive I can work it every time; so
far, at least, I have not failed. Hence '15' really is a puzzle, and if your
correspondent succeeds in working it out by an infallible method, he
will undoubtedly be convinced that it is not only a puzzle, but a very
good one as well,
It is a complicated one, but like some other puzzles may occasion- 
ally be solved in different ways, but by one method at least its solu-
tion is certain, And should your correspondent desire it I would be glad to
explain it to him and to others interested, should space in your column be
granted." FAX.
Le Roy, N.Y Feb. 21 1880
No Believer in Impossibilities,
To THE EDITOR OF THE DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE.
"Sir: I beg to differ with both of the gentlemen who, in copies of
the 19th and 20th ins!. of your paper, have denounced the '15' game
as an impossibility under certain conditions mentioned It has been
worked out in this family from everyone of the combinations they have
stated as impossible. " G
Roche,tel; N.Y. Feb. 21, /880
possible to do it every time.
To THE EDITOR OF THE DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE.
THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE CRAZE
1 I: tt
.'.
...-..
J ,[
....
....
h.1 j
r, l
I
PIrZZIE
I....
-....
"
'1
.. .
t
- ,
--- 10;
3 n
12 1
IT -GM -;UIZ 
16&34,am( Itm1 lnQ'( mbiDation I
of flgur, 'I, botb ill one box. .
. I
1'2;3 1 4 
I .
I iJ
:  , ,ci j
1...... ._- 1-1-
I. :: ' 5 '
! ."' ",j 13,14:1 I
t
) "'----- -
'C1 
,;a;; 
"Sir: Your correspondents in regard to the glorious CO game of'15,
probably had the headache recently. I assert that the numbers cannot be
so arranged that the puzzle cannot be worked. I arranged them in the order specfied, and it
was tres facile, " Lit.
Roche'tel; N.Y, Feb. 21, 1880
Easy to Arrange "15, 14, 13",
The 15 Gem Puzzles
"Sir, In your issue of February 19th, I see an article on '15,'
in which it is stated that if the last three numbers be 15, 14 and
13, it is impossible to bring them right. Please correel this state-
ment, as myself and two or three others have done it." WAR
Warsaw (NY), Feb. 21, 1880
I I
Piano Lessons
--She turns from the plana now and sighs:
"0, Mother! May I go play fifteen
"No. my dearest daughter:
It's the biggest fraud that ever was seen,
Go draw the washing water."
OSHKOSH DAILY NORTHWESTERN, MARCH /5,
/880
To THE EDITOR OF THE DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE.
29

CHAPTER I
I, 1 2 3
a 6. 7
(-
,r-g O 11
I "'13 1:> 14
I
---
Thc Popular 15 Puzzlc.
Manuf Intcrnational
Card Co., 96-98
Leadcnhall 51. London.
30
Five Solutions to the Fifteen Puzzle, and then some more!
During the last week of February 1880, five different "solutions" were puhlished to
solve the "impossihle" puzzle when only the 14 and 15 blocks were transposed. And
by the first week in March these were further generalized to include 48 solutions.
The first of these controversial "solutions" of the Fifteen Puzzle was published in a
letter to the New York Evening Post on February 25, This and four more of the "solu-
tions" depend on the ambiguity in the instructions and the picture on the
cover of the puzzle box. The written instructions only say, "Place the
blocks in the box irregularly, then move until in regular order." However,
a diagram was also shown on the cover of the box with square blocks all
"right side up", number "1" in the upper-left corner, and the vacant span'
in the lower right comer. Some solvers insisted the diagram of the loca-
tion and orientation of the blocks was part of the instructions, but others
claimed that the written instructions were the "puzzle" and the diagram
could be ignored in finding a solutlon.
Solution No. I-A. The First Quarter-turn Solution
On February 25, the NEW YORK EVEN]NG POST published the first of many
versions of the "Quarter turn solution,"
"The Solution of a Popular Puzzle,
It is possible that the publication of a solution of the famous puzzle
of fifteen blocks may interrupt rudely the reveries of the philosophers
who have either solved the problem for themselves or have the leisure to
toil over its intricacies. But the conviction that a solution will bear an
olive branch of peace to countless stricken households prompts the writer
of this article in a spirit of broad philanthropy to offer what appears to be
one of several keys to the game,
For the sake of clearness let us first agree that the row of numbers
next to the side of the box furthest from the holder, and containing the
numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4, shall be called A. The next parallel row, contain-
ing the numbers 5, 6, 7 and 8, be called B; and the third row, containing
the numbers 9, 10, 11 and 12, be called C. We will see that Band Care
the important rows in our solution,
At the outset, instead of getting the lower numbers in their numerical order the
quicker way to a solution is to arrange eleven numbers in their proper order on the
outside rows of the box. That order, it will be seen, is 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 12, 15, 14, L3, 9,
5, and we can begin with anyone of these numbers and work either one way or both
ways, This order can be quickly secured by using the four central squares and three
blocks. Move into the central square the outer Hock (anyone of those numbered
above), turn it until opposite its proper place and make a vacancy for it by removing a
block from another part of the outer rows and shifting the outer blocks around, So
easily is this done that we leave it to the ingenuity of our readers without further
instructions.
'i-
8
12

THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE CRAZE
Let the foregoing formula be called Y
We have now disposed of three of the twenty-four combinations possible
wIth the four central numbers. The three are: (1) The right order, (2) one dou-
ble inversion, and (3) one single inversion. Anyone of the remaining twenty-one
combinations can be quickly converted into one of the foregoing three by apply-
ing to them repeatedly the method of moves in formula X or the method repre-
sented in the first eight moves of formula X, or both methods combined The
moves are to he the same though the order of numbers will of course be different. Fig. 1.12 After three counter
clockwise moves oj the outside
Formula X and also its first eight moves should therefore be practiced carefully blocks,
before any conversion of the twenty-one combinations is tried, After the double or
single inversion is obtained they can then be solved by formula X and Y respec-
tively All this, which appears complex and difficult on paper, will be readily
understood when the box can be used for illustration. The time for solving the
puzzle from the beginning is from four to ten minutes,
Any possible combination of the numbers can, in the way we have explained,
be merged into some one of the combinations of the four central blocks, and
then solved by the formulas given. This applies, of course, to the final combina-
tions of 15,14,13, and 13, 15, 14, and 14, 13,15, which have been so trying to
the nerves and tempers of our provincial friends in Rochester,"
The outer blocks having been arranged the puzzle is limited to the four cen-
tral squares and the numbers 6, 7, 10 and 11, which will rarely come in their
proper order (Fig. 1.10), These four numbers are susceptible of twenty-four
combinations, which, however, as we shall show hereafter, may be resolved into
two, namely a double inversion (in row B, 7, 6 and in row C, 11, 10) and a sin-
gle inversion (row B correct and] 1, 10 in row C). The double inversion is
solved as follows, understanding the mandatory word move before each of the
numbers which follow:
12,8,6, 10, 11, 7, 10,6,8, 11,6. 10, 7,6, 10, 7, 6, 10, 11, 12,
Let the foregoing formula be called X.
The single inversion (row B correct and ll, 10 in row C) (Fig. 1.10), which
seems to involve the whole secret of the puzzle, will be solved by moving the
following numbers in the order prescribed:
12,8, 7, 10, 11,6, 10, 7, 8, 11, 7, 10,6, 7, 11,8, 10, 11, 7. 6, 11, 10,8, 7, 10,
11,6, 10,7,8, 11,7,10,6,7,11,8,12. (Fig, 1.11).
We have now 7, 11 in row Band 6, 10 in row C Move all the outer blocks
(Counter-clockwise) until number 5 IS shifted three places and is below number
6. (Fig. 1.12 ),
Rotate the box one-quarter around (clockwise) and it will be seen that the solution is
complete, (Fig. L 13 ),
1  t I :
5 6 7 R
Q L Il 10 I- e
l' 14 ]f) D
Fig. 1.1 0 Start with only 11,
10 blocks reversed (Single
inversion case).
1 
5 7 II R
9 6 10 l
U 14 1;>
Fig. 1.11 Block positions after
single inversion moves.
i R 1 1,) I
7 11 ],t
 6 10 I,
1 5 9
""""
w '-', 
 ....., 001
...... ...... tV]
0 ......
...... 5':

Ot

-::-:
Fig. 1.13 Final rotation -
quarter turn solution.
31

CHAPTER I
Problem 1. Find the
minimum move solution
from Fig. L14 to
Fig-US.
I I
Says He Will Work I
It. -Judge Butt has
been working on I
the fifteen puzzle
for nine weeks. He
says he will work I
it if it takes all
winter and part Of J
the spring.
ATLANTA
CONSTITUTION
32
Solution No. I-B The Simplified Quarter-turn Solution
A few days after the New Yorh Post version of the "Quarter-turn solution" was pub-
lished a much simpler description appeared in the New Yorh Evening Mail
Solution of the "Fifteen" Puzzle, (February 28, 1880)
"Among the scores of solutions offered of the prevailing "craze," this one below
may relieve the severe mental strain which those who try to work it are undergoing:
Place the blocks in the box in the following order (Fig. 1.14):
1 2 v j
I
5 6 7 8
9 10 11 I-
t " 15 ],1
,
. -I
7 11 If)
6 1 14
1 5 9 ItS
-
Fig. 1.1 4 Start
Fig. US Moves finished
to'.& 
 0-. --l "Y)
. .....  
-
--  5

Fig. 1.1 6 Rotate 90° CW-
Solution.
Solution: Columns Left to Right (+ 90° CW Tum) ,
Then push them about as follows: 14, 15, 13,9,5, 1,2,3,4,8,12,14, 15, 13,9,
5, 1,2,3,4,8, 12, 14, 15, 13,9,5, 1,2,3,4,8, 12 turn box around a quarter of the
way to the right and proceed - 14, 15, 11, 10,6,7,15, 11,10,15,11,14,12,11,15,
10,14,15,11,12. (53 moves, Fig. 1.15 and 1.16),
Take A Nap."
New York Evening Mail.
This solution can be accomplished in fewer than 53 moves,
Solution No. l-C The Curtis Quarter-tuYtJ Solution
On February 28, 1880, the New YfJfh Herald, began their popular series of ten daily
articles about the Fifteen Puzzle with, "Eureka," the most quoted version of the
"Quarter turn solution."
Eureka
The Popular but Perplexing Problem Solved at Last.
"Thirteen-Fifteen-Fourteen, "
A Game that Has Puzzled Philosophers and Pleased the Multitude,
Scientists Discuss it.
Dr, Peter H Van der Weyde, a scientist, and mathematician, attended the Academy
of SCiences meetmg on February 23 and discussed his analysis of the puzzle. His
"proof that if only the last two blocks are reversed, the puzzle is impossible is dis-
cussed in Chapter 7, page 116.

The Herald reporter. David A Curtis, interviewing Dr. Van der
Weyde describes his own solution:
"After exhausting himself in vain to reach the final solution,
after reversing the order of the] 4 and 15, with the board in the
original position, he made an entirely new arrangement. Changing
the position of the board itself so that the left hand side (along
which in the diagram are ranged the numbers 1,5,9,13) came into
the position of the top, he found the puzzle an easy one. So
will anyone else who tries it. Investigating a little further. he
found he could do it by putting the right-hand side of the ..
board at the top. So can anyone who will try it. All that is
necessary to do the fifteen puzzle is to work it down to the
first or second position named.
If the first position is reached, the puzzle is solved. If the
second position is reached, turn the board one-quarter way
round, so that one of the sides becomes the top, and the top
and bottom become two sides, and the arrangement is easy."
Dr, Van der Weyde said to this:
"You have done it. If you imagine the crossed squares to
be black, and the others to be white, it will be seen that the
board is the same as a quarter section of a chess board. This problem is similar in
nature to the old chess problem of moving the knight all over the board in 64 moves,
touching every square once and only once. Now, this is either simple or it is insoluble.
If the fourteen and fifteen are reversed, or if (referring to the diagram) any two num-
bers be reversed, one of which is a black square number and the other belongs on a
white square, the problem is insoluble,"
THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE CRAZE
TLID i
5 6 7 8
9 to 11 12
--'
II
,
\
- -
The Rattler Puzzle.
I -2 3 - 4
_ _! r}:
9 10 II 12'
---- -- --
13 1415
I' .. In-
I 1'_
_ ________ "Jt'
The Rattler Puzzle Sent
to any address for
25 cents.
The same solution was included in a letter dated Feb. 26 by N,H, Harman to the
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, The solution is shown below along with a 90 0
Counter-Clockwise (CCW) rotation of the box,
[I l
5 6 7 
-
9 10 1l 1
1" 14 1,)
Arrangement 1
J3 9 5 1
4 I 6 2
1[j II 7
, " -!
Fig. 1.17 Solution
..... ( No. 1-C Columns Right
to Left
)Q = r- OC (+ 90 CCW Turn)
:::- 0  f
,......j -
....,. }-
.. ,...:;.
Rotate 90° CCW
33
-
Arrangement 2

CHAPTER I
It is understood
that the punish-
ment of felons in
Sing Sing is made
more horrible by
furnishing prison-
ers with the slid-
ing puzzle of 15.
BROOKLYN DAILY
EAGLE, MARCH 15,
1880
In his letter to the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, Mr. Harman states:
"My own observation is that all possible arrangements of the blocks can be
resolved into the positions shown on the two diagrams shown (Fig. 1,17 arrange-
ments I + 2). These are practically undistinguished from each other with the round
blocks generally in use. I have been unable, however, to change one of these forms
into the other, except by turning the box one-quarter way round.
I think that the difficulty which beginners experience is largely due to their under-
taking the task of arranging the blocks in their places, one after the other, according to
their numbers, instead of trying the simpler method of arranging the outside blocks
first and the center blocks afterwards. I find none of my acquaintances who experi-
ence the slightest difficulty in arranging properly all the combination printed by you
in the article referred to.
I see no reason why any conceivable combination should require
over three minutes for working it out. For this reason, rather than sug-
gested by your correspondent, I am inclined to consider the puzzle a
humbug-it is too simple to be called a puzzle; there is nothing to puzzle
I 'rhe ' Ge "_I1!zle.
1 1'23 4 
N --'-- : r
'516 7 811,
a..  ;! ;;
u.J; -,-:-- - :t:;
-Ie> 9 101111 .).:.
co  . ..-'J... ;!.
::2 -- ---!''':
: g 11::1 ,14! 15 1 I 
J 1"'111Cf1 t be D10 k==="I.rll' then move
"lOi n III npl...ordflr.
\
t
The "Gem" Puzzle.
Double Puzzle,
34
over,"
N.H. Harman, Bennington, Vermont February 26, 1880.
The Chicago Tribune responded to this "solution" with ridicule. A letter to
the Editor titled, 'Thirteen - Fifteen - Fourteen", described the solution
as:
'The reporter's 'Eureka' idea of turning the box around is
simply ludicrous, as though that would change in the least the rela-
tive position of the blocks. It would be something like turning the
map of the United States around to show that Cincinnati could be
due West from Chicago."
Another letter to the Editor of the Tribune, titled, 'The American
Muddle", was a "tongue-in-cheek" note from the:
"Cook County Lunatic Asylum, Ward for Incurables,
Cells 13-15-14,
In behalf of the idiots in above cells, we would like to pro-
pound one or two questions, After we have arrived at near the end, when
all the blocks are in consecutive position (except the last two, which then read 15-14),
suppose then we turn the box around as per the newspaper fiend's directions, and
then commence sliding the blocks again, they will come in position, but the blocks
will all lie sideways at the end, if we understand correctly, or else the patient must be
allowed to pick up the blocks, whirl them part way around, and replace them in box,
but in the same spot."
We recently received a clever new design of the 15 Puzzle, from Ton Delsing of The
Netherlands, that allows the moves of solution No, I to reverse the 15 - 14 blocks
(See page 142.)
\t

Solution No.2. The Round Block Solution
On February 25 the Rochester Evening Express published an arti-
cle by their correspondent in Canandaigua with a simple explana-
tion for how David Hannah in Canandaigua and possibly others
solved the fifteen puzzle, no matter how the pieces are arranged.
That Game of Fifteen,
Canandaigua, Feb. 25. - "Your correspondent rises to explain.
The young man announced in the Express as being master of the
game of 'fifteen,' and who, in response to a printed offer, made by
a firm in your city, went to demonstrate the possibilities of a solu-
tion, needs a word said III his defense. It is hardly fair, to say the
least, to leave the impression that he was incapable of performing
as was stated in Saturday's Express. He went to your city on Monday and
took with him the puzzle, which was made of round instead of square
blocks-the only one he had ever tried to solve. They were rejected by the firm, Here
arose a difference of opinion, The boy went, sure that he could prove his claim to the
offer, and showed his confidence in his abilities and his faith in the statement made by
the gentlemen, who did not confine the puzzle to square blocks. On presentation of
their puzzle, he refused to attempt a solution, and returned, minus his traveling
expenses and feeling that his treatment was unjust. He is willing to prove his ability to
work the round block puzzle, and here let me say that all of the conflicting state-
ments made through the press in regard to this game, arise from the two sets ofblochs. COMPANION PUZZLE.
The one is capable of solution; the other one now and forever will remain a
fraud, or an impossibility We leave for the public to judge how much the 'young
man failed to do' on his visit to your city, and how fairly he was dealt with by
the firm who, we think, is making the 'puzzle' an advertising dodge."
The use of round pieces (Fig. 1.18)
allows the box to be rotated one-quarter
turn and then the pieces rotated so the
numbers are properly oriented, Figure
1.19 on the next page shows the steps to
solve the puzzle with round blocks.
Rotating the blocks allows solutions that
are not possihle with square blocks.
Several versions of the Fifteen Puzzle
used round blocks, including the
"Boston Puzzle," "Combination Puzzle,"
"Calculator Puzzles," "Companion
Puzzle," "Eureka Combination Puzzle" and
'The Games of 15 and 34,"
THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE CRAZE
t
VY]"UKh
J
. _ -i .
I tUJatkTt& rust
, ..
1111 t, rIO:!
J
L
,001
TJ:l /1,
.
!
'\
Fig US. Eureka
Combination Puzzle
Little Buttercup, 15- and
16 puzzles.
Be/ow: Advertisement in
Youths Companion,
March 11, 1SS0,
'I
DMIn ItAIl hrll!n mncl1 ...ell"" for tI,,. In_' 'f'w.."erklll
OW", n '"nF.zl., y,-hlrh hA" IM"'Cn r".Urelll' ..'.'....nl nnm.... It
h". fwn ('olnhl""UonPl-4"ne (.f I'...,...... """ 011. of ....I..-:-u..e..
,"caUer Ii'll'! ftl;'lU"t'S. wtJtrh lire!! .trlntf"d an rOllntl hlock.. 01
WO(H1. I.. .11.. boJt; tb.n turt\'ft IIII'm. one at aU...... wlllll,"I
rrmnvlnll tl'lr.rn from the box. unt" tbc)" &I'e ana"gtld from
11.0 Jt In rou.Unn.
IT LOOKS EASYI TRY ITI
I" , I - ...;.......- Tile combtnnllnn of urtcrll cnn"III"._ of the woed"
rr ': --=---- ' .  ) YOUTH'!! CO)JPASIOS.
.. ... tJ\f'mOIlt'fttA
nUl they ftl"'''
j"C e} ','i' 0 .f  
j ,\, :iJ3 j' J ' I i Q\ II 48 '
1 "I' I """'- .. rl f ,
 t '_ -" , 1
 . ."' -oC'
--- -  -.. -
J...........-.-r_ -..................
14 IS 16'
FIFTEEN PU
i:i
..
I,
D "'
" ,
'il 1
Patience 15 & 34 Puzzle.
Manuf De La Rue & Co.,
london.
DE LA RUE & CO'S
THIRTY-FOUR PUZZLE,
35

CHAPTER I
(
, .  \\' ..
I 'k 1
"
.... -
If' 11
,
1]
I
1
, .,.... ......
\
""""
....a.I <
J
),
Start
Turn Box 90°ccw
Turn Blocks 90°cw
Mnve order to Vertical
Another "solution", using round blocks, which was considered "cheating" by some
people, involved turning the block with the number "6" upside-down so it became a
"9" and similarly turning the "9" to a "6". This is equivalent to swapping a pair of
blocks and the numbers could be put in regular order with this change. However this
trick was not allowed by Dr. Pevey in Worcester, Mass., when, on January 31, a boy
tried to claim the prize of a pair of false teeth and $100 cash using this "trick".
The "Little Buttercup" Puzzle (Fig. 1.20), which had appeared in Fitchburg, Mass.
by February 9, 1880 was one of the first puzzles to use round blocks,
but letters instead of numbers, were printed on the blocks. The puz-
zle could be solved no matter how the blocks were placed in the box,
because if the last two letters came out in the wrong order. swapping
two of the double letters would correct the order. The bottom of each
round block was blank, but many puzzle solvers wrote the numbers
1 to 15 on the bottom of the pieces (Fig, L2l). The "Little Buttercup
Puzzle" was soon changed to the "Eureka Combinatlon Puzzle"
(Fig. L18 and 1.20), with letters on one side of the pieces and num-
bers on the other side of each piece, The box also had two labels,
with "Eureka Combination Puzzle" on the box cover, and "Little
Buttercup" on the bottom of the box
Fig 1.19 Quarter-turn
Solution using round
blocks.
1%T T:a
i :,tt n!tl:r
I J u=i1t.
PATf;.NT APPLI£C FOA.
I DIH.( TIOXS.
l'att{,T the lctu'r!! in the bO:J: and t I
I 111t)\C them one at u time (wilhout rcmol-
iOR tht'JU frulIl the 1 IX) untIl they "p('11
I HI.I1'TLE UtTT1-rt!r.......
IT lOOKS E.J.SI--TRJr IT.
-
;2." SO,,'!
-
....
u
Fig 1.20 Little Burtercup
Puzzle (bottom of
Combination Puzzle).
36
 --...-.-

1,.
"I
.
-, I (1l
6" 6'
....
8

U
If
7
9
/ IJ 1-1
¥ IS
131
Fig 1.21 Round pieces
hand-numbered on Little
Buttercup Puzzle.
13
l'

Solution No.3. The Upside-down Solution
The Game of Fifteen
To THE EDllOR OF THE DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE.
THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE CRAZE
"Sir: I have read with great interest the several articles that have appeared in your
paper as to the possibility and impossibility of solving this puzzle. I do not claim pro-
ficiencies in such mysteries, and am inclined to sympathize with your correspondent
who repeats the assertion in this morning's issue that the puzzle under certain combi-
nations named by him is impossible to perfect solution. However it is not at all
unusual that we find a lesson or two in chICane necessary to a proper appreciation of
so-called puzzles set afloat for public entertainment. I do not assume to decide the
question involved in this case, for I never saw the troublesome little blocks till a cou-
ple of days since, and have little time to devote to their study, but I venture to suggest
to your correspondent of to-day that it may possibly be in compliance with the terms
of the proposition-to arrange the numbers in numerical order-to commence with
the number 1 at the lower left hand corner, and make them to read as follows (Fig.
1.22):
By investigation it will be found that combina-
tions that cannot be worked out the other way will
readily submit to the above arrangement. I do not
assert that this is the correct solution of the puzzle,
or that it is the one reached by those who volunteer
to visit Rochester on free tickets for the purpose of
enlightening the residents of the flower city on this
subject, but I merely suggest, from the little exami-
nation I have gIVen the matter, that, since a puzzle
is a puzzle, the above is one way of solving it.»
Rocltntcr, Feb. 23, 1880. LEX
With tearful eyes and angry mien-
With wasted form so thin and lean-
With hectic flush that's never seen.
Except on one who long has been
Devoid of happiness serene---
A box lay near her; (white and green,)
Quite full of blocks; one space between.
"Say, Maiden, say, what does it mean?"
"I'm working at the 'Gem Fifteen!'"
SYRACUSE SUNDAY TIMES, MARCH 7, /880.
.( "'."
, _ -:j:.,',
,.- , , /--
,......;.. . (d' . Cor ."-3-
'\" \,. >1Iy .,
" ::--"! "t...;..;) I?.:-:
n\, " 1" ........
0/! i I"J I, f.-I, -
, "1)\. :! <! \
I .. 'I:  & } ,
,I 'ft
1
{) 6 7 I
9 10 11 1')
! 1;{ lfi 14 1
,
Seart
:,
f;::,.

...
I I There is no sign of I
the puzzle boom
subsiding.Yesterday I
it attacked several
members of com-
mon Council, and
no man can tell
who will fall before
I it to-day. I
GAZETTE & BULLETIN,
l PENNSYL VANIA J
Problem 2. Find the
minimum move solution
from Fig. 1.22
"Sean" to "LEX Finish"
13
9
{)
1
-
, \
r-< .,..>
--."
,- -- I
- t I
/"JJ
'. ./"
/
11
7 
t
LEX Finish
Fig. 1.22 Solution No.
3. with rows upside-
down.
r
If
I
J
.'
!
\\\
,U
I
,
The. ,ru'.I"e:ST<; of me. 10"""1" cds //er-
;/- rc.gare(ks '/ 7li/et/C-J ujJ 7Ji J-md 37

CHAPTER I
Problem 3. Find the
minimum move solution
from Fig. 1.23 "Start" to
"Finish by MAME &
ID. Warner."
Fig. 1.23 Solution No.4.
Change Vacant Space (2
versions).
Soon, an additional solution from both MAME and James D. Warner appeared.
Solution No.4. The New Vacant Square Solution
Thinks He Has it.
To THE EDITOR OF THE DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE.
"Sir: In to-day's issue of your paper 'Lex' gives a solution of the difficult puzzle,
'IS.' The correct solution of this puzzle when the IS is placed before the 14 and the
rest remaining in their order, being now 'All the rage,' ] beg to submit mine
(Fig. 1.23):
1 . tJ
5 6 7 8
9 - 1 l'
lq 15 14
Start
1
i 5 6 7
") 9 10 III
L I 14 Id 1
I
 I
1
5
9
J
6 7
10 11
li ]4
11
}-)
Finish by MAME andID.
Warner
Finish by J D. Warner
This leaves the numbers in numerical order. Can anyone do better?"
Rochester, Feb. 25, 1880.
MAME
The first time that this type of solution was mentioned was in an article by Dr.
CK. Pevey, about his reward for a solution to the puzzle, in the Worcester Gazette on
January 29, 1880. He said that this type of "solution" was "not accepted as legitimate"
and would not win the reward of $100. and a $25. set of false teeth
-"1 (See page 18).
-:.t TT<.n
..Tor 0 DI' b n
1 2 3 4
5 6 '1 8
9 110111112
13 ! 14 15 \
James D. Warner wrote a letter to the New York Herald on February
28 which described his contribution to the
meeting of the "New York Academy of Sciences"
and mentioned that the puzzle was stated thus:
'To arrange the numbers in numerical order."
He presented the two versions of the solution
shown in Fig. 1.23 above.
I P
I
The Puzzle
of 15 & 16. This little
puzzle looks simple
but try it once.
38
J
i
"'..,
-...
/'"O!
,
t.f ....
IJ 1 l
-..,1
 / 4 \
8
I
1'_
Humor of 14-13-15.
Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
The saddest are these, "1ft hadn't been
For that one block that came between,
I could have got the whole Fifteen!"
16

THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE CRAZE
Solution No.5. The Right-to-left Solution
On February 28, 1880 the FITCHBURG DAILY SENTINEL published a right to left solu-
tion for the Fifteen Puzzle.
The Gem Puzzle.
"Messrs. Editors: When two consecutive numbers of the "Gem" puzzle are trans-
posed, they may be arranged in regular, if not proper order, by beginning at the upper
right hand comer of the box, and arranging the numbers toward the left (Fig, 1.24). D"
Solutions generalized.
Persifor Frazer ]r.'s article in the Philadelphia
Evening Bulletin, on February 26, 1880, generalized
this type of solution,
"It is possible to solve the problem by commenc-
ing the series at any comer, or by allowing it to end
at any comer, and by making the direction of
increase of the numbers from right to left or from left
to right, or from top to bottom, or from bottom to
top. It follows from this that the blank space can be
left either at the beginning or the end or any desired
square. The final arrangement depends on two things, viz: First, whether one begins to
arrange the numbers from the lowest upwards or from the highest downward, i.e. 1,2,
3, & c, or 15, 14, 13, & c Second, whether the course of the series as they are carried
around the box is with the hands of the watch or in
the opposite direction."
On March 5, 1880, Persifor Frazer]r. read a paper
titled, "Three Methods and Forty-Eight Solutions of
the Fifteen Problem", before the "American
Philosophical Society" (Fig. 1.25).
\ 1.1 [\ . ,I '\
:tJA. ,' 1 1 ) · Ii!. 
\ ":.to '. '
\ .
\
:L
-
...... --- .....
(
  ----+ ........
II ., tl
---- ... ..
", tJl I
--
.- ,
......
...,
Ilt
--
---- ....
1   4J
5 6 7 8
9 I 11 l'
; 1.: 15 14
Start
; ,
E (;!tEAT At'.....(1\N iUZZL:I,
lit, at 'JlllaUoll of
f ,nrcl, both 1. " vI:,
-
.
;, I
1 2  41
----I
'1 5 6: I 81
,
... ----
\
; 9 '10,1'1 12i
---
=1314: 15
,
PI..  I _
- (
I '
.'
Metallic Puzzle.
Amusing and unique,
for old and yong. Sold
everywhere. England.
Problem 4. Find the
minimum move solution
from Fig. 1.24 "Start" to
"D." Finish.
t 2 1
7 6 5
1:> 11 10 9
15 14 1a
"D." Fimsh
1.24 SolutIOn No.5.
Rows Right to Left.
..
t
:1'
The Great American
Puzzle, 15 & 34. A
most interesting combi-
nation offigures, both
in one box. England.
39

CHAPTER I
ThrH J(Iw'" aM JI'or/y,B;ghl So/uIIo.. .JIIu Jl'ifti'" Pr.bz"". By
p,tiJqr 11rour, Jr.
(&ad ""....111. A....-!.." PhiIoIOjJhi<aI8o,io1y, Mareh G, 1880.)
FIuT I!J:THOD.
I 8 8 4
- - - -
G 8 7 B
- - -- -
9 10 11 12
- - - -
18 14 IG
8BCOND METSOD.
I
I I 2 8 4 C5J
18 118 --
14 
I I 8
11 I
10 9 8 7
TSIUD METHOD.
1 8 8 , S
- - - -
8 7 8 G
- - - -
9 10 11 18
- - - -
I 14 18
PBOC. AKBR. PRIL08. BOO. XVIII. 105. SII. PRINTED IUBCH. 1880.
Fig. 1.25 Persifor
Frazer's Three Methods
of Solving the Fifteen
Puzzle.
.,..10 P,f t J:'l C 1>" 11'1;:3,,1 n
cu
N'
foot
:::I
Q..'
W
"I;L
='
0'
Q'
,
..=,
...'
122 4
567 8
9 10 n 12
131415
1
..:I
.
. I
i='
I'"
:.c
"!
,
''The requirements of the popular Fifteen Puzzle are to
"move the blocks until in regular order." This regular order may
be of three kinds, when the numbers are in consecutive series
and the blank space is left either at the beginning or the end:
1. First Method. That usually understood where the numbers
follow each other in broken lines like reading matter in type. or
in the opposite direction.
2. Second Method. Where the numbers follow a single coil from
some point on the edge of the box to the centre, or vice versa.
3. Third Method. Where the numbers follow a zigzag course
across the box, reading from left to right on the first and third
lines, and from right to left on the second and fourth. or vice
versa.
There are sixteen possible solutions under each of the three
methods, eight of them applicable to cases where 1 is at the
head, and eight cases where 15 is at the head."
Scam solutions
Several ads were published in the Boston Herald, and other
newspapers, that promised solutions.
Unfortunately, almost all of these offers of solutions were
said to be scams and told you to "Pick up the 15 block and
place it after the 14 block"
Ads for solutions to the
Fifteen Puzzle
. . I:I-IIi-H. .
I I' )'011 "tlmi1 00) \'(' Iii" I:,-blf.,'k JI\1!.7.1r In c\'l'r' ,,0111-
b:1I1\1Ion. lIrt h\'Q 3-l"l'ut fil'lml' ror t..httl..lI. :\.1-
f\r,, hI\., n.::, Ciue or I l:tter_I!I!: ,:!I,I{.tO I!.:
.".......A. ....w
THE PUZZ L E SOLVED. ! N£:A  JfutD'
A\.Bo&to'f edlAteJy. tor t\lll dlrel:t1OIljl. ' r '
- .-------_.-
HOW TO no IT r
l Qt-H-15. from eltber 13-15-14 or 15-14-13'-
d :;{"lId 10 ,'cntl> In t1I4mp,lln.' 'rocelve by return
all fun prjnt,<1 <11e!ioll3 !,?r 601iI;; the mock 1'uz-
z.e. :\d d rt'bS J._ '  x_. t..u. MIl6. _
-
t
1I".."Vu°
q
"
..
..,.. ..

6
The Double Puzzle of Crack
Brain and Thirty-Four. Manuf-
Heyer Bro's., 42 & 44
Franklin Dr., Boston.
3
40
1.- -
2 8 4 Now this forever settles the knotty puz-
zle: 'The Boston Post has interviewed
110 Rev. Joseph Cook on the Gem puzzle.
7 S Joseph says: 'It is the natural offspring of a
pathogenic and perspicuous perspicacity
.. 11 and during the protoplasmic stage its
t»  ;nventoc ,hauld have been pe.-calat1
oJ
insuperably through the innate particles
.1-t lr', 16 of a barn door."
MORNING OREGONIAN, POMLAND.

THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE CRAZE
March 1880: The Craze Reaches from Coast to Coast.
During the first few days of March, a number of anicles were published in several
East coast cities that described the Fifteen Puzzle craze and the impact that the puzzle
was having on people, and communities. First we quote from several newspapers
staning with Boston, where it all began.
March 1,1880, BOSTON POST
The Game of Fifteen
It is the duty of press to take cognizance of every influence that has any important
bearing upon the public health or public prosperity. It is, therefore, morally impossi-
ble to longer avoid recognition of the place that the gem puzzle occupies in our gen-
eral social economy or the mastery it has obtained over all minds. We have known for
a long time that it was violent in its attacks, but we had hoped that it would be sim-
ply sporadic. The evidences are, however, at last unmistakable that it has reached the
proportions of an epidemic. Neither the wnnkled front of age nor the cherubic brow
of childhood is proof against the contagion. It comes in to divide the fascination of
stock speculations; it obtrudes itself before the ledger of the merchant and amid the
intricacies of specific and ad valorem figures, he wonders if there is any way in which
the IS can be worked into its own proper comer with the 11 in the path, and 13 and
l2 guarding the side street, except by jumping or cutting a hole in the side of the
box. The blacksmith at his anvil, and the carpenter, the shoemaker and the judge at
their respective benches betray in their haggard countenances the ravages of this nerv-
ous irritant.
We hear vague rumors now and then that some one has surmounted all difficulties
and attained the unattainable; but no demonstration accompanies these brilliant
results. and we are left in as blank doubt as ever. Genius alone can do it, but genius
cannot tell how it is done. We have sometimes been inclined to think that genius
cheated a little We desire those who can accomplish this feat to show upon the
blackboard, to the satisfaction of a committee of fifteen, their methods, or forever
hold their peace.
March 1, 1880, PHILADELPHIA PRESS
Gem Puzzle Humbug
One of the leading questions of the day, rivaling for the time even the interesting
possibilIties of the coming presidential nominations and quite throwing into second-
ary importance the various perplexing problems which are vexing different portions
of the country, is the proper solution of the now famous "game of fifteen." Nothing
could be simpler than this game, unless it be those who seriously attempt to work it
out.
To the class of minds for whom the squaring of the circle and the establishing of
perpetual motion are congenial occupations, the game of fifteen has irresistible
charms. We helieve that the true solution of the problem is that it is insoluble when-
American beef is
shipped across
the sea and sold
at three cents a
pound, but when
killed at home it
sells for three
times as much.
This is a new
game of "fifteen"
for some one to
work out. ( 1880)
41

CHAPTER I
"When I was a
youngster, said
another man,
after wetting his
whistle from his
beaker of root
beer, I hadn't
much of a nose
for booze. But I
was living in a
prohibition State,
Massachusetts.
and the game of
getting a drink
was sometimes as
fascinating to me
as the 13,14,15
puzzle, which was
having its run
about that time.
( 1907)
* I. In truth it is insoluble
if only any two blocks
are interchanged.
*2. No examples of these
advertising and expensive
puzzles have been found.
42
ever the order of two consecutive numbers is inverted*l; but, however that may be, in
view of the prodigious amount of labor and study spent over the game, we would like
a solution of a second growing problem growing out of the first, and which greatly
perplexes those not interested in the former, and that is, what good would it do any
one if he should get the blocks arranged in order? Considered as a recreation, the puz-
zle is a delusive, exasperating, time-wasting fraud, and viewed in any other light it has
no excuse whatever for existence.
March 2, 1880, BOSTON GLOBE
The Fifteen Craze.
The puzzle is utilized for advertising. A southern transportation company has
ordered boxes of blocks, which when properly arranged, will spell the name of the
company. A sewing machine company has utilized it in the same manner. It is said
that an up-town firm of New York jewelers has ordered 1000 of these puzzles made of
ivory blocks in fancy boxes. They are to retail for $4, apiece. Another firm is having
the puzzle made in glass with the numbers ground upon the faces of the blocks.
These are to sell for twenty-five cents*2.
March 2, 1880, HARTFORD COURANT (New York letter to Boston Gazette)
13-15-14
Boston has a great many sins to answer for, like the rest of us, but none greater
than the mtroduction of the Block puzzle. The Gem puzzle it is called on Broadway,
the Boss puzzle on Third avenue, and that _____uu puzzle on Wall street. New York
was a comparatively happy and peaceful city before the introduction of this puzzle.
Now happiness has fled and discord reigns. Of course you know the puzzle to which I
refer. It is useless for you to deny it; you have one in your pocket now, and are only
waiting for a quiet moment to take it out and move the perplexing blocks around.
Everybody in New York has one, and there are five or six in every family. How to
bring the numbers out right is the one thought that fills the minds of our citizens. In
the shops you see the clerks with anxious eyes hurrying their customers to a choice of
goods that they may steal a moment under the counter with the precious blocks. On
the street cars you see men with abstracted gaze suddenly pull a box from out their
breast pocket and begin to move the blocks with eager fingers. All goes swimmingly at
first. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve - how sim-
ple to be sure! Thirteen, fifteen, fourteen stand the last numbers. and here's the rub.
Can they be placed in the right order? That is the question now agitating this city.
Politicians no longer care whether McLean is in or out of the police board.
Humanitarians have turned away from the Crowley case, and Fenians have forgotten
Parnell. Clergymen have almost determined not to preach, for their congregations take
no interest in what they say. Wrinkled brows meet them on every side and even dea-
cons and elders are seen slinking out of church in haste to get home and work out
that knotty problem. It is said that when a well-known clergyman gave out that he
would take the text of his evening sermon from Numbers, it was almost impossible to

THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE CRAZE
get seats, as everyone thought he was going to explain how 13, IS, L 4 could be
changed to 13, 14, 15.
Mark Twain was accused of bringing a plague upon his country when he invemed
the horse-car poetry: -
"A blue trip slip for a 6-cent fare,
A pinh trip slip for an 8-cent fare,"
etc., is a terrible thing to get running through one's head. But that flows easily along
and while it occupies the mind it does not torture the brain. The block puzzle turns
black hair gray, makes amiable men cross and sane men lunatics. It is, however, the
bond of sympathy that hinds the people of this city close together, and when a man is
seen to stand upon the corner of a street and throw his hat in the air, while he shouts
for joy every person who passes that way joins in the wild hallo, for they know that
he has got 13, 14, IS!
March 3, 1880, The Daily Graphic
The Fifteen Puzzle craze was at its peak. and newspapers, theater
and songs featured the puzzle.
-
The refusal of
some of these
agents to accept
anything less than
full fare from
members of
Soldiers Homes,
is a fifteen-block
puzzle. according
to the opinion of
home officials,
especially when
the comrades
present their duly
signed furloughs
and identification
cards. (1819)
The Daily Graphic, at
the peak of the Fifteen
Puzzlf' craze, March 3,
1880
T}HE ' D r \  -yr,r v G r- \ 'q 4\\ ' p rnr ] r 'l'\
 =.J Kij ,!t\-1J!At  JLID-:l J1 
{-z- " } !' ' , 'JJk"" {f ' :J} :"""" . .
=- ....!..- --= - j ! 
- L. .' 39 c... 4] PAR K PLA CZ; E ' -1  ! '
 '";. =- - ,
\OL, AXIl
1'1I1lZ:1'(O:IJ. }
NEW YORk, WED1\E:-\IMY. MARf'U 3. 1880-TEN PAHE:-\,
MJ 21fi3,
&12 Par Yeu ill &4""(1'.
I1DJI. COp.. 1'1.... Cn".
"<0,
f? 7-;'3 , II )
11 5 6I1m'
I :.'¥'
I ! 9 ,19 11 12
)m..."
')
:: ' W),_
'! r,
 z  ,
. -1'-,''-''''' '.. "',
i,,', .( 
£.- ../ L£ t'
I
I
F?
=f;,t, '-"b ) .
"'. ,t. ,... .......1- ....'J,w
{
< _J
-or
-, .J
I
.,.v )7
, Ii I
i
  "" r':...,,:'J:;;j
,.-  .....3"rl _ . "I  -...::".,
/"!- -- 
"fGn,z.d a '/'!",JeCl.,.ct:.... UCfO
n.. e"..-:JA - uJllt!-
CoI VVQ... I'lr' 'I'U I'l'rfiT ,rrlDl't.
, /,k "II.
,
,..,'
,)!'-!J ...
(
k
;;;n
"J/
1
7)
"if;
7{ v
t
JZ::J
I 
';:- 43
,"
. ::q
, -
..J'''''

CHAPTER I
Theatres Feature the Fifteen Puzzle
Several theatrical productions during March and April 1880, in New York,
Philadelphia and Boston took note of the Fifteen Puzzle craze and some advertised that
their performances included special productions about the puzzle.
Philadelphia
And on March 7 the same day in Philadelphia, The Eleventh Street Opera House
began three weeks of performances by the Camcross Minstrels in a new Burlesque by
E.N. Slocum, entitled, 'The Fifteen Game; or The
Crazy Puzzle."
1'11£ GAM£ of
FIFTEEN
1 2 3 4 4
I j6 7 8 I
. 10 11 12
.13 15 14
SOLVED BY THE
y-
\\.-
Poster for the comic
opera 'The Very Merry
Mariner. "
p....... ':I'.....TII&-T....... .&liD .A.mI.
JlUOU l"CX.DY THEATRP. or PUIL6.D..... PA.
BIJOU COMEDY rIUU..TJtE ur lOlULAVA.. rA.
Mr. e. E. OOODWIN..........U.... and "'Qagt!.
FUN O THE Dln6Tot.:
uH, A N[oHT ON THE OUSD.
FUJi' (IN 'I'D:!: BCioBT O TH& 8OUlfD.
THE FUN"I:IE8T I'LAT ON RECORD.
LA.UOBT.EB FOB A WEEK.
S)11L FOn A It[orH.
OOOD UUlIUB FUll. A YEAK.
BOUES CROWDED.
SECl:RE "£OUB SEA.TS IN ADVANCE.
TUE PUZZL1I: UOLVED.
EI   N I
I " IT II III
 -
J!: I R I .
I T -;;-r 7 '1 I
<C--Q-O-<O-----<?
WITH A LARnF. A!<iIJ POWRUPUL COTER..
01" VHa.:!o1A",r1C ANU .II1l.J'SU;:JLL .&KTI.ro.
Philadelphia's Park
Theatre claims: 'The
Puzzle Solved; See it. .
44
New York
A comic opera titled, 'The Very Merry Mariner", was scheduled to appear
at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in March 1880, as described in the poster on the
left. Apparently it was to include a segment about solving the Fifteen Puzzle.
however due to a copyright dispute it was not performed until June, 1880,
under its original title, 'The Sea Cadet." This is actually a version of 'The
Royal Middy" which played at Daly's Theatre in February
In Booth's Theatre, the advertisement in the New Yorh Times from March 7
through March 12 said, "Come and see the craze puzzle done, 13-15-14.
The National Police Gazette mentioned that during the play "Robinson
Crusoe" at the New York Standard Theatre, when a middle-age lady in the
cast is asked her age, she responds, mildly, "15," and instantly the entire com-
pany produces boxes of the "13, 15, 14," puzzle and becomes energetically
engaged in solving the age-conundrum.
}'OB A. ..JFF..-{C....I....W.!.::Ji::..
E.'£l'4I.j..'Ir:.:t r'l81li.utJ.E..
__ LAr WIr.V.I
@ 'J.LAtn'WEEK
tA . 1\ur ONIt
)11 HUT UE
ioU. OF THK tU:AMON.
OF 'I'HIt tl:I\.MU.N1
Ji' l'':ln: "1'
ImY
lU'"
It: of OUtD.
EOF HI.D.
\{AT AriY IS'
CE.
eELERRA.TED
'CIALTIES.
lWTRE
lIT TII.t!: '/:-TA R
TUE LA),{{iE8T
ALI.TI
VOl
Last week of t
n . GA.ME;
'filE FIFI' HAM1i:;
ON.. 'J'tiE ('U . l"I'ZI.LE.
OR. THE ctU.ZY rUZL;tB.
(>---
I DIOINlti
..!..
I !!.
GIUIMI
LAST WEI:K(> LAST WEEK
OF TIIB ''t''OYDERFUh
COLultED 'l'UUUUS'['S
IN A P",RLnR CAK.
lIS" A'rARLOIl. CAIt.
Of the Grand S ct.te8T WEEK
1'HE CHANTMEN-r BALLEr
Nalt 'I'HE ENClIAlHMEN'F BALLEr:
Ile".ral enUrelyvIi"lnalRU(
'lobe CoDlIHl.n:r  bO world.
:Slg:x:ac::: forbst twowaeksof tb
"'OBA""'£. .....ICRV n....I1(....
l

J
1
,

7
6

9
10
11 1.2
13 14 l 16
The Fifteen Game Play
in Philadelphia
Ceramic 15
&34 Puzzle
using 16 cir-
cular ceramic pieces in a
ceramic tray.
Manuf T. T. & Co.

Boston
In Boston, for the Easter Holidays beginning March 28, 1880, Hooley's
Theatre, 'The People's Favorite Amusement Resort", The Pirates of
Nahant, was presented featuring Professor Naoni solving the Gem
Puzzle. They also offer a $100 reward to any person who will solve
the 13- 15-14 problem. A review of the performance in the Boston
Globe, said, "Professor Naoni, as usual, solved, with surprising celerity
and certainty, the 13-15-14 puzzle."
And on April 25, W80 the Boylston Museum and Star Novelty
Theatre, 'The Only Variety Theatre in Boston," presented two shows
daily of The Great Dime Show, featuring "The Great Sensation, The
Gem Puzzle Solved at every Performance by Professor Naoni,.'
Music and Songs are named after the Fifteen Puzzle
At least eight musical compositions were published in the United
States in 1880 with the title or theme of the Fifteen Puzzle. Some of
these songs were apparently named after the puzzle because of its pop-
ularity. One of the songs, the 13-15-14 comic song by Fred Jewell
included words by William Bacon, with four verses and a chorus. Our
British puzzle friend, Edward Hordern, also found a song about the
puzzle with two verses and a chorus that was published in England in
1881 I
DlOICA1[DlO IllS IRIOIO
DunieyESq
(tS1 SUES
t "\.'>fH L "c4S
 IE.WS)I)IEJ 011
  t..t
4
8
!12
2 :3
'6 17
:10 III
'I--
'13 15 :14 I
W'a_tt [te g a[lt
BY
fit f\" n {;',I&ID 1
.Jp=___ _!!l_
NEWYORK
PUBLISHED BY SJ.Gordon aSOn.13EASTl4'!'Sl.
Ll
-'I'''''&'''
THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE CRAZE
-
AMUSEMEN T&.
H .gI: s
.. Th II,m" qf Il",ftrtft'l JI,wufnlJJI II
Tbo Veep1e'. ...."..01'1111I .41U'llICnuC!'al Be.orL
I:A..TER 110 1.1 b.'- TR.
Jtew DIU! 1\,."" ..1I"U...1 ..11\':...... No....."...
HOOLEY'S MEGATHERIA.H
PIRATES IMlm STB fiLS PIRATES
". I CREAT ( or
NAHANT. :1en:tiO;..[ NAHANT.
Tbe OlIn 'PUIZIO .oh....,....,. )'ror. :'\AO:\!I. In fire_once
"t Ihi' ,,'11'\1,1...("85.
'100 JCE".Ann to lI'u,. I'('nlt" ..ho wJlt aClbo the
11S 1u .<1 ,-,'nltlrm..
TilE CI.Jrl.ER \I.rtt'tLC". )Irlnllrt". "'ald. ('''me.eU
::) JI)1\t. ' t";!SK ',',tc.:ln'"I:.!'rl,.'. c;f;I' 'i,,:;:
l \ut(-:II)LC\\\.-r .noQ1 1\:':P} Sl
i-;\:Li;r1:lr::InI":'A)!r!I\:t r .- An-r.
ut-:n l"O."rJ.A1t IIIUCI :-o.-t;...rnulJ!". .\. 35 60 an"
"i':i ..('lit. ""ncil'. &, ftud ,f)Occt.u. "'r"unlla, II "ml
f'.t nl"r' It Itlh 
I
BOYLSTON MUSEUM
. AnD
STAR NOVELTY tHEATRL
... .. L<nKaOP, _ _'"N._. _.__...__ ....N_. ......__ ........_..
I: Tllli GREA'fnI J\: (E-S HOW.11
Mntince8 Daily at 2.30 o'elock: Evening. rertOrIDO.nce8 nt 8 o'4Jlock,
TDE GNU "'GlEn TDEATKE IN BOSTON.
Today the Sole Occupant of the Field
OF
POPULAR AMUSEMENT.
]
5
9
2 3
6 7
10.11
1
8
1
1.
1.
'"
18
'"
1.
'"
1.
18
THE GREAT SENSATION.
The Oem P",I... Solve.:J. at, ........,.. .I:-"..'......Ioronanco by
1:_!;.t ?1, 4d2_ \
GENERAL ADJIIISSION. - - 10 CENTS. _
Top: Professor Naom
solves the 13-15-14
puzzle in the show at
Hooley's.
Below: The Great Dime
Show again features the
Fifteen Puzzle being
solved.
Left: The New Game
music, Waltz Elegante
45

CHAPTER I
....
..
Right: Fifteen Puzzle
March .--
Far Right: Gem Puzzle
Schottische
Below: The 15 Game
March.
Below right: 13-15-14
Puzzle Calop

lib HENm DORA.
CJS::=-
@)
PU.LIIHJ:D IV (lIAs. .FL.'''''
. HER. JR. em QIIIAIID A\'UtiB.
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t?£ ;....-. .- 
_.--....., 
.... ..
:. ,'__ :"J & .
\::;. ..<
 .
..

$
rq"""dHhIl'F9,.
46
t3.
, PP.  .:: 
LdL.... -
& '1'11
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-THE!--
1
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L ltb
tL;]r
t16. !!1ZZL,f
J

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Af'"
.." ..$.-..",  .
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(I r ... Q
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, "I.. "
SClI{J;stn£.
]y miss F. R. JYlI1'CIrE1L.
fo>
J


p
.
dl
gmrJa .

L
,,""jJ
f.
 
I
,.,-...-._....
.:: .--..::.
To Ute People,
I " "
f'UZz' e ¥1
r   b, i
ran co is G.Crafl\6r.
;..:
BOSTON
WHITE, SIo1ITH & COMP/t.NY
1Itt.... m,. .J/6 ""'i'n9Ian St,
SUn.n 6Nzh.r., ..tJ;,:,.. .It'DPhfIInrI
XJ/IIc..
....
II

A'ur.  "'. $ e 
:.Y.t t ¥ "'t 
'i,\\.'t\'t. \'o\\\.\\. 'i\.(\"I\\\.O.
\.\\.\\."I\g; \(\,\'" l.'i.(\,tc\\..
\'\.2,\\.\. t-:C\. "t-.'i.(\,:,\\.fI\.(\" 'i>\\."1\\\.\\ 1\.Q,\\,
_21_
_BOSTON_ ,.
_-v
OItIYR.n8OB. GOIR'd.
..........c....rfti07..:-o. 1"rOx.&U-T. ..........,J.&./nOJl.
........__ ,.....,...rta..___ .__.,.,,_
.__ ._...............n.._ _......._
c.r,.., I(tt.
__ THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE CRAZE
e
 iCi ".., 
,r0k-.'-.:::::::! .' 0
,  .!Gpaa1 
;,, -=-  f
. /F': . 
,\Y ir STEp I
'\) ':-'=-£. r
. '.Ei:tiON OFEAY--Pli.
\..7'e '?.II::. ---".. 5-

. tu;y
Far left: Gem Puzzle
music
Left. The Fifteen
Puzzle Polka.
Below left: The Fifteen
Puzzle, by George
Meen was included in
"The Forty Thieves", a
British burleque
drama.
S1in1 S1i' nmSti 1 'IUl\ft1>IRStII11ISCHE,
PlftAFOE WALTZ. I WE SAIL O'ER !HE OCEAft, , ,
THE FIF([EH 1151PUllLE pOLKA 3
Below: Fred Jewell's
Comic Fifteen Puzzle
song with words by
Frederick A Jewell.
I
--oro--
'J:'ON'Y PAS'rO'a
--'1'-
, e- ,1 & I
,/
.
,p
f
1 2 8 4 "-
6 6 7 8
9 10 11 12
18 16 14
"- '"
"
-
)I411}'
.. r \ (;( r\ (
ae ) HI '/'/ (Ir I
6) rJ)[o:
 I rill f '.
W II}'
_ F_ EACON_
*
:BOSTON:
--..
OEO. W. RICHARDSON" CO.,
118 T_pl. .
... ..... Wt&. '- fOtID -e:  I ICMII  :a:o. IIOIITW · = ......:.oo' & 110III" ..USIC co.
- -

47

CHAPTER I
R
Cern Puzzle of Crack
Brain and Thirty-Four.
Manuf- Sullivan & Co"
Chicago, Ill.
The Girl.
With fingers
weary and worn,
With a look that
was hungry and
lean.
A young women
sat alone in her
room.
And played a
game of "Fifteen:'
Move, move,
move.
Oh, what a sad-
dening sight,
Figure it out as
best she could,
The Blocks would
never come out-
right.
48
March 2, 1880, Chicago, lllinois
The Chicago Tribune publicized the Fifteen Puzzle to this large city with a reprinted
article from the New York Herald on March 2. And on March 6, the Tt'ibunt: puhlished
the first of several original articles.
The 13-15-14 Puzzle,
Failure of the Mathematicians and Distraction of the Public Mind,
A cautious and conservative citizen ventures the calculation that
25 per cent of the male population and 5 per cent of the female,
between the ages of 10 and 90, are now exercising their fingers, rack-
ing their brains, and wagging their tongues over the fifteen square or
round blocks in a pasteboard box just large enough to hold one
block more. The problem is to get the fifteen blocks in the order of
their numbers, leaving the place for the missing
sixteenth block at the end; and the perplexity
begins when two blocks are found in reversed
order, and stubbornly refuse to change places.
If the original arrangement is in a certain
order, the numbers will come out right. If in
another order, they will come out wrong,
whether the problem be worked at twenty min-
utes or twenty years, Some persons with more
shrewdness than conscientiousness, found that,
by giving the box a twist one-quarter round, the
arrangement is changed, and the figures can
then be made to assume their proper order; but
that is an evasion rather than a solution of the puzzle.
A mystery surrounds the whole matter. Various stories are told of the origin of the
puzzle, and its authorship is ascribed to persons in widely separated parts of the coun-
try. Its sudden and simultaneous outbreak all over the land is another perplexing cir-
cumstance. The "IS" boom puts all the political booms to shame in volume and force.
It has swept over the land from East to West with the violence of the sirocco, scorch-
ing men's brains as it passed, and apparently making them temporarily insane, Why a
very large proportion of the voting population, and a good many who are not voters,
should spend their time puzzling over a problem that is confessedly incapable of solu-
tion, and why such an unsolvable problem should ever have been put in circulation,
are the most puzzling features of this perplexing puzzle,
PAIN

:x:
:t
...
12 '71
C
C

Later the Chicago Tribune published three ads for the puzzle (Fig.1.26),
By this time a second puzzle, "The Game of 34," or "Game of 16", was usually
included with the Fifteen Puzzle. To solve this puzzle, all sixteen numbered blocks
must be arranged to form a magic square, with the sum of each row, column and diag-
onal adding to 34.

March 6, 1880, Oshkosh, Wisconsin
On March 6 the Oshkosh Daily Northwestern, announced. 'The 13-15-14 puzzle is for
sale by Allen &: Hicks" Two days later the ad shown on the right appeared, and two
days later the Gem and little Buttercup puzzles were advertised as shown
on the right below (Fig. 1.27),
The same newspaper published several articles about the puzzle as well as
many ads during March and ApriL
March 13
PI;ZZLE80 t:HoqlJE'r. o'ke.
Gem Puzzles.
G1ME OF 15 UO 3t COMBIXED.
lIABY CARRIAGES (Whitney's make).
CROQUET SETS, ARCHERY,VELOC-
lPEDES, BIRD CAGES, FISHING
TACKLE, BALLS, MARBLES, Etc.
SCHWEITZER a BEER,
nrtrrs and 1klrl'3 in Fancy GOO/Is & Toys,
III State-st., Chicago.
Price-Lists sent on application to DealerSa
March 20
March 9, 1880, Atchison, Kansas
On March 9 The Globe mentioned in a note, "Considering the fact that the
Gem puzzle is on its way from the East, it is unfortunate that our lunatic
asylum was burned last evening."
The next day the newspaper published an article about the fifteen puz-
zle and the ad shown below (Fig. 1.28).
---
II' ill In' 11..,. .11
1 -'
7 H
1.C'
.... .'
... 10 ]1 12
I:} 1 H -t-..;.
f)'
- - "[
r cf:I
----
--'
The Games of 15 ./" 10
and 34 . r::o .
7'oe..t
13-15-14.
The Puzzle
-A'l'-
JOHNSON & BEHRMAN'S,
- _..)!I:._.. -
"
I,
f I
March 10
Fig,1,28 Atchison,
Kansas ad for the
Fifteen Puzzle.
THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE CRAZE
l:eatesPUizl
'I" I
OF, THE ;ACE I I
, ; IO!VCfiiIWJScIl9toc
I ' ries fit t1w1o PrICeS j
DO JOT
! I CRACK yotm BRA'
uln. lo .nl.... th" mJ.I....J. bet oall.' our .tor itn
. _III lull JUu all.bou' ' g ..eanelJl.lt.ro Ju\I oao. ..
or_l.hau
I !.
,
I
rer tenl bt purobutnJ Joar .nllplle..'
: HICKSON'S.
I --'-- '
March 13
Fig 1.26. Chicago
Tribune ads for the
Fifteen Puzzle.
11E'::>.QU"""",-'.2!
13-15-14. .
Tt.. ...." 61 IS ,,, tllClt.. 10"
.Allen .&: I.j-cl.t:t!I_
...rMl..
MarLh 8
'tiTTlE BUTTERCUP tf PUZZLE. I
J.Vr. 'B(!ctf'I.& .I.YU 8t\"t& AI
GEM, or the 13-15-14 PUZZLE,
.trST AUDEI)Tfl 0(1«
Mammoth Five Cent Counter.
/ '
 D. H. fORBES,
79 '\Jmn Street:.
March 10
Fig, 1.27 Oshkosh,
Wisconsin ads for the
Fifteen Puzzle.
49

CHAPTER I
The fifteen puzzle struck Atchison yesterday, and has attracted much attention
since. Frank Turnure, cashier at Miller's restaurant, claims to work it in any way it is
placed before him, but he is the only man we have heard of who has been equal to
the emergency. We called him at the restaurant twice to-day to test him, but he was
out. We think he will always be 'out' when it comes to changing the 14, 15, 13.
On March 11, THE ATCHISON GLOBE reported,
Fourteen prisoners walked out of the tombs police court, New York, while the
judge and pohcemen were busy over the game of fifteen (See cartoon on page 37).
The good ship Miowera, just into the port of
San Francisco, reports that Falcon Island has
come into sight again. Falcon Island, which is
one of the Tonga or Friendly group, in the
South Pacific, is the fifteen puzzle of naviga-
tors. (1900)
It is said that the falling off in the assessments was what
caused the school board recently to make a reduction in
the salaries of the school teachers. and to deprive the 5,000
public school children of their premium at the recent close
of the school year. The next administration will have some-
thing like a fifteen puzzle in finances to wrestle with. (1891 )
March 9, 1880, San Francisco, California
The San Francisco Chronicle republished a comprehensive article about the Fifteen
Puzzle, titled, 'The Latest Craze" from the Philadelphia Times, as well as the first
West Coast ad for the Fifteen Puzzle, shown below on the left. Two later Chronicle
ads are also shown below on the right (Fig. 1.29),
Wt
q t t
7t
.
The New York
Puzzles. 16 & 34. -
Two Puzzles in one ,
box.
n " 1 r;
 1/t 1lfr
The Boss Puzzle t
OR OAME OF FlnEEN.
Fon IlAU:.
WHO....IIA.... AJI"D BETA.",
......A'I'......
Right: Fig. 1,29 Ads for
the Fifteen Puzzle in the
San Francisco Chronicle
W M. A. F R E Y' S,
tot X......7 5tnet.
foIF.SD roR CI RClfL.1RfI. nalo-WFBn.1t
March 10
50
 ' -T H.  ' . . !
Don't All . Do" It 1
SENT PilE':,
w_ 1U7, to_ ..-..-
'U..tt.l ._. .a  er lib:
t'"'-- ""
2 3 . 4
1
- - - -
5 6 7 8
- -- --- -
{) 10 U 12
- 14115 -
13 16
THREE PUZZLES IN ONE I
: ._Fvar.
The o......r 16 tJt. ...... v.._.
G- -'..A"-r
I X. L
Auction House,
CDR.Il£ARfn- a:COMMIRCIAL IT.
x I_ a. 1021-81
March 25
 MOS&";;lg Puzzle
Evcr rubUshed!
THE DOUBLE PUZZlE
_...or...._
FiftBOll 1 Thirty -Four
D....('T101ll1ll.roll tiA.oI1i or FlrI'r:r.II-T. i .
out lU. '''en put III tbe bo al nnd"m; mO'-III
;' .. 'n\t'::: d-: . bos .su tllt:r COllM
;
:i1 1  2 3 4 III
I.!I I  5 07 8 f:'
J ., ,- F-":'" .(
U j {) ..!!- 12 !
.. 13 14'1'15 10 r
"or Game oI'Tb1I1I'-.oar. pI_oe ...lI.arl!!t
.. :'f. aJllount CD 8'" 18 cf')' dlnClJan.
c.a . .., N 10 _ut .. I. '''.b'.
row .,.n..' .",... 
...... ..... r... ».,a_. Bamp
..... .. ...m»l '" ...... ....TIII.
s..-............ _a r.elpt c6 e.I". ...
....aIWQtor.,oCIIIII&.
GREAT:
I X L
Auction House;
eOL.URIY 10 IOMMIRO'AL IT.
."..... ._ a... __.,.....
. _. I '
April 3

THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE CRAZE
,
, 
':_'-\ ../  . ",  r
""',>""."., _,  ,  t- -- \1.,'
 .  . ' - f l!.,. -rl ' + f ':{;:(c'
 ;;..' .,'    J -
:"'" , ?t-\ -  <";  ..,'" t 2 .: \., <'
::,', 'Sb  " ......  !Y =---  (. $:t /"i  , , I
\1  .   ,. r
i.1 \ 7" '\ . -
" _ .. ,.} :- . _ , , )'S  ( , ,
4/   "") . . ( I, .b. ..;($ :z
o? ,41 ,' < :. l"J
_-;:,;- :.," tf :1
.. \ ",. ' j: /
/ tt" ,--;' 111 iLl - , 
, . ';, Z \
" - ,
""'J;-' 5'
', . '. ' lI)
1. .
---
,
,\
/ "
/ '
./,
!Jj.
-""

...
(_., ,
r;.. ..
I 
-<r
-<
4;;-
'"
, ""
,
,I
-.,
IO _
,J
'.
15-14-13.-THE GREAT PRESIDENTIAL PUZZLE.
March 17, 1880, Puck
The Fifteen Puzzle Craze had reached its peak in mid-March when Puck, Americas
dominant political satire magazine, published a full page color illustration using the
difficulties of solving the Fifteen Puzzle as a metaphor for the selection of candidates
for the President of the United States for the 1880 election,
{ '
7 I
Puck magazine cartoon
about the 1880
Presidential Election.
PUCK has 'lie Presiden-
tial Pu;!:::Ze, 15. 13, ..14.
BollZ at
LORING-'S.
The CHICAGO TRIBUNE reported,
"Those who have wrestled with the puzzle will appreciate the fun of the
thing when it is explained that in the canoon, General Grant, Jim Blaine, and Coe.' Bromllel,1 ....d W...hl.....on ::::;....'
Tilden are so arranged on the board that, move whichever way the player may,
one of the two latter seems bound to come m at the end," Puck also published a full
page of cartoons, "15-14-L3, Its effect upon the community at large."
One of the important matters engaging the attention of the reapportioning the state
into Senatorial and Assembly districts. After some weeks of study and moving about of
the different counties after the manner of proceeding in the IS-puzzle, the committee
in each house has agreed upon a bill to be reported. (1881)
In Boston, the ad for
Puck even featured the
Fifteen Puzzle connec-
tion.
51

CHAPTER I
Puck ma a .
g ZIne cartoon 1880 P . d .
rest entwl Election.
I I
11'''
II
I III
\
I
\! 1:11
"
--=:;;---

52

THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE CRAZE
\
\.
PUCK.
5
15 - 14 13.
ITS EFFECT UPON THE GOMMUNITY AT LARGE.
["Thu Lillit Puza', I..ooIts Easy, Rill Try il Dna. "I
 - 'W' -
_ .- :"c '1
i . -'<A .'d ' '  -=-  . ',,?'(  .
""e*'--:; \ . -, j '-
I ' ,'"  
, . ,(-/,{.:, / I .  
" . rf '/).'!', . . '-
,
...:-.,.,. \ ./ R I
II I'.
The PUIU.1e on the proad.a)' IItage
The punic in chUJ("h
A deadlock ..I 111O bank attd-
Tho u-"'o .."';«vu vki.. I
Ihepuu1e.
" .. . 11\ .. .
II . tit . II ..
. D .. II
fhe IUIULlle .)'T"lIIs are (..II.
The old man thQaant hi:! daughlcr and'
y."'nl( Chip. were J!:ettiIl8 eolirely 100
tbit1t-
 Jr 1)
./ =- ,6-0,
: \. 'L. -»
, _=-:--..-7
J ?
:!
I
(
'I
-",p
:..,!I  . .
p-=-
. /
 -. '4
 0
I '.
, . i ' " : t :' 
.-:::: -
The l-.teat ateamboat m:p1oeJon. CaWMt-tbe pUOI ard
.11 band, were worldng the puule.
The reuon wby the old maD. of G..men:)' P...-k.
bu been M) quid oflate. .
But PuCK. sets it Ihe  Iim..
March 22, 1880, New York Times
The February 23 New York Times Editorial prediction of the puzzle craze was amazing-
lyaccurate (see page 25), and in this article they provide a nice tongue-in-cheek story
of President Hayes and the Fifteen Puzzle in the White House,
Fifteen!
No pestilence has ever visited this or any other country whICh has spread with the
awful celerity of what is popularly called the "Fifteen Puzzle," It is only a few months
ago that It made its appearance in Boston, and It has now spread over the entire coun-
The effect of the Fifteen
Puzzle on the country,
according to Puck maga-
zine.
Several aspirants
already have their
ears to the
ground, but just
how half a dozen
offices can be
made to go
around for a score
or more candi-
dates for county
offices, is a regular
14-15 puzzle.
( 1892)
I Mr. Tilden was I
observed to sneak
into Gramercy
Park yesterday
evening with the
block puzzle
under his coat.
This settles it. Mr.
Tilden is out of
the Presidential
race.
KEYSTONE COURIER,
PENNSYLVANIA.
53

Meanwhile the evidence of the widespread ruin wrought
by this infamous puzzle meets us on every side,
Thousands of men who but lately were honest and
_____ - .. industrious have yielded to its fatal fascinations, and,
neglecting their business and their families, spend their whole time over the
demoralizing box, In the railway cars and ferry-hoats we meet shameless victims of
this fearful vice, who openly take out their boxes and publicly indulge m the madding
moves. In many once happy homes the father of the family spends day and night,
seated, with his box in hand, and too often, when remonstrated with by his unhappy
wife or children, brutally answers "Lemmelone!"(sic) The saddest spectacle of allis
afforded by the young boys and girls who have contracted the unholy taste for "fif-
CHAPTER I
"', 
I -r l , - ",-'" - - ."
I '. ';, h_e. " G.  it
h' 1 '213.1 1 \ I
   -6 17181.' I J
)11 1 b lioll!! 12f
11, ..c._ilf-151'.1
Jt j I... i.. 8.1.... -". .... ;:. WI:!'" ...
:' ......._Wla................ -
- .
 ,-
.'
L...:.-
o 11
1 \0
\
,3
"'--
The Gem Puzzle
Number 2.
teen,"
'\
try. Nothing arrests it. Neither age nor sex is spared by it, and It
now threatens our free institutions, inasmuch as from every town
and hamlet there is coming up a cry for a "strong man" who will
stamp out this terrible puzzle at any cost of Constitution or free-
dom,
In the presence of this giant evil, all our customary defenses
prove valueless. The Police cannot arrest a seller or a victim
of the puzzle, since the law knows nothing of it. Mr.
Comstock has in vain tried to find something in it which
would warrant him m attempting to suppress it. The pul-
pit and the press set forth its dangerous nature, but no
one heeds them, and even the various Societies for the
Prevention of Different Things seem utterly powerless.
/
I
.-
The new tariff law,
says a Cleveland
paper, is the com-
mercial fifteen-
block puzzle of
the period. (1883)
In Vassar College the worn and haggard look of the students is said to be
appalling, They have ceased to do their back-hair with any care. Their Tribune extras
hang idly in their closets, and so marked is their lack of interest in dress that six girls
can now readily sit on a bench that heretofore has only held but five, At early dawn
they draw their puzzles from underneath their pillows and shift the blocks until the
last bell has rung; and at night they rise up at unholy hours and continue their hope-
less labor by the light of surreptitious candle-ends, What is true of Vasser, is true of all
A reporter called on "Old Salt" the other day to ascertain his opinion of the game of
fifteen. now having such a rage among all sorts of people. "As for me," said the veteran
legislator, "I am free to say that Memphis with her yellow fever was better off than
Albany is to-day with that consarned game of fifteen. I never saw anything so infectious.
I caught the epidemic myself, and set up all night long trying to figure out the 13, IS, 14,
when I should have been at work on my new lecture, 'How to Catch Fish without Bait.'
It's working some good, however. I know twenty members of Assembly who would have
made speeches had not they got stuck on the combination." J
FRANKLIN GAZETTE (MALONE, NY). MARCH /2, /880
54

other female seminaries, and no thoughtful man can contemplate this fearful spectacle
without trembling for the future of our country.
Who introduced the Fifteen Puzzle into the White House no one knows, but in all
probability the guilty person was a Southern Brigadier of more than usual villainy. He
must, however, have been in collusion with one of the servants, for on last Friday
night the puzzle was found on the table of the room in which Cabinet consultations
are held, and it had evidently been placed there only a few moments before the
Cabinet assembled, Mr. Key was the first who noticed it. He picked it up, and was
examining it carefully, when Mr. Evarts asked him what it was, Mr. Key explained the
nature of the thing to the Secretary of State, who turned scornfully away, remarking
that as a puzzle it was ridiculously simple when compared with
the civil service reform policy of the Administration. The
President paid no attention to the matter, and opened the
meeting by bringing before it the subject of the Panama Canal.
Probably the puzzle would have been forgotten, and the
fiendish purpose of the Brigadier frustrated, had not Mr. Schurz
walked toward the piano, remarking that he would "blay
somedings. "
Now, as is well known, Mrs, Hayes always locks up the
piano and takes away the key before each meeting of the
Cabinet, and with this knowledge the Cabinet, on this particu-
lar occasion, felt perfectly safe. What was their horror, however,
when Mr. Schurz drew a key from his pocket, unlocked the
piano, and began to play one of his own compositions. Mr. Key,
with great presence of mind, bethought him of the puzzle, and
called out; "Schurz, here is something that you can't do." Mr.
Schurz, piqued by this assertion, left the piano, saying: "Ah,
you haf a plan for managing the Indians don't you?" and fell
unsuspectingly into the Postmasters trap.
Then the President, anxious to know what it was that had
the power to draw Mr. Schurz from the piano, asked to see the
puzzle, and after looking at it for a moment, said that he
thought he could do it. "It looks easy, " he remarked, 'There
are fifteen numbers and you have to arrange them so that there
will be eight in one row and seven in another. It certainly
seems to me as if I had tried that kind of puzzle somewhere,
though I can't at this moment recollect where it was." Mr. Key
corrected him, and explained that the difficulty was to arrange
the number in order. Mr, Sherman scoffed at the puzzle, and
exclaimed that, to a man who had to spend his days and
nights in shifting Southern Custom-houses officers so as to
bring six or seven Southern States into the Chicago Convention
prepared to vote for the ablest living financier, the mere shift-
THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE CRAZE
The old
Democratic Party
is marching along
all through the
republic. That is to
say, except in New
York. New York is
achieving the rep-
utation of the fif-
teen puzzle.
( 1883)
r - -- -
"Fifteen" at the White House.
Twas in the White House parlor;
At the godly hour of nine,
That Mr. Hayes was trying
The puzzle to divine.
The olive branches clustered
About his bended knee.
And oft he slipped in silence
A cocktail-made of tea.
With eager eyes they watched him
As he slipped the blocks about,
But vain were all his efforts
To work the problem out.
From one to six the numbers
Were in their places straight,
And so were all the others
Except the seven and eight.
Tis very odd;' he murmured.
"Key trips up on eleven,
And Schurz on three, but somehow
I stick on eight and seven!
"No matter how I move them,
There sure to come the same;
How shall I get the working
Of this pesky fifteen game?'"
Then outspoke little Scotty,
With gentle voice and low:
"Why pa. just write a letter
To Aliunde Joe!'"
NEW YORK SUN.
55

CHAPTER I
He is in a terrible
dilemma about the
matter, and this
afternoon is in
consultation with
attorneys seeking
for a gleam of day-
light through it all.
To him it is worse
than the"l 3-15-
14" combination,
and he gives it up.
More legislation is
needed some-
where. (1880)
New pu;::::les in
Harper's Weekly using
the Fifteen Pu::::le
*Published problem cor-
rected by Don Knuth,
56
ing of a lot of wooden blocks would be child's play Mr. Hayes, after watching Mr,
Schurz a little longer, became so much interested that he sent out and bought another
set of blocks, and undertook to solve the puzzle before Mr Schurz could do it.
At 8 o'clock the next morning Mr. Schurz was taken home in a carriage, complete-
ly exhausted and leaving his blocks in the position 13, 15, L 4. Mr. Hayes, who is a
less nervous man, went to his breakfast without exhibiting any signs of unusual trou-
ble, and returned to the puzzle immediately afterward. Since that time it is alleged
that he has not been seen except by Mr. WK Rogers, who reports that the President is
closely occupied with public business and cannot see any visitors. Meanwhile the
Brigadiers are chuckling over the success of their infamous conspiracy, and spend
most of the day sitting on the fence in front of the White House, waiting for Mr.
Hayes to be removed to an asylum.
It is hoped that this story is not true, but at all events it shows us the vast possibil-
ities for evil which the Fifteen Puzzle possesses, and it should arouse us to a percep-
tion of the terrible danger with which it now threatens us.
March 27,1880, Harpers Weekly - New problems for the Fifteen Puzzle
An article titled ''The Gem Puzzle" proposed several new problems to be solved using the
Fifteen Puzzle:
''The puzzle is capable of variations which may serve to prolong its use,
The first of these which I would suggest is that, instead of the regular order, we
should try to bring (slide) them (the 15 blocks) into the shape of a magic square, the
sum of the numbers in eveTY row or diagonal being 30, whether such row or diagonal
contains four blocks or only three and the vacant square (See pages 83, Ll2 - 115).
Another variation is to try to reach a position in which from each number to the
next higher is a knights move-two squares III one direction and one in another (See
problem 9).
A third is from a given selected position to try to reach the regular order in as few
moves as possible, either counting single moves, each of one block one place, or com-
bined moves, as where two or three blocks are pushed in the same direction at the
same time. I shall conclude with some examples of this last way of using the puzzle."
15
l
1 
5 6 7 b
9 Iu 11 l'
IX 15 14
]4
I fJ
o
;)
13
9
11
7
Q
I
6
5
[)
1
I
----...
Problem 5*.
To be solved in 72 simple or 28
combined moves.
Problem 6.
To be solved in 82 (or less)
simple moves.
Problem 7-
To be solved in 28 simple
moves.

THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE CRAZE
Professor Donald Knuth of Stanford University provides several new problems for the
Fifteen Puzzle, below; "Strictly Downhill", "Knights Move," "Super Challenges #1 &:
#2," and the authors add 'The Hardest Problem."
 o 12 13 W
11 I 14
3 4 2 :>
7 R 9 6
Pmblem 8.
Strictly Down-hill. Solve pmb-
!em above in such a way that
every move brings a pIece one
step closer 10 its final destina-
tion.
I 12 4 R
-
ti 9 14 11
3 2 7 t
:> 0 If>
Pmblem 9.
Knight's Move. Solve in 37
sImple moves.
Problem 10.
Super Challenge #1. Slide the
blocks from regular order so
fmm each number to the next
higher number is a Knight's
Move, and the solution requires
36 simple moves.
Pmblem 11.
Super Challenge #2. Slide the
blocks so fmm each number to
the next higher number
is a Knight's Move, and
the solution requires the maxi-
mum vf 65 moves.
May 29, 1880, Scientific American
The Fifteen Puzzle craze was over when Scientific American repub-
lished a surpnsing article from the Educational Monthly, which "reflects
the sentiments of most thoughtful persons,"
"There seems to be, says the writer, a fascination about arithmetical
puzzles that leads many persons to waste their time and tire their
brains in efforts to solve them, The "13 15 14" puzzle that is now going
the rounds is a type of the entire class of puz-
zles, for it has the following characteristics:
1, The solution can only be found by a tentative
process of trial and experiment, and the only
tincture of mathematical science which it has is
its value as an example in the mathematical
doctrine of probabilities. 2. The solution, when
it is obtained, does no good, and is utterly
devoid of value. It is said that some one gave
this puzzle to the great engineer De Lesseps
while he was examining the Brooklyn Bridge,
Great engineers, however, are as likely to fail as
other people, and great mathematicians like
Isaac Newton and Sir William Rowan Hamilton have no advantage over school boys,
If the time spent in deciphering such puzzles were devoted to the study of useful
problems, there would be a surprising increase in the sum total of arithmetical
knowledge, "
.f
.


16
iI '. .Iml
! 1 16-4 52-34
'f:J PU ZZLE.
" If\"'heconnt- I r 2 3 4 each or t' e
I . - I ""'U,,,,..m1' -5' -6 7 8 roO ""...bln...
; :f :.reI:: ,. 1_o II I ;":.td"'::
. 1'i themoothat 'I _I _I!5 ma"e....
 Ior COP-1..hinations see niagrams o
; tI folder iD1tlc of lhp box
.  . --'Bok nud Chart C(;p}"ruec\. . Label
 Ret:f'd. u.tent uPPliC8t.il _& rJing.
 AU infringements prosecuted.
'",
.,
i1
.
.

'CO
l 12 9 131
11 0 14 1
7 8 :> 61
4 3 2 I
_ .
Pmblem 12.
The Hardest
Pmblem. Solve in the mini-
mum number of moves, 80.
i
I
" --i: .'____ .
"T"'"'""r"'
-
:1
16-4-52-34 Puzzle.
Manuf Jackson & Co.,
NY. @James Jackson,
1891.
57

CHAPTER I
Timeline of the Fifteen
Puzzle craze in the
United States.
City
Helena
Boise City
Los Angeles
Portland
Bi I
Reno
Stevens Point
Traverse City
Colorado Springs
San Francisco
Atchison
Oshkosh
M on
Cambridge
Chicago
Chester
Hartford
Syracuse
Philadelphia
New York
Rochester
Washingto
Worcester
Boston
Timeline of the Fifteen Puzzle Craze
Cities and Towns in the United States
As we searched hundreds of newspapers for articles about the Fifteen Puzzle craze,
it became obvious where the Fifteen Puzzle craze started and how quickly it spread
across the country The dates of Fifteen Puzzle advertisements and articles were
recorded to provide an indication of how the craze progressed from Boston to Los
Angeles in 24 cities and towns. The cities and towns were selected as a small, but rep-
resentative sample, spread across the country
The timeline below shows, for each selected city or town, the dates of the first ad or
article about the puzzle connected by a bar to the last ad or article. When the newspa-
per article mentioned that the puzzle craze had just started, the symbol "' is shown
at the left end of the bar. When the newspaper article described the craze as just end-
ing, the symbol" is shown on the right end of the bar. The earliest date the Fifteen
Puzzles were purchased in Boston and Hartford, Conn., December 17, 1879, are
shown with the symbol .. ..."
Earliest to Latest 15 Puzzle Ad or Article in Newspapers in USA Cities, Dec. 1879 to May 1880.
State December
February
March
April May

January
MT
ID
CA
OR
ND
NV
WI
MI
CO
CA
KS
WI
OH
o
IL
PA
CT ...
NY
PA
NY
NY
DC
MA
MA ...






..

.


.
... First" 15" Puzzles sold  Craze Reported Started  Craze Reported Ended
58
The Timeline shows that during February 1880, the Fifteen Puzzle very rapidly
spread beyond Boston and Worcester to other Eastern cities, and it reached the big

THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE CRAZE
 J ?:" J ( '\
'"5l...  '.' 
Midwest city, Chicago, by March 2 and San Francisco a week later. This is especially
amazing considering that it took 8 days for a passenger train to trel frm Chicago to
San Francisco. It seems that in some regions the puzzle traveled as fast as a passenger
train. However some of the small remote towns had to wait a bit longer. The puzzle
finally arrived in Boise, Idaho in late March and in mid-April The Idaho Statesman, took
note of one benefit of the puzzle craze,
"the 13, 15, 14 puzzle has been imported into this camp through the mails, In
every instance, so far as we can learn, they were sent to gentlemen by lady friends at a
distance. The object of this is apparent. It is to keep their gentlemen friends at home
nights, and so far is succeeding."
Even Helena, Montana, couldn't escape. Although late to obtain the puzzles, nine
articles and notes about the puzzle were published in the Helena Independent during
their puzzle craze.
Based on newspaper ads and articles, in most cities and towns the craze lasted about
one to two months. Of course in most towns and cities, especially in the early weeks of
the craze, the puzzles arrived and became popular before the newspapers published
articles about them, and there were still many puzzlers trying to solve the puzzle after
the newspapers published their final article.
The willingness of newspapers to publish articles about the puzzle and other "popular
culture" items varied widely. In some cities like Syracuse, NY, it was the young newspa-
pers trying to survive and find their audience that published articles about the puzzle;
the older, staid newspapers never covered it.
The puzzle craze even struck Hawaii in Mayas shown by the ad on the right, that
ran for several days in Nupepa Kuohoa, the Hawaiian language newspaper.
The Fifteen Puzzle Craze was winding down in most cities and towns during April
and, with a few exceptions in remote towns, ended by early May 1880 in the United
States.
National Periodicals
The ads for the Fifteen Puzzle in national periodicals are shown in the Timeline
below:
National Periodicals
Fifteen Puzzle Ads in National Periodicals. Dec. 1879 to May 1880.
December January February March April
American Agriculturist
Frank Leslie's
Independent. The
Sci ntific American
Harpers V ley
Youth's Companion
........
....
........
.... .... ....
...
....
Youth:., Companion and Scientific American published most of the ads with 74% of all
the national ads published in February and March, 1880, Some of the ads can be seen
in Figure 1.8, page 20.
. .
"t' J
vf., 
II '.


o


HE NANEA
-NO liE-
. KaDaka Opio me ka Hapallea I i
x. llloUak& b Ilau..... Ilo\aila- i
E HOAOI I
R" KINIU BELli I!
. u......''''u..1...w............ .
i =:.':.I=...'r':::::.
I ... . -_._-
Ad Jor the Fifteen
Puz;:::le in Hawaii.
May
....
.... Ad Published
National periodicals
with Fifteen Pu::::;:::le ads
59

CHAPTER I
Country
Australia*
Denmark*
Mexico*
Italy
Netherlands
New Zealand
Finland
Russia*
Sweden
Norway
Estonia
At'
Latvia
Germany
England
France*
Canada
International Fifteen Puzzle Craze
The introduction of the Fifteen Puzzle Internationally is shown in the timeline below.
International Fifteen Puzzle Ads & Articles - Dec.1879 to June 1880
December January
March
May June
....
....
...
...
....
February
April
....
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
... First "IS" Puzzle Ad or Article *Little data was available for these countries,
...
Timeline of the
International Fifteen
Pu:::zle craze.
60
The authors traveled to Finland and the outstanding National Library in Helsinki
allowed a more comprehensive compilation of the Fifteen Puzzle craze in Northern
Europe in general, and especially Scandinavia, than in other countries outside of the
United States. This provided a good sample of information on how far and how fast
the Fifteen Puzzle Craze had spread outside the United States. In Northern Europe It
appears that there were two separate routes; one over land to SL Petersburg, Russia for
the German speaking population; and the other from Denmark through Sweden to
Finland, for the Swedish speaking people. The puzzle reached the cities within
Finland much later, and did not appear in the Finnish language until still much later
Canada March 8,1880
The Fifteen Puzzle arrived in Toronto, Canada on March 8, as shown in Figure 1.30.
By the end of March it had spread to Winnipeg, Woodstock and Manitoba, but it did
not reach Battleford, Saskatchewan untiljune 26.
France Marche 28, 1880
On March 28, 1880 the French newspaper, Le Caulois, published the first descrip-
tion and diagram of the Fifteen Puzzle in Europe. The announcement mentioned that
the puzzle itself was not yet sold on the "Boulevards or anywhere publicly in Paris,
Indeed there are rumors that M. Andrieux, the chief of police, has strengthened his
forces with a view to instant suppression if it should suddenly break out in unexpect-

THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE CRAZE
.
,
c..
fr, f 1€ Taquin
A
:L. Jji;
Tlio Original Gem Sliding
Number Puule Solitaire.
o.w. or nlTDJf.
u..... u4 ."11. ,nNta 1oOz. hie. klto.
Tam'lOBOHTO HKWB COJlrA"".
TOfODlO IDd Inuc..,
ar.alll'wart", ZIlla.." AJftlU ror L'I.aaa.
-r
Above: Fig. 1.30
The first Cana-
dian Fifteen
Puzzle ads were
published in the
London
Advertiser,
March 8, 1880.
£.
. ,
7 "-
11'1 
\ 5! I }
--
Left: Le Petit Taquin. 16
cube blocks made of
bone/ivory in a small
0.75") wooden box.
France.
Above: Le Taquin.
Square blocks.Manuf-
JJE Pans.
Below: Fig. 1.31
London s famous game
store, Cremer, ran an ad
for the Fifteen Puzzle
for three months.
B J,{!LL1.AT, . ZI'i.rACOL!A.AlillREOH
DU'3.E.tt"S MYSXiO 3-1 .and -noSS. Uro t:1htf<1i:!b ;..Uie of.15.
fO:.(J:lD or mn1'!l ,p1.vC:-A.- "no twb 1tonderiul e:l:citamei>.tii 1ft OI:Ie bor,.
&1.; 6Up:liIor.1J;.; J ute. Sil. 14d.-ORlt!I1ERJWI1ot'.:Min'ld
o.21u. Beio>p'd 71..N1f' 9:J TI1!I1 .\!1:pll __',
nrtt:n:! "n17C;:'r ,,:: V'RR'V"":::rT'tI!'t:!. ;-;:;-1iit\\;o'Q. ''n...I. .
ed quarters." The following week, The Detroit Free Press said, "Paris is wild. Treize,
Quinze, Quatorze is heard everywhere. It is already dubbed the 'head-splitter.' "
Wilhelm Ahrens, in his book Mathematische Unterhaltungen und Spide, quoted a French
author that wrote, "There was hardly one country cottage where this spider hadn't
made its nest lying in wait for a victim to flounder in its web." In his 1882 book,
Recreations Mathematiques, Edouard Lucas said, "It was sold under the name, 'double
casse-tete gaulois' (Double Gallic Headcrusher). Its success in Europe was even larger
than in America,"
England April 4, 1880
The London Times began a series of sixty almost daily advertisements by the well
known game and puzzle store, "Cremer, Junior" at 210 Regent SL with an ad for the
"Boss, a capital, new, and exciting pastime, puzzles everybody, frequently tries the
patience, terminating sometimes in a pleasurable disappointment; nevertheless much
amusement is afforded." On May 17 the Cremer ad shown in figure 1.31 described the
"Brilliant Melancholia - Albrecht Durer's Mystic 34 (Magic Square) and Boss, the tanta-
lizing game of ] 5, for one or more players. The two wonderful excitements in one
box." Similar ads by Cremer as well as H.G. Clarke and Co. of Covent Garden and
Grimwade and Co, of Victoria St. continued through July 6, 1880,
Germany April 6, 1880
In Germany the mathematician Hermann Schubert published an article ahout the
"Boss Puzzle" in the Hamburg newspaper Hamburgischer Correspondent on April 6. He
commented, "This new puzzle, which in recent days kept many people busy, is differ-
ent from similar games in so far as in numerous cases the posed problem is
I The te rrib le 
I "Fifteen Game"
has reached town,
but not the lunacy,
showing this is a
community of
level heads and
powerful mental
management.--
Norwich Village,
CANADA, MARCH /9,
/880
Bismark has been
trying the Gem
puzzle, or as the
Germans call it,
"Des Principal's
Veizweltlung;' and
there is a "Boss
Polka" in honor of
it. One day nearly
every member of
the Reichstag was
busy with the pUZ- J
l zle.
BOSTON GLOBE.
MAY 8, /880
61

5 6...
11. 1.4: 
9. - J-- '
t  (). '8
11 14 _ 16 
9.
CHAPTER I
, Q'
...
.J
"e 4 l1tft
.l.c
...
1
The Boss Puzzle.
Manuf Muster-Schulz
No. 2004. Werner &
Schumann, Berlin,
Germany,
- - --
- - --
The Boss-Puzzle
oder
j)as vief ber ,,15"
erhieIt wiederom
G. Katzmann.
- - --
Fig. 1.34 Tallinn,
Estonia ad for the 15
Puzzle.
62
. 
! 1f( fata!en
.-
. Neues
1 1 ,_..;-: _ . <lRduldspiEt
 '.
t -- 1C .JJa
: il 
--
i 1/:. ..J.- - -==-
, ft - \
\
\

.... t.ftrJl ..,,, . ....
Neu! "TheGame ofFiftecu" Neu!
.... ;!fir! a" 0""'11,
,I-...tle_ .'D\c1J1i:'
.... "'" ,,. Qriolld "ri'"
kt t1Pnan' ..tl""no. . It .Ir ,"1t,.1iI""
s.r..adon CJ'9C\, un4 a NfIW' 'it JI.n.
:-:r' :;., II .."..rt-; .t.. ....:.
ta krI:::=t.::r.":':;=: .1."' !:r 
Theed. Wllb. Eilert,
N , :..=r&::,,!r
eu. hi"'. -.o;'::'I'tM.Z  ....
I
."..
Fig. 1.33 This Austnan ad credit
. ' Ii ' I the Fifteen Puzzle invention to a
 ---.J deaf mute.
, 8 . i . Boss-Ple-Spiel
 2 I Das SI)iCI mit ftinfzebn
I In BlechkUstcheu
emptlehlt
Wilhelm Hoch,
Hotel "Sta.dt London."
\
1
\
'.
9 '10 1 11
'1 15 '14
Fig. 1.32 Riga, Latvia ad for the 15.
Right:
Fatalen
Funfzehn.
Neues
Geduldspid
Germany.
unsolvable." Sigmund Gunter, a mathematician who was a deputy in the
German Reichstag, is quoted by W Ahrens in his later book, "I can still
visualize quite clearly the old gentlemen in the Reichstag intent on a square box in
their hands."
Latvia April 7, 1880
The Riga, Latvia newspaper, Rigasche Zeitung, published an article on April 7 about
the "Boss Puzzle," An ad for the puzzle followed three days later. By May 1, three
articles and eight ads had appeared in two newspapers in Latvia. (See Fig.l.32)
Austria April 11, 1880
The advertisement shown in Figure 1.33 appeared in the Austrian newspapers,
Der Floh, on April 11 and Die Bombe on April 18, 1880. It credits the invention to a
deaf mute from Hartford, Connecticut.
Estonia April 16, 1880
An article about "Ein Neues Spielzeug, Funfzehn." a Fifteen Puzzle, appeared in
the April 16 issue of Revalsche Zeitung in Reval (the name of the city has been changed
to Tallinn), Two articles and five ads for the Fifteen Puzzle appeared in the newspaper
by May 3,
Norway April 17, 1880
Advertisements for "Femtenspillet, a fifteen puzzle, began appearing in the Oslo
newspaper Morgenbladet on Apnl 17, and by May 10 one article and seventeen Fifteen
Puzzle ads had appeared in two newspapers in Oslo. The Ad shown in Figure 1.35
was published in Aftenposten on April 29,

Bager.
r.. 111\ }'arlas tr I1jkOIiIDIR:
"Thu Gem ar all Pumaa".
"re .....,. J £e.
"J' ...._at TwOlpU ""ollo1.
.d, H r...kj,WI' Gudor. D.._ at
Jii Trfebl'ikk,r I ul.uk,..w1"'.
Pm Jlr. Btk. 110 "r..
II, J... Vyrl...
FonD\1.
Fig. 1.35 A Norwegian
ad in Aftenposten for the
Fifteen Puzzle
THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE CRAZE
0000000 0ססoo
 N eues Spiel =
.. pi.[ bet ;'!ifinfi.6n,
"""I!':.'t::I!':':'ri':::=::.."-_.'
Fig. 1.36 Stockholm,
Sweden ad for the 15
Puzzle.
hlr hr 841tnr J mm"f4"tf.mIr.
x_ S::M:ETAN"I.A,.
 iDlittlfGJa'(;lnlfXIJlU'ua'!I'DJI.!8'IfusGI'"0"(IDj,
 1I..1t!I...nba..lSdll...kll(M.""1 ,m."IOII.!041a ........1IfII
 .tllo.....rot.
1W,.:..=I:'f/{::..1 tIItIlC_
0 0ס0ooooo
Fig. 1.3 7 St. Petersburg, Russia ad
for the 15 Puzzle, in German.
Swcdcn April 24, 1880
The Stockholm newspaper, Dagens Nyheter, published an ad for
"H.lamodsspelet", a fifteen puzzle, on April 24 and within a month four articles
and nineteen ads were published about the Fifteen Puzzle in two newspapers in
Stockholm,
Russia April 25, 1880
The St. Petersburg Herold, a German language newspaper, published an ad
for "Neues Spiel- Das Spiel der Funfzehn," a fifteen puzzle, on Apnl 25,
Finland April 28, 1880
It seems amazing that beginning on April 28 fifty-three ads and eight articles about
the fifteen puzzle were published in thirteen Finnish newspapers before Christmas.

l' 1
r 15 fi1{n 3 4)
IAME R I(REN- GAM E.
;t[l i  1 / - & 1/ 6 '
Ii q '10-/  --=- -. --'
" . I I 1  WHUElER ,JI[H I CITn:" IS fou"
'] <1 1  Ht ' NOTO II T... PUI..
.......111[1 ,HDMf,flIIIH A.LL BAC If ED To If t'
MIItNlW
f T"C NJ
''''
15 and 34. Great
Amencan Game.
Manuf- Florentine
Electric Hair Brush.
England. Circular
pieces.
 .........
",'b'()
 .....'1  ___, \
-;J \.::. . V" I
I' ',
\ A6'
...., . 
\\ .) 91
 (4)'
't/J.. (jUDo/OlIN IfrDAY
r(q rM' ""'Ri" N£
IDA IIll'1ulrr
Now the puzzle of Fifteen is trying the patience
and ingenuity of the Russians. St. Petersburg
manufactory of educational objects has turned
out the puzzle in large quantities. with the notion that it may
serve to develop the virtue of patience in children.
BOSTON GLOBE, MAY I 7, 1880
The Game of Fifteen 1
(. emlon'pelel)
a 75 poi, iil.en,om den I, k,
Diirerska Qvadraten
(mod lexton brickor)
0, W. LAURF.NT do COO,
'.',d nya Ihellern.
Fig. 1.38 Twenty-eight
ads for the Fifteen
Puzzle were published
in Finland.
t ii'E B OSS prZZ LE I
TA LAMO DS ')PELET
2 3 41
6 8
9 10 11 12
13 14 15
,

'1,. .. I
" I

U'I.II'"
L
The Boss Puzzle. Eller
T tllamodsspelet.
Sweden.
Fifteen! The Great
American Mystery, "Do
it if you can." England.
,
EI?/£A
MrSTfR
63

CHAPTER I
':A'
,p.
;;
1'\\  ,I;" D
v"
I
.' I.
.11.
3.....,,-
.
------ \
""-
N°. 1491
[pRICE 6"
DUNEDIN, NEW ZEALAND
Fig. 1.39 New Zealand
Otago Witness.
THE WONDER 01' THE AG.1.
THE FIFTEEN GEM PUZZLE.
PRICE ONE BHILL:INQ.
nl'C*r..IO()'III'''''''
S. JACOBS,
'GIFT DEPOT,
....-........
."""'.
---
Fig. 1.40 Otago Witness
ad, June 12,1880.
HET PBOBLEEI
the GAME YO{ FIfTEEN,
Uaodleidiog em 0110 mogelijke
op1ossiogen Ie maken.
30 Cent.
Cltsluitend nrkrijRb8&1' by
III, V AN OS, HoogaIraai 280.
l'U
Fig. 1.41 A Dutch 15
Puzzle ad published
May 9, 1880.
64
New Zealand May 1, 1880
New Zealand learned about the Fifteen Puzzle craze on May 1 when the Otago
Witness (Fig, 1.39) published a letter which asserted that it was invented by "some
fiend" and claimed that "not a few have already been driven insane" by the "fifteen-
Gem Puzzle." By May 15, two articles and an ad (Fig. 1.40) for the puzzle had been
published in the newspaper.
Netherlands May 2, 1880
In the Dutch newspaper De Amsterdammer, ads for the Fifteen Puzzle appeared on
May 2 and May 9. And the Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant used the English name, "The
Game of Fifteen" in a large ad on May 9, Dr. PH Schoute in the Dutch magazine
Eigen Haard wrote in 1883 that the 15 Puzzle had made even more of an impression
in Europe than in America.
T
123
i 6 7
9. 10 11
13 ,f' t5
_. I
 HI,; ,.-. .
" "'-
-....
 ')
f
IfD11811ffl1-
Kombinett 152-sided
blocks. Manuf- Ujpesti
Beton, Budapest,
Hungary.

THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE CRAZE
Italy May 4, 1880
In Italy, from May 4 through June 17, Osservatore Romano published an ad for the
"n Giuoco dei Quindici," a fifteen puzzle, and mentioned that the puzzle "has put all
the States of America upside-down. In a few months a MILLION of these games were
sold." (Fig. 1.42)
Mexico May 6,1880
It was announced in the Two Republics, published in Mexico City on May 6, that
Messrs, Wexel &: De Gress "always determined that Mexico shall not be behind the
age, have introduced a sufficient number of these little boxes - the puzzle to turn the
heads of the nation.-'
Denmark May 16, 1880
The Illustreret Tidende, of Copenhagen, published an ad for the fifteen puzzle
Principalens Fortvivlelse, shown in Figure 1.43, on May 16 and by August 29, seven
articles with problems for the Fifteen Puzzle and their solutions, had also appeared In
the newspaper.
Australiajune 14, 1880
The Port Phillip Herald, published in Melbourne, mentioned in their June 14 arti-
cle, "In this colony the Number puzzle has attracted considerable attention, but it is
hoped It will not develop into the nuisance which it appears to have become in the
States, where 13, 14, 15, has quite driven the selections from Pinafore out of the
field." But, on June 17, the Sydney Echo is quoted, 'The 15 Puzzle has, it is said, seri-
ously disturbed the mental equilibrium of numbers of
hitherto perfectly sane and rational of our citizens,"
japanjanuary 10, 1889
According to a Japanese hook titled "Origin of
Puzzles" (Pazuru no genryu) on the history of
Japanese puzzles by Kozaburo Fujimura and Shigeo
Takagi, the Fifteen Puzzle was introduced into
Japan by Mathematical Magazine (Suugaku Zasshi)
Number 52 on January 10, 1889.
\'t;1\('\ ImI f' ll to J'/). .
, ", ,-/
P/,o
, .
,
..'
J
i
-, .BI"It1yp. - b '-
£ rdPII1'M.J o '
I,, I
Elbert Hubbard used the metaphor when describ-
ing the characters created by Charles Dickens' in, Little
Journeys to the Homes of the Great, 1916.
"Dickens characters are personifications of traits, not men and women. Yet
they are a deal funnier-they are as funny as a box of monkeys. as entertain-
ing as a Punch-and-Judy show. as interesting as a 'fifteen puzzle: and some-
times as pretty as chromos:'
And the metaphors abound in newspapers.
IL GIUOCO DEI OUINDICI
. la dispe'aliooe dei Priotipali.
Quelto 'ItlOVO glllOCO amerU:8QO dl par.I.Dza
('he JIll fa eta 11010, eta ammalati 0 '.[li. da ple-
toli 0 randj be me.1IO .otlollopra t.utti eli Stat.L
d'AmerirB. cMicch in (Dcbi ml!l.!li De JaroDO
umduLI
"'....ON.
IIi tju8liti glOochl
A ND'W8 York f!I di....nulo adirll.lura uoa ,.er.
Ep...,_I.
In nradn, 81 CIIlf'9, rell.aQranL. io c.... oecli af-
Jic.. dltppertutto  giQOca Iii o-Iad.let. taU.i
gli 86"1:11I <ve"1l0D{"I l1egleU..
Un giuoco eorwplelo £. 1.
Cbi desidera rlc.verlo nccomaodat.o pw po-
bta agl{iullga Ceot. 35 In pdl.
UelJolllto a. Mllallo prOil:80 C. Fioai . 0.. %4.
Galiena VittorIO Emanuele.
Fig. 1.42 An Italian ad
for the Fifteen Puzzle
mentioned that a million
were sold.
---
11. Pnslc SDillct i
I Blikllske m.d 1'ilel,"ignel ,Priadpalens
fortrivlelae&', Prl&)() Or. er udkommel he. 
C. W. Stincb Boghandel,
Amagertorv 33 (Lne-ApcthelteI8 Curdl.
Fig. 1.43 Copenhagen,
Denmark ad for the 15
Puzzle, Principalens
Fortvivlelse shown
below.
Principalens
Fortvivlelse. 15
Square Blocks in Tin
Box. Denmark.
65

CHAPTER 2
I _H.
I
r
Ii I
I j
t.
I:
 . .. r 
---..,,'
u: Af.
_ 1
234
6 7 8
10 II 12 1
15.--J
Mustc, Schutz.
'--
---"
... '--
L J ·
I@ It ill
t <D 13)
(!
\
Le Jeu de Patience.
GeduldsPlel. Manuf
Muster-Schulz. No.
2004. Werner &
Schumann, Berlin,
Germany.
66
LITERATURE ON THE HISTORY AND SOLUTIONS OF THE FIFTEEN
PUZZLE I 880- I 900
The followmg articles and books from America and Europe contain information
related to the history and solutions of the Fifteen Puzzle, Their descriptions of the
Fifteen Puzzle craze are consistent with the craze starting early in 1880.
,
!;'

March 27, 1880 - Richard E. Proctor - Newcastle Weekly Chronicle
In England, Richard E. Proctor published the first British article about the Fifteen
Puzzle, "A New Puzzle" in the Newcastle Weekly Chronicle, during the puzzle craze in
the United States. "Over the length and hreadth of America a new puzzle is exercising
the minds and apparently also trying the temper and moral energies of the American
people." In the article he mentions, "...it is mathematically demonstrable that the
puzzle cannot be solved," Proctor expanded his analysis in an article published in the
January 1881 issue of The Gentleman's Magazine, which was repeated in his book,
Familiar Science Studies. In his article he states,
"The problem can be proved to be soluble in certain positions, and insoluble in
others, The proof is exceedingly simple. The rule resulting from the following analysis
is, I believe, the only correct one, .. . this then seems likely enough to be a law for all
winning positions: that the total number of discrepancies as regards numerical
sequence, and the number of the partially vacant line, are both even, or both odd."
April 6, 1880 - Hermann Schubert - Hamburgischer Correspondentt
An early and important article about the Fifteen Puzzle was written by the Ger-
man mathematician, Hermann c.a Schubert, and published in the Hamburgischer
Correspondent on April 6, 1880.
Schubert's article includes a mathematical "proof of Impossibility" of the Fifteen
Puzzle that is discussed in detail on pages 117 to 119. However, since Schubert's
proof was published in a newspaper and not in a scientific journal, it apparently did
not receive the attention that it merited.
April 17, 1880 - James Sylvester - American Journal of Mathematics, dated
December 1879.
Professor Sylvester, regarded as one of the greatest mathematicians of his time,
accepted a chair at John Hopkins University, in Baltimore at its opening in L876, and
founded the Americanjournal of Mathematics in 1878. Sylvester included articles by
WW Johnson and WE. Story in the journal that proved mathematically that when the
numbered blocks were arranged randomly the Fifteen Puzzle was impossible to solve
half of the time. The articles were puhlished in the fourth issue of the second year of
the Journal, dated December 1879,
In a postscript to the "Notes on the '15' Puzzle" article by Wm. Woolsey Johnson,
he refers to a New York Post article that was published on March 5, 1880, at the peak
of the puzzle craze in the East Coast. Therefore, the journal could not have been pub-

LITERATURE ON THE HISTORY AND SOLUTIONS
lished in 1879. In fact, the Fifteen Puzzle did not become a widely known puzzle
craze until February 1880.
On March 25, 1880, Professor Sylvester wrote a letter to Mrs. Benjamin Peirce stat-
ing,
"Our December number of the Journal still tarries in coming out, but in a few days
1 believe it will be issued, It opens with Tables of Invariants and concludes with two
dissertations on the 15 Puzzle. So you see we cover a wide range, But 1 tell Dr. Story
that the 15 Puzzle will be the gem of the number and help the other matter go down.»
The actual date of publication was apparently further delayed, since the Library of
Congress received the Journal on April 17, 1880,
The American Journal of Mathematics was widely read by later authors of articles
and books on the history of Mathematical Recreations and they were not aware of the
delayed puhlication of the Journal. Because of the date of the
Journal, readers assumed that the Fifteen Puzzle craze occurred
during 1879 and this error was perpetuated in subsequent articles
and hooks describing the history of the puzzle,
April 29, 1880 - G.W Warren - The Nation
In the United States a letter by G.W Warren titled, "Clew to the
Fifteen Puzzle", was published in The Nation on April 20, 1880.
The Nation, established in 1865, was a weekly American periodical
dedicated to covering current events with scholarship and literary
excellence, Warren's letter announces a method of solving the
Fifteen Puzzle while making it clear that the puhlic was taking
interest in the puzzle at the time his letter was published, April
1880, His method for solving the puzzle was based on the New York Herald's
solution of turning the box one-4uarter turn if the blocks numbered 14 and
15 are reversed, but it avoided turning the box only when the solver discov-
ered the last two blocks reversed. He proposed that after the upside down
blocks were thoroughly mixed up, the solver was blindfolded before he
selected the blocks and placed them in the box. So the blocks would have
random orientation, only an average of one quarter would be placed in each
of four orientations, and the solver could then determine if the arrangement
was solvable in a given onentation and, if it was not, rotate the box one
quarter turn before he began to slide the blocks around to solve the puzzle.
""f '
I'
I
:1 ]!:.) j,  ,.1.\.,
)'> -'!,j
I . ,ALL
PJU,ZLE.S
I
,1., l1
I
.
"
I")

. ':1...  JJ-J
Three in One. The Gem
of All Puzzles, Circular
Blocks.
May 22, 1880 - George A. Sala - Illustrated London News
George A Sala was a popular British writer who wrote a column titled "Echoes of
the Week" which appeared in the Illustrated London News, Sala, in his May 22, 1880
column, proposed, "tongue-in-cheek", that Parliament pass an Act,
"prohibiting, under penalty of heavy fine and long imprisonment, all and sundry
of her Majesty's subjects from playing at a dreadful game called 'Fifteen', which is
known in the United States as the 'Great Boss Puzzle.' If time be indeed money,
67

CHAPTER 2
r
J-J
5 .)
-.- -.-
5
J H
9 tu tl '1i'
-0.
J ;) J.-t If) to
-e-
Lf Taquin. Manuf UK
Atlas, Paris.
68
that Great Boss Puzzle must have cost me at least a thousand dollars between January
and June last. I played it at Omaha; I played it at Chicago; I played it at Great Salt Lake
City; I played it on board the Helca, coming home; and upon my word, so soon as I
have finished writing the "Echoes," ] shall be at the Great Boss Puzzle again. Why was
it not stopped at the Customhouse? Why was it not brought under the provisions of
the Dangerous Explosives or Cattle Plague laws?"
Sala's two-volume book, "America Revisited" describes his trip to America in detail
and clarifies the dates of his trip, which are ambiguous in the above description.
"It was on board the good ship Scythia,. bound from Liverpool to New York in
November 1879", Yesterday was Thanksgiving Day in New York... The wonderful
prairie city, Chicago, Illinois, February 21, 1880... At Omaha, February 28... We spent
four and a half months in the States, and traveled twenty thousand miles; and as the
Helca, one sharp afternoon in April 1880, steamed out of the port of New York..."
Sala writings were well known in the United States and there were numerous articles in
American newspapers announcing and describing his trip to America,
June 7, 1880 - Peter Tait - "Note on the Theory of the '15 Puzzle.'''
In Scotland, the Proceedings of Royal Society of Edinburgh, published a
brief "Note on the Theory of the '15 Puzzle'" by Prof. Peter G. Tait and
mentions the possibility of a three-dimensional verSIOn of a sliding block
puzzle. (see page 135)
August 14, 1880 - James Sylvester - Association fran(;aise pour
I'Avancement des Sciences in Reims, France
In August 1880 Professor Sylvester attended and presented a lecture
at a Congress in Reims, France at the "Association franc;;aise pour
l'Avancement des sciences," Mathematicians Hermann Schuhert of
Germany and :Edouard Lucas of France also attended the conference and
later wrote books on Mathematical RecreatIOns that mentioned that
Sylvester had told them at the Congress "the Fifteen Puzzle was invented by a deaf
mute American near the end of 1878", The story that a deaf mute of unknown
identity had invented the Fifteen Puzzle was first reported in the New York Sun on
February 27, 1880. However the New York Post, quoted in the article on the
Fifteen Puzzle by Johnson, reported on February 26 that N,P' Chapman, a New
York Postmaster, was the inventor of the Fifteen Puzzle,
It seems likely that Sylvester had read a note in a newspaper, such as
the one in the Gettysburg Compiler on March 5, 1880, which was a very brief summary
of the New York Sun article;
"Fifteen was invented by a deaf mute, who distributed a few boxes among his
fnends. D. F Maguire, a Boston newspaper man, got hold of one, and there being no
patent, went to work manufactunng them. He has made enough to live on comfortahly
for the rest of his life."

1882 - Edouard Lucas - Recreations Mathematiques
Edouard A Lucas wrote in Volume 1 of his 1882 book, Recreations Mathematiques,
'The game currently known under the name of Jeu du Taquin' was invented in
America, towards the end of 1878, by a deaf mute which proposed, by chance, to
arrange in a box numbers which had been displaced, without taking them out. That is
the origin which has been indicated to me, at the Congress of Rheims of the
Association franc;;aise pour l'Avancement des Sciences by Mr. Sylvester, correspondent
of the Academie des Sciences de Paris, professor of the J Hopkins University in
Baltimore, "
1892 - WW Rouse Ball- Mathematical Recreations and Problems
The first edition of British mathematician Walter William Rouse Ball's famous
book, Mathematical Recreations and Problems oj Past and Present Times, published in
1892, includes a section on "The Fifteen Puzzle" that begins, "Some ten or twelve
years ago the so-called fifteen puzzle was on sale in all toy shops," He does not men-
tion the name of any inventor of the puzzle, Ball, a careful researcher, would have
mentioned the inventor's name if he knew it.
Ball uses the number of interchanges to determine whether a given arrangement
can be solved;
"If the order we want to get can be obtained only by an odd number of inter-
changes, the problem is incapable of solution; if it can be obtained by an even num-
ber, the prohlem is possible,.. If however the box is turned through a right angle
(one-quarter turn), this rotation will be equivalent to 13 simple interchanges." He also
points out that, "if the initial order is one that makes a solution impossible, yet if the
first cell, and nOI the last, is left blank, it will be possible to arrange the counters in
their natural order."
1892 - Berkeley and T.B. Rowland - Card Tricks and Puzzles
The British book, Card Tricks and Puzzles, by Berkeley and TB, Rowland, published
in 1892, contains a section on the American Fifteen Puzzle, which begins, 'The
Fifteen Puzzle was introduced by a shrewd American some ten years ago, and at the
time created considerable interest amongst mathematicians."
1900 - Hermann Schubert - Mathematische Mussestunden
Schubert writes about the Fifteen Puzzle in his book, Mathematische Mussestunden,
published in ] 900,
"With reason one will ask about the inventor of this fascinating puzzle, Nothing is
known but what was reported by Sylvester, the mathematician and Professor at the
John Hopkins University of Baltimore, during the annual meeting of the "Association
Fran<;aise pour l'Avancement des Sciences" held in Reims, France (in August 1880).
According to him, the game was invented in December 1878 by a deaf mute
American, "
69

CHAPTER 3
'tIP J pmAPII! "i'P. CI
J]
Sam Loyds Trick Mules
Puzzle.
70
WHO INVENTED THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE?
The correct identity of the Fifteen Puzzle inventor has eluded researchers and
authors of books about the history of puzzles and Mathematical Recreations for 125
years,
Almost all of the recent and current accounts, including encyclopedias and Internet
sites, give credit for the invention of the Fifteen Puzzle to America's Greatest Puzzle
designer, Sam Loyd.
Loyd invented many wonderful puzzles and wrote hundreds of puzzle columns in
newspapers and magazines which provided the material for Sam Loyd's Cyclopedia oj
'.. '
Jl'" 
eo" .. . } {-r 1
, , 
Jtvl:, I f. -- 1.00 .
. I" l:.;'!.J'\t. 'f,.
r;: IJtPuJi- U 1 . ';"
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. .",.;''': _ J
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If '"
oow.., I
.... w...". 0011. ... GO TO'
I 
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,
 ;
SAM LOYD.s
CYCLQPEDIA
5000
PUZZLES
TRICKS
CON lVo
W'TIf.RUMS
..£RS
I
Loyd's Get off the Earth Loyds Cyclopedia.
Puzzle.
--
Puzzles, Loyd's Cyclopedia is, to quote Martin Gardner, editor of two books based on
Loyd's work, "the largest, most exciting collection of puzzles ever assembled." In it
Loyd describes the Fifteen Puzzle and says, "I drove the entire world crazy over a little
box of movable blocks which became known as the 14-15 Puzzle," And several of
Loyd's inventions, his "Get Off the Earth Puzzle," 'Trick Mules (Donkey) Puzzle" and
"Buttonhole Puzzle" are among the best puzzles of all time and helped establish his
reputation.
Sam Loyd also has a reputation for being a wonderful storyteller and sometimes,
like in his book, The Eighth Book oj Tan, he has been known to imply or even state that
his fictional stories are factual. Loyd became associated with the Tangram (Chinese
Puzzle), the World's first puzzle craze (1817-1818), by writing a very imaginative but
false history of the puzzle, claiming that it was invented 4,000 years earlier [It was
really invented in China about 1800 AD, not 2097 B.e). However, he also created
over 400 wonderful and imaginative Tangram problems, and published his famous

WHO INVENTED THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE?
book about the puzzle, The Eighth Book oj Tan, in 19m.
A search of the Internet in 2005, for Sam Loyd and Fifteen (or 15) Puzzle, found
about 1200 references. As shown in the last chapter, famous mathematicians Professor
Sylvester from Johns Hopkins, Edouard Lucas from France and Hermann Schubert
from Germany, wrote that a deaf mute invented the Fifteen Puzzle. But W Ahrens in
1918 in his Mathematische Unterhaltungen und Spiele, second edition, says the deaf
mute story is a legend, and that Sam Loyd is "said" to have invented the famous puz-
zle. Ahrens refers only to an article in a Swiss chess magazine, the Schweizerische
Schachzeitung* of Septemher 19] 6, in which the book by Alain C White, Sam Loyd
and His Chess Problems, is reviewed. Ahrens emphasizes that he has not read White's
book The book, however, only quotes from an article about Sam Loyd by
G.G. Bain in the January 1908 Strand Magazine, which is based on informa-
tion provided by Loyd.
So the question remains: Who invented the Fifteen Puzzle? Sam Loyd, a
deaf mute, or someone else?
Since there is no question that the puzzle craze began in the Eastern part
of the United States and within a few months invaded Europe and
other countries around the world, it seems logical to search for the
inventor and the story of the Fifteen Puzzle in the place the puzzle
craze began, Boston. An extensive search was made of major
libraries, first in Boston, next in New York, then Philadelphia, the
Library of Congress in Washington, D,C as well as hundreds of the
newspapers and magazines that were published during the puzzle
craze, in the area where it began,
We found many newspaper stories that attributed the invention of
the puzzle to some ancient or contemporary person, Some of the sto-
nes are:
· 'The "IS" puzzle raged in the Flowery Kingdom of China 950
years before Chnst," according to a Chinese man in Virginia City, Nevada.
Reno Evening Gazelle, Mar'ch 31, 1880,
- 
The Game of
Fifteen is not by
any means new. It
I was played by our
first parent. Adam.
when he was a
bachelor. He was
compelled to give
it away. however;
when he got mar-
ried.
The; Gem Puzzle. w,
123 4
I ' 5 6'78 r
, - ii!
 9 10 11 12 r
1314'15

,:
D
1
. "A careful study of Albrecht Durer's engraving, Melancholia, will convince one that,
though 34 may be summed up in this square by 34 combinations, the real cause for
the melancholy was inability to solve 13-15-14," (See page 73)
Baltimore American, March 14, 1880.
. "Permit me to point out that the Fifteen Puzzle may be found worked out and the
principals of the various arrangements lucidly explained in Hutton's Mathematical
Science" which was puhlished more than fifty years ago."
Bismarck Tribune, May 6, 1880.
'AN. AU
-..,
')
...'
11112
,
..
1 14
The "Gem" Puzzle
No.1. Manuf- M 1- E
Rice, Boston.
*This publication was a
tri-lingual journal pub-
lished in Bern.
71

CHAPTER 3
The inventor of
the 15 puzzle
must be counted
among the great
benefactors of
humanity. It is said
to have kept sev-
eral young ladies
silent for hours.
*Dudley E. Jones,
72
. "It becomes the Tribune's pleasing as well as sacred duty to disclose the fact that one
of The Tribune's staff invented the game nearly fourteen years ago, and is probably the
only person who has ever solved the problem correctly and kept out of the asylum,"
Bismarck Tribune, March 26, 1880.
. "One person claims that it was invented seventeen or eighteen years ago by a gentle-
man (whose name* is suppressed for prudential reasons) in Keokuk, Iowa. He is said
to have been an officer under General Sherman during the Civil War,"
Philadelphia Rewld, March 27, 1880.
. ''The 'IS' Puzzle, which has for some time 'puzzled' almost everybody in town,
turns out to be an old English invention, Five or six years ago, James D. Avery, then
Justice of the Peace at Oneida Castle, had one of the puzzles in his office with which
he used to amuse his callers."
Oneida Union, March 17, 1880.
. 'The Puzzle oTiginated with the wife of the Mayor of Syracuse, New York."
Cambridge Jeffersonian, March 11, 1880.
. "The 'Game of Fifteen' was invented not by a deaf mute but by a humble elderly
man in Boston."
Hartford Daily Times, March 1, 1880.
. "Great puzzle by 'Boyer', author of the famous' 13, IS, 14. '"
Atlanta ConsUtutlOn, December 2, 1894.
. 'The game of fifteen had more inventors than there are blocks in the box, according
to the newspapers,"
Chester Daily Times (PA), March 6, 1880.
. 'There is no doubt that this puzzle was based on an old English box puzzle,"
Philadelphia Press, April 30, 1899.
. Michael MacDougall says that the Fifteen Puzzle was invented Ln the sixteenth cen-
tury in France under the name, "Le Jeu de Taquain" where it was popular at the court
of Francis 1, King of France, He also claimed it was identical to the Fifteen Puzzle
played by the Egyptian Priests 3,000 years ago.
Sunday Star-Ledger (Newark, NJ), 1963.
. Lee Yee Dian wrote "a new game was born in China, in which the object was arrang-
ing nine digits by sliding them around, The ancient Chinese called this 'Chong Pai Jiu
Gong', and it dates to the Sung Dynasty (10th to 12th century). If true, surely this
must be the earliest sliding block puzzle,"
Cubism For Fun, Dutch Cubists Club, February 1990.

WHO INVENTED THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE?
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Durers
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1514 in the bot-
tom row, the
year the
engraving was
made.
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. The marvelous popularity of the ingenious little puzzle among all classes of humani-
ty, has attached a distinction to the invention, which It is only human to covet.
Already there are a round half hundred claimants in the field,
Syracuse Courier, Febmary 29, 1880.
b

-.---
Boss Pu::::::le, Alhrecht
Durer, Brilliant
Melancholia. Manuf
Cremer, JI:, London.
73

CHAPTER 3
Even though during this period Thomas Edison was inventing and developing the
light bulb and the first telephones were being installed, the inventor of the Fifteen
Puzzle was not held in high esteem by the press and most of the people.
We investigated the most likely of the stories about the
invention of the puzzle. Most were 4uickly found to he not credi-
ble, But, three stories about the invention of the puzzle seemed
plausible and these were thoroughly investigated to determine the
true inventor of the Fifteen Puzzle.
We will investigate each of these possibilities m the next three
chapters: Chapter 4, Sam Loyd, Chapter 5, A DeafMute, Chapter 6.
A Postmaster:
A poem published by the NEVv YORK MAIL indi-
cates the frustration some people feel when trying to
solve the Fifteen Puzzle:
13-15-14,
Let's muzzle
The puzzle
Inventor.
Let's take him
And shake him
Instanter,
Let's break
All his bones
Let's make
What he owns
Of intellectual twirl
In perpetual whirL
As our
Mind power
Is hurt by this mean,
Eternal
Infernal
Gem puzzle machine.
NY Mail,
Baltimoye Moming Hemld, Maych 6, 1880.
;,.;-;;. :: - '" '\
-:-1 12-34 t) I'
 5 6 7 8 !4
C/O 
'"'
: 9 10 11 12 H
. )
!:: 13 14 16
'.
fIIATItNT ..PI
" £0.
---.",.
I ,I
.c'
The Puzzle of Fifteen
74
Another poem published in COLORADO DA]LY
GAZETTE, shows the same feeling of frustration
occurs in the West:
13-15-14!
He sat and gazed with placid mien
And a cheerful and confident smile
At the little square box with the "gem fifteen,"
And he said he'd bet his pile
That he could figger it out right thar;
So he jumbled the blocks about,
And then he remarked: "its simple, I swar,
And I recon I'll work it out"
So he tackled it sharp for an hour or more,
And his hands he ran through his hair.
As he jumped right up and fearfully swore,
And his eyes had a maniac's glare,
That he's "be dashed if the dash dashed fool
That invented this game was here,
He'd smash his dash, dash, dashed skull
And chaw off an end of his ear,"
But after another hot hour had flown
The bead drops down 'gan to roll,
And he raved in a way that, the people all say.
Struck terror to each watching souL
For - thirteen-fifteen-fourteen-alas!
Were all that he got for his pains,
So he frantically swallowed of poison a glass.
And with a bullet he bored out his brains,
Daily Gazette, Colomdo, March 1880.

DID SAM LOYD INVENT THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE?
Sam Loyd is given credit for inventing the Fifteen Puzzle in encyclopedias, books,
articles, and more than one thousand Internet web sites. Is it true? And if it is not true,
how did it happen that he is credited with the invention of this puzzle, which was one
of the most famous puzzles of all time? To discover the true story we searched the
newspaper and magazine accounts during the craze, the literature about the history of
the Fifteen Puzzle and all of Sam Loyds columns and interviews that we could find, to
discover the true story. The most important of the many articles and books are quoted
and discussed below.
CHAPTER 4

...
..4
1857
-'
We thank Will Shortz for providing invaluable assistance and important informa-
tion about Sam Loyd and his articles and columns, 
Sam Loyd has been correctly described as "America's Greatest Puzzlist," by Martin -'-. . .
Gardner and many other writers. Although he deserves credit for his many wonderful '

puzzle inventions, he also had a reputation for using puzzles invented by Henry --::.
Dudeney, "England's Greatest Puzzlist" without crediting Dudeney, and taking credit ::'-:;;'.'"
for puzzles he did not invent. Loyd used his remarkable talent for making up stories .:. ' J1
about his puzzles to make his puzzles interesting as well as to spin tales about his    "
accomplishments, -.......::::-
1892
When he was only fourteen years old, Sam Loyd took up the game of chess. By
1857, when he was sixteen, Loyd had established himself as the greatest American
composer of Chess problems. Between 1860 and 1876 Loyd's devoted much of his
energy and time to mechanical and other types of puzzles. But in 1876 Loyd accepted
an offer to be the Problem Editor of the American Chess Journal*, In 1878, Dr. c.c.
Moore, who suggested that Loyd be given that job, took over the ownership of the
Journal and asked Loyd to become Editor, He also suggested that Loyd write the book,
Chess Strategy, and kept after him until it was completed in 1881. Loyd also competed
in chess problem competitions during this period, including the Paris Tourney of 1878
and the American Chess Congress of 1880, winning 3rd prize in the former and the
prize for the "Best Problem of the Tourney" in the latter. Loyd edited the weekly Chess
Column in Scientific American during 1877 and 1878. He used 500 of his best chess
problems from these columns for his book, Chess Strategy, Although the book, pub-
lished by Loyd, has an imprinted date of 1878, Alain White in his book, Sam Loyd and
His Chess Problems, claims that Loyd did not complete Chess Strategy until 1881. It
appears that Loyd was busy finishmg his book, Chess Strategy, and involved with other
chess activities during the Fifteen Puzzle craze of 1880,
How a young man can loaf around a church door while his parents are inside praying
for the conversion of sinners is one of the problems as difficult to solve as the puzzle
of fifteen. ( 1880)
--"''''''
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t J'
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...........
....
"
"
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-
1900
Photo and sketches of
Sam Loyd with the pub-
lication dates,
*Published in Hannibal,
Mo.
75

CHAPTER 4
....
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/ucd
1878
Sketch of Sam Loyd
with the publication
date.
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.....
===-.
Above: Political cartoon
in Judge magazine.
Below: Pigs in Clover
Puzzle.
76
....u
Literature on Sam Loyd and the History of the Fifteen Puzzle.
January 13, 1891 - Sam Loyd interview- "He Invents Puzzles."
The Fifteen Puzzle craze ended in the United States by the first of June 1880 and in
Europe and Australia by mid-July 1880. Yet there was no mention of Sam Loyd in any
connection with the Fifteen Puzzle for more than ten years untilJanuary 1891, when an
article by the New York News was published in numerous newspapers announcmg a
new Loyd puzzle called "Blind Luck", The article titled, "He Invents Puzzles," was
based on an interview with Loyd, The first example that we found was in the Lima
Daily Times (Lima, Ohio) on January 13, 1891, in which Loyd claimed that he had
invented the Fifteen Puzzle,
"He has during the past twenty-five years invented over 500 various problems, the
names of the leading games having become famous throughout the length and breadth
of the United States and even in Europe, This gentleman is the inventor of the celebrat-
ed 14-15 puzzle, parcheesi, the pony puzzle, the trick donkey puzzle, the pigs in clover
and many others, The famous 14-15 puzzle was originally designed as an advertising
medium, and some 10,000,000 were utilized for that purpose before it was sold as a
game,"
The population of the United States in 1880 was about
50,000,000, so about one out of every five people (men,
women and children) would have owned this puzzle, and yet
none has been found in any museum or puzzle collection.
-',
..:....'(  '.
/; t' '.
I
-.;.
Pigs in Clover
The "Pigs in Clover" puzzle is a dexterity puzzle that
caused a puzzle craze in February 1889, only two years
before Loyds announcement that he invented it. "Pigs" quick-
ly captured the attention of the general population and the
press of Amenca and the World, Loyd described his version
of the origin of the puzzle,
"Pigs in Clover was introduced about twenty-five years ago,
under the name of "la petite bagatelle," and it had quite an extensive run, It was
copyrighted but after the expiration of the copyright some enterprising individ-
ual named it 'pigs in clover,' and its popularity revived."
However, toy maker Charles Crandall was widely reported in newspapers as
the inventor of the dexterity puzzle, and he was granted a US Patent in
September 1889 for the puzzle, Loyd's claim of inventing the Pigs in Clover Puzzle
was not challenged in the press, or by Charles Crandall, perhaps since the craze had
ended and the puzzles were not selling, so no one really cared. Loyds campaign to
claim the invention of the Pigs in Clover puzzle had mixed success. Henry Dudeney,
and even, Sam Loyd Jr" did not repeat Loyd's claim, but it was spread through articles
based on Loyd interviews. Books on the history of games and puzzles credit Charles
Crandall with the invention.
l
"
C-'. ' '\
".... '
. CLOVE", t'UUUi.

DID SAM LOYD INVENT THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE
Parcheesi
Loyd also claimed that he invented the
game Parcheesi,
"Parcheesi was invented in 1865, and the
idea came about in a rather curious way A
Broadway merchant had a quantity of gaily
tinted paper remarkably cheap, and not know-
ing what to do with it had suggested to the
puzzle inventor that the colors might be uti-
lized in making up an attractive game, In a
few hours the various combinations of colors
were deftly utilized and 'Parcheesi' was the
result. "
The Chicago Tribune, on May 25, 1893,
reponed on a historical exhibition of games in
the Anthropological Building of the Chicago
Worlds Fair that showed the history and evo-
lution of games. The article described the history of the game of Parcheesi:
"Parcheesi, which has a direct line of descent from the East, was purchased in
1865 from an Englishman named John Hamilton, who had lately come into this
country from England. The story of this game, the familiar East Indian Pacheesi or
'"game of 25" is well illustrated in the collection in the Exposition. It was doubtless
brought from India by Mr. Hamilton, It is well known to the Indians on the Midway
Plaisance, whose national game it is,"
Records show that the game Pachesi (American version called Parcheesi) was
played in India as early as the fourth century AD, and Selchow and Righter bought
the rights in 1870 from Mr. Hamilton, They trademarked the game in 1874. There is
no evidence that Sam Loyd had any involvement in the invention or development of
the game, Loyd did not convince many people of this claim, but because of the large
number of articles based on his interviews, some authors do credit Loyd for the
/>t
.
"
6
.
..
..:.
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invention.
February 1891 - The Manufacturer and Builder magazine
A short note announcing Loyd's "Blind Luck" puzzle says "it is sure to excite as
much popular interest as the '14-15 puzzle,' and other creations of his fertile imagi-
nation, "
1892 - Ad for Piper Heidsieck Plug Tobacco
The back of Loyds puzzle card, "Our '93 Challenge: A Mystery", mentions, 'This
latest craze by the author of the famous '14-15 Puzzle,' 'Pigs in Clover,' etc., etc., is
presented as the most wonderful, unique and instructive puzzle game the world has
ever produced."
Hindu Parcheesi -play-
ers, Miniature from the
18th century.
77

CHAPTER 4
A
Conscientious
Woman.
A Lady who was
asked her age by
an inquisitive man.
viciously present-
ed him with a fif-
teen Puzzle.
ATLANTA
CONSTITUTION.
Fig. 4.1 BlOLhs arrange-
ment at "Start".
Right: Loyd's Drawing
of solver.
78
May 11, 1893 - Indiana County Gazette charity request
A note asking readers to contribute a dime to the Press Club Building and Charity
Fund. which used several Loyd puzzles for fundraising, offered to send by return mail
"a wonderful puzzle game by the author of 'Fifteen Puzzle,' and 'Pigs in Clover' etc."
October 14, 1893 - Sam Loyd Prize Puzzle - Tit-Bits
In his October 14, 1893 column in Tit-Bits, Loyd was to be paid 100 British
Pounds if no one sent in a solution to an arithmetical sum problem. Loyd received
nothing if the puzzle was solved, and is described as "author of the Fifteen Puzzle,"
July 1894 - Sam Loyd - Our Illustrated Press
In his July 1894 column titled, "Our Puzzle Corner" in Our Illustrated Press, Loyd
introduced his puzzle named, "Our Columbus Problem", which is the same arithmetic
sum puzzle he used in Tit-Bits in 1893. The puzzle is to "Find how to arrange the fig-
ures 4,5,6, 7, 8, 9, 0 in an arithmetic sum which adds up the nearest to 82," Then
he mentions, 'The above mathematical wonder is creating a furor among students and
lovers of arithmetic. Like its famous companion piece, the '14-15 puzzle,' it is so easy
that everyone can do it, but somehow or other, they always forget the answer."
January 4,1896 - Sam Loyd - "The Famous 15 Block Puzzle."
The January 4, 1896 issue of The Illustrated American was the first time that Sam
Loyd proposed the problem of solving the 15 Block Puzzle, with the 14 and 15 blocks
transposed, and he "offers to divide a thousand dollars equally among all who send in
correct answers within the next thirty days," Loyd included an illustration in the arti-
cle titled, 'The Famous 15 Block Puzzle", of the four by four board, with each square
numbered in order from I to 15 except the squares numbered 14 and 15 were trans-
15 ANU 34
.... ,:t._
I
I J
American Game:
The 15 and 34 Puzzle. England
-

DID SAM LOYD INVENT THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE
posed, This figure (Fig, 4.0 showed "how the blocks must be arranged at commence-
ment"
The 15 blocks were printed in a separate figure and were to be pasted on cardboard
and cut apart to form the blocks to be used on the printed board to try to solve the
puzzle,
'The object of the problem is to move the blocks one at a time and bring about an
absolute perfect sequence of figures with 14 and 15, as well as all the other numbers, in
their regular order,"
Loyd made a major error by not specifying that the numbers in the solution must
start with number 1 in the upper left corner, and he received many solutions to his
puzzle, In his February 22, 1896 column, Loyd acknowledged,
'That tantalizing mystery of the 15 blocks has been causing no end of interest, and it
is safe to say that the thousand-dollar prize would have to be divided into the smallest
coin of the realm to be portioned among all who have worked out solutions of some
sort,"
Apparently these solutions solved Loyd's problem by positioning the blank square in
the upper left hand corner, at the beginning of the "regular order". Loyd then men-
tioned that this solution had been shown in WW Rouse Ball's book, Mathematical
Recreations. However he also said,
"No one has yet furnished an answer which produces the desired result, although
many of unquestioned veracity have succeeded in getting the correct position, but failed
to record the sequence of plays."
Loyd also mentions that "the '15 block puzzle' had such a phenomenal run some
twenty years ago," which would have been in 1876. Later in his article he mentions
Proctors articles about the Fifteen Puzzle, Proctor's March 27,1880 British article is
quoted on page 66 and clearly refers to the craze occurring during the time the article
was written.
So obviously Loyd is actually referring to the Fifteen Puzzle craze of 1880, not his
falsely claimed 14-15 puzzle invention of 1876 (or 1872).
March 22, 1896 - Loyd's First Brooklyn Daily Eagle Column
Sam Loyd's first puzzle column for the Brooklyn Daily Eagle was published on March
22, 1896 with a biography of himself. He began by claiming that, "At 9 years of age, he
was champion of the New York Chess Club". Alain White in his book, Sam Loyd and His
Chess Problems mentions that in one of his interviews, Loyd showed the interviewer an
"old yellowed copy of The Chess Monthly'] for 1851, and stated, 'Here's a chess problem
I worked out when I was ten', he said, exhibiting the diagram, 'At that tender age I was
playing in matches with the crack chess men of the country, and sometimes beating
'em, too" '2 , However White points out that this was impossible since The Chess
Monthly was not printed until 1857. White goes on to say that:
"Loyd was just fourteen when the three brothers, Tomas, Isaac, and himself, began
going to the (Chess) Society Library in New York to while away the evenings.. By the
beginning of 1857, he was launched, at sixteen. as the greatest of Amencan composers,"
Local
Intelligence.
The thoughts of
moving day has
about the same
effect upon the
mind of the aver-
age citizen, as an
hour's interview
with the game of
15.
---
,.t-' ,.t-
1,: -
'111' I
f  '$pl
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4 '7
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. ..  ":!r  .. i \
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, .... ,....
/_.Vy
.u;T'F.n 11.\)1 LOYD.
Master Sam Loyd.
* I. Chess Monthly was
published in New York
from 1857 to 1860,
*2, The interviewer was
Walter Eaton who pub-
lished the story in The
Delineator in April 1911,
79

CHAPTER 4
' , .:
.
 "'n..
" "!\\""
[n this column, Loyd
"owns up to the great sin of having invented the 'IS block puz-
zle', and to which he solemnly avows there is no answer, It was
freely stated at the time it was playing havoc with the brains of
the country that he made $1,000,000 out of it. Millions of them
were sold. He says nobody made a cent,"
It is now clear that Loyd did not contribute to the
invention or development of the puzzle and did not
make any money from it. However, the manufactur-
ers and sellers of the Fifteen Puzzle made money
during the craze of 1880.
Loyd also claims that he visited an insane asylum
while serving on a grand jury, and "the doctor grave-
ly told him that there were 1 ,500 persons there who
had become violently and hopelessly insane through
trying to solve that awful puzzle." He again also
claims that he invented the game Parcheesi and the
Pigs in Clover Puzzle.
",tifLW VJ[ l llt8
J Jt ' 5 ' \ ¥ 4 ' .
I ...) 
 ...'"
. THE ORIGJAl M"
'litCl ONE :5)-(\ \..\.t'I
*'
The New York Puzzles 15
and 34.
The Onginal Make.
Manuf- F H. E, London.
*This trick was first
mentioned on January
31, I BBO by Dr, Pevey in
the Worcester Evening
Gazette (Page 1 B),
80
.
..
(""
,
May 31,1896 - Sam Loyd - New York Sun Interview
A reporter from the New York Sun visited Loyd and the article based on the inter-
view was published in numerous newspapers, including the Chicago Daily Tribune on
May 31, 1896,
"Probably this (Pigs in Clover) and the fifteen-block puzzle are the most prominent
of Mr. Loyds inventions. To solve the Pigs in Clover puzzle calls for steadiness of
nerve, control of temper and perseverance. Nobody has ever solved the fifteen puz-
zle." Loyd told the reporter, "As a matter of fact it was the accidental outcome of the
ancient Hindoo puzzle of the magic square. I was trying it with movable blocks when
this fifteen-block puzzle occurred to me, It immediately reached a popularity which
surprised nobody more than myself. I created considerable excitement at one time by
solving the original problem before several men of prominence, but it was done by a
slelght-of-hand trick, turning over the figures 6 and 9 so as to make them 9 and 6* I
have now a standing offer of $1,000. to give to anyone who can furnish a solution.
When the rage over it was at its height, I was on the grand jury, and in the course of
the jury visits 1 had to go to various insane asylums. At one of them I saw five men in
one ward all at work with chalk making intricate computations on the walls. What are
those men doing?, I asked the doctor in charge, Trying to solve the fifteen puzzle by
mathematics', he said, They're hopeless. Do you know, sir, there are said to be no
fewer than 1,500 unfortunates who have been driven to insanity by that puzzle, [ts
inventor is little better than a murderer.'
I contrived to get out of the place without revealing my identity to the doctor, It
would have been embarrassing to both of us If he had found It out."

DID SAM LOYD INVENT THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE
June 24, 1896 - Sam Loyd's Letter to My. Raynor
Loyd's mentions "myoid 15 Block Puzzle" and also calls "Pigs in Clover" "mine" in
this personal letter to a British Chess expert:
"My Dear Mr. Raynor;
Your's of the 10 th inst. has this moment reached me and 1 hasten to reply. I was
quite pleased to receive an autograph letter from one whose problems are so familiar
to me but with whom 1 have never chanced to correspond or to meet in my European
travels. ] have been mixed up with chess all my life - know almost every chess player
living and know all of your problems by heart - or most of those by way other com-
posers - not because] am a chess crank but because 1 am cursed with a memory as
well as a fondness for such rubbish, I have made lots of problems - yet I always say I
never wasted any time at chess - have merely taken it up at odd moments almost as
an absolute necessity - for change of thought from other studies and things which
occupy my most serious attention, Puzzles - mathematics and mechamcal inventions
have been my hobby all (my) life and I have originated some odd things - as any man
naturally would who devotes his whole time to it. 1 have made a success of such
things because my natural bent runs that way. I have invented a great many puzzles
and games but never connected my name to them to any great extent until of late
years when they began to be profitable,
Your little game - or rather puzzle - is practically an off shoot of myoid 15 Block
puzzle - and turns on the same transposition principle. I got up one - very similar to
yours - as a sort of national puzzle game - 'The Red White and Blue" but withdrew it
on account of similarity w the 15 Block Puzzle. It is utterly impossible to make a suc-
cessful run on a puzzle which traces the slightest resemblance to one which has gone
before, Even in name, or even if the name is so dissimilar as to be suggestively differ-
ent!!
After Pigs in Clover came, "Cows in the Com," "Horses in Oates," "Lambs in the
Pit," all of them better than mine, but the public would not even buy them to see if
they were different! No puzzle - no matter how good - can ever be revived. To be a
success it must be an entirely new venture, a departure
from anything that has ever gone before, ] have several
good ones on hand, which I know would not take. I
have been interested to bring out the "Red, White and
Blue" if some public event should transpire which
would carry it through - but otherwise shall not. The
public wants something - which explains itself at a
glance - the terms can be wId in one word and under-
stood in a second. To speak frankly - therefore, yours
fails in this feature of being a new departure - and
lacks a certain point - which will make a person study
over it until he is mad with himself. ] have just brought
}
.I
..

t
i
,
Loyd letterhead, June
1896, lIsts Loyd as
author of the
"15 Block Puzzle".
SAM LOVD,
Journalist and Adyertising Expert,
ORIOINAL
t"ames. novelties, Suprlements, Sou'I'enlrs.
Etc , for ftcw5!,IlJICrs.
[Jpique Sketches, No\,'eIUes, Puule.lio.6:c..
FOJ.t AOVEIUISI"II(l Pl:RPOSE.5.
Author ot the ,."''''s
. Oct Off The brth M)':!I1er)'." .. Trkk OGnk.yl'l
"I!lIUock P.......k... "Pla's IIIClo\'cr,"
., e.-'." Et.. Etc.
p O. BOX 1811.
New Yory.z. 'H-.... 2it 189l
'
Jj. -...w- J {U J :
. ""7.>--M. I f -II- fa f/..':'J-
c"'1 f -".--t- ".."'-,h-____ , 7 l,;;;t__
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4.. ......(/"'4' L--I:t::t /n--- t:....... ". L____ J/rt,  .,

CHAPTER 4
One of our
friends in Detroit,
Michigan, former I
resident of
Chester, sent us
the block puzzle.
We always
deemed him a
friend until the
reception of the
puzzle, but now,
after wasting time
and midnight oil, I
and scratching our
heads bald in the
vain effort to I
solve the prob-
lem, we are led to
believe he is a
secret and deadly
enemy. The puzzle,
however, enabled
us to "square an
account" with a
neighbor, who got
I
the best of us in a
I
trade recently. We
loaned the puzzle I I
to him.
CHESTER DAILY TIMES
*"Get Off the Earth"
was Loyd's best puzzle
invention; Patent
#563,778 granted
July 14. 1896,
82
out the enclosed - which will probably be the best I ever made* - it is not only differ-
ent from everything else - but is so deep - that people that think they see through it
in half an hour - will be ashamed of their first impressions after they have studied for
a few weeks over the little technicalities which they at first took to he the explanation.
I have only had it out a few weeks - and this entire country has gone wild over it -
and I am receiving "quarter-of-a-million" orders and the newspapers are "booming" it
for me in great shape. I know that a few orders have gone to England but not many.
Mr, Henry E. Dudeney of Five Oaks, who I have known for some time as a bright
man and extremely clever fellow kindly assists me in securing foreign copyrights, He
has got up some very clever puzzles and games - but has somehow or other failed to
put them in the catchy shape which takes with the public. He has a wonderful faculty
for solving such matters - and has clever and original ideas, 1 presume you know him
Regarding - what 1 would advise you to do with the one you have - it is impossi-
ble for me to say, but although I never dodge the issue in giving my opinion for or
against the merits of the puzzle - 1 always advise a fellow to go slow. A mint of money
will not make a success of a puzzle the public does not want. A real winner will go of
itself. One gross or one dozen manufactured will give it the start, Show me a real win-
ner and without putting my hand into my pocket for more that 1 £ (British pound) ]
will sell a million of them within three months, I receive letters from all parts of the
country - from inventors of puzzles, etc, who say they lack capital, - or opportunity -
or time. They feel sure they have a good thing - an independent fortune! They have
made up a few thousand - but lack the funds to make up a million - or to advertise It
as it should be, In plain English they have tried it but the public did not bite. The
selling merit of this new one of mine is that I have large ones, cheerfully going by
clockwork in the store windows,
Well I started out to reply to your letter at once so as not to allow it getting over-
looked in my mass of business letters, ] thought I would first discuss the puzzle sub-
ject and then enjoy a little problem talk - but I have been riding my hobby - as if I
had not a brother crank and have wasted my entire paper - what little time I have at
my disposal and with an office full of people waiting - and who mostly believe that ]
am attending to their numerous matters and wants, so ] will close abruptly, hoping
that you will have occasion to write again feeling sure as you well may, that your letter
will be highly appreciated,
Yours Truly,
Sam Loyd"
From June 24, 1896 until at least April IS, 1903, Sam Loyd's used the same letter-
head with claims that he "authored" the "IS Block Puzzle," "Pigs in Clover," and the
game "ParcheesL"
August 15, 1896 - Decatur's Sam Loyd
The Herald Despatch, of Decatur, Illinois, published an article on August IS, 1896
claiming, "Decatur has a rival of Sam Loyd, the inventor of the 14-15-16, Pigs in

DID SAM LOYD INVENT THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE
Clover and other satanic devices which make men help fill msane asylums.., J.H.
Inman, the restaurant keeper, has designed a 'sixteen to one' puzzle and yesterday he
began the work of putting it on the market."
October 24, 1896 - Tit-Bits article on the Fifteen Block Puzzle.
Loyd's article was largely copied from his earlier articles, repeating his claim that
he invented the puzzle while working on a "Hindu magic square" while using 16
blocks. And he added, 'There is no way of accounting for the extra-ordinary rage that
this apparently trivial little puzzle created", before recounting his story about the five
inmates in the insane asylum. In "Notes by 'Sphinx (Henry Dudeney),' "which were
added at the end of Loyd's column, Dudeney comments, "... to propound to the world
a problem that looked plausible, but actually had no solution, was a sin for which 
it is to be hoped Me Loyd is duly penitent," 
February 28, 1897 - Brooklyn Daily Eagle - "The Chinese Matting
Puzzle"
In Loyd's column, he discussed the 15-14 puzzle, included an illustra-
tion, and claims that the solution to the "Chinese Matting Puzzle" is related
to the solution of the 15-14 when there are an even number of transposi-
tions,
March 21, 1897 - Brooklyn Daily Eagle - "The Railroad Paradox"
Loyd apparently creates an imaginary reader, Ruben Hayseed, and publishes
Rubens solution to a railway switching puzzle. Then Loyd states, "Your method was
shown to me and suggested the ideas for the '14-15 puzzle' and 'Pigs in Clover.' "
April 1, 1899 - New York Journal- "The Famous 14-15 Puzzle"
Sam Loyds April Fools Day article on 'The Famous 14-15 Puzzle" added several
new problems to be solved using the Fifteen Puzzle. He repeats his claim that he
invented the Fifteen Puzzle "as an accidental off-shoot of the familiar 'Magic Square' "
And he says, "distinctly and definitely that the puzzle could not be done and never
was done, And no one has ever presented a claim for the thousand dollars offered for
a written solution,"
1 
5 6 7
X 9 10 11
1') 1 ; 14 151
Fig. 4.2b Finish
Loyd Problem 1.
1 .
5 6 7 R I
9 10 11 , I
1"1 14 1,1
l:- ro lFl
 c::7:I --l 00

t-o'
o
t-o'
1:-:'
- p....o 
-  -'
Fig. 4.2c Finish
Loyd Problem 2.
Fig. 4.2d Start for Problem 3,
form a magic square by sliding.
Fig, 4.2a.
Stumped solver sketch In
the New York Journal.
Start position for Loyd
problems 1 and 2. Find
the fewest number of
moves to reach the posi-
tions shown in Fig, 4.2b
and Fig. 4,2c.
Fig. 4.2 Loyd's problems,
83

CHAPTER 4
A $1,000.00
Loyd offers prizes of five dollars for the "solutions in the fewest number of moves"
of each of three puzzles. The first two problems begin with the blocks in numerical
order, except the 14 and IS blocks are transposed and with number I beginning in
the upper left corner (Fig, 4.2a). The first puzzle is to bring the blocks in numerical
sequence with the vacant space In the upper left hand corner (Fig. 4.2b). The second
puzzle is to "bring the numbers in regular sequence from bottom to top and then with
a quarter-turn of the box will bring them in numerical order" (Fig, 4.2c). [although
the numbers will no longer be right side up]. And third, 'The real puzzle, however, as
I originally planned it, was never issued, and it is now presented for the first time" is
to begin with the IS blocks in numerical order (Fig, 4,2d) and "produce a 'magic
square,' which adds up the same in every direction, in the fewest possible moves,"*
(See pages 114, lls).
September 1902 - Woman's Home Companion - "Sam Loyd's Puzzles"
The article in the September 1902 Woman's Home Companion introducing Sam
Loyd's new monthly puzzle column mentIOned that "Mr, Loyd has made a million dol-
Cash Prize Puzzle lars out of his puzzles and no wonder, when you remember that
he sold one hundred million copies of his 'Galloping Donkey,' and
nearly as many sets of 'Pigs in Clover' - those canny little pigs that
would have none of the clover, although some of the cleverest
minds of two continents were playing shepherd for them. And
then that wonderful 'IS Puzzle,' that has never been solved at all,
also sold by the million. Mr. Loyd has now a standing offer of one
thousand dollars for anyone who would bring the solution."
Stumped solver
*The first problem posed
to form a magic square
by sliding the blocks of
the Fifteen Puzzle was
published in Harpers
Weekly, March 27, I BBO
(See page 56),
84
January 1903- Woman's Home Companion - "A $1,000.00 Cash
Prize Puzzle"
In January 1903, Sam Loyd published an article in the
Womans Home Companion headlining "Sam Loyd's Famous 14-15
Puzzle. Can you Do It and Win $1,000,007" The article begins, "It
.10 . tul."'"INf1 f'.',"HAI .""11...,..... f d d f 11
... .... n"K'. '" ..... .."."... is over a quarter 0 a century since Sam Loy 's most won er u it-
tle game, called the 'Fifteen Puzzle,' set two continents half crazy in a futile effort to
solve it." The year that Loyd claims that he Issued his puzzle has now varied from
1872 to 1878, As shown in Chapter 1, based on the newspapers and magazines pub-
lished at the time, the Fifteen Puzzle craze began early in 1880 and ended by June.
Loyd offers four puzzles for readers to solve in this article and all begin with the
blocks in numerical order except that the 14 and IS blocks are transposed. The first
puzzle is to reverse only the 14 and IS blocks to slide all the blocks into numerical
order, with the vacant space in the lower right corner, The reward for solving this
impossible puzzle is $1,000. The next three puzzles are the same as the ones he pro-
posed in his New York Journal article, except he changed the prize to ten dollars each
and the initial position of the blocks in the third puzzle has the 14 and IS blocks
transposed, as in the other three puzzles, He also mentions that in the last puzzle,

November 1904 - Henry Dudeney -
"Great Puzzle Crazes"
Henry Dudeney, Englands Greatest
Puzzlist, featured the Fifteen Puzzle in his
article, "Great Puzzle Crazes" in the
November 1904 London Magazine. He
credited Sam Loyd with its invention, and
included a drawing of a puzzled man
attempting to solve the puzzle with the 14 and 15 blocks transposed and
the remaining 13 blocks in order, Dudeney mentions that the puzzle
"for a short period almost monopolized the attention of Europe and
America. A London shop in Cheapside sold nothing else, and was besieg-
ed from morning till night, while hawkers at every street comer found it
impossible to meet the demand. "
Interestingly, although Loyd claims to have invented Pigs in Clover,
Dudeney does not mention Loyd when he describes that puzzle,
"Another big boom was the 'Pigs in Clover.' This was really a little game
of patience and dexterity, and consisted of a round cardboard box con-
taining four marbles that had to be rolled through the openings in the concentric rings
into the central compartment or sty (pen)."
"the blocks will form a magic square
which will add up to thirty in ten dif-
ferent directions,"
DID SAM LOYD INVENT THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE
-,.
FIFTEN \
,-HE.
111 B1:BRJOBS
A.}tEft1rl\N.
1?1J Z z:t::e.

INSTRUCTIONS.
PI
"DO 1'1
,.
L.'"
--

1
2
13
4
5
8
6
7
9
10'
11
12
13
14
151 16
Fifteen!
The Mysterious
American Puzzle,
England.
June 1907- Sam Loyd's Our Puzzle Magazine
The first issue of his quarterly, Our Puzzle Magazine, written and published by
Loyd, was issued in June 1907 and included a biographical essay by and about Sam
Loyd on the inside front cover.
"According to the 'Scientific American', he has mechanical skill in several branches,
and has obtained patents for many inventions. He is more widely known, however, as
the author of famous puzzles and games, like the 'Fifteen Block Puzzle,' 'Parcheesi,'
'Pigs in Clover,' 'Get Off the Earth,' and numerous others, Of these, the most success-
ful from a financial standpoint, was The Pony Puzzle,' of which more than one thou-
sand million were disposed of for advertising purposes,"
December 1907 - George Bain - "An Interview with Sam Loyd"
The most comprehensive interview of Sam Loyd titled, "The Prince of Puzzle-
Makers", was written by George Bain and published in the December 1907 issue of
Strand Magazine, the popular illustrated British monthly Bain began his lengthy article,
"It was like renewing my youth to meet him - to hear him ask me if I remembered the
'Fourteen-Fifteen' puzzle or the 'trick donkeys' or 'Get Off the Earth.' "
Loyd not only told his story of how he came to invent the game Parcheesi, but also
85

CHAPTER 4
f'
'
'-..,
Sam Loyd.
From a Photo by H. E
Raess.
Loyd's illustration of
the 14-15 puzzle was
included in "Our
Puzzle Magazine" in
1908 and Loyd's
"Cyclopedia" in 1914.
86
14
15
added that he did not ask for any payment for his "invention" but was paid ten dol-
lars. Bain also mentioned that
"Mr, Loyd, by the way, was the inventor not only of the game, but of the story which
went with it, to the effect that it had been found among the natives of East India by a
missionary"
Loyds story about the Fifteen Puzzle patent is included for the first time in this article
"Mr, Loyd has patented and copyrighted many of his inventions, bUl he failed to gel a
patent on the 'Fourteen-Fifteen' puzzle, 'Of course it couldn't be done', said Mr. Loyd,
'and that's why I didn't gel my patent.' "
Bain did include another of Loyds false claims. '''Pigs in Clover' was another of Mr.
Loyd's most famous puzzles. It has been imitated, but none of the imitations has
equaled the original in popularity."
July 1908 - Our Puzzle Magazine - "The 14-15 Puzzle in Puzzle land "
In the July 1908 Issue of Our Puzzle Magazine, Loyd included his illustrated story
of the 14 - 15 puzzle. The same illustration and text were later included in Loyd's
Cyclopedia of Puzzles which has been widely quoted and copied. (See page 89) He
claims that he "drove the entire world crazy over a little box of movable blocks which
became known as the 14-15 Puzzle,"
He mentions the $1,000. prize for the first correct solution and says it has never been
claimed (see Chapter 7, page llO), And he offers the same four problems that he
offered in the New York Journal in 1899 and the January 1903 Womans Home
Companion, (See pages 83, 84) excepl he does not offer any prizes for the solutIOns.
The Chicago Tribune also published the same illustration and description of the 14-15
puzzle on May 10, 1914.

DID SAM LOYD INVENT THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE
July 12, 1908 - "Nebraska Chess" Column
In the July 12, 1908 issue of the Nebraska State Journal, a letter from Mr, CC Lee
of the Boston Chess club, states,
"The 13-14-15 puzzle can be done. I had one of them about twenty-five years ago,
and knew the combination by heart at that time, but have forgotten it after so many
years. "
The column quotes Sam Loyd's comment in the Strand Magazine, "Of course it
couldn't be done, and that is why I didn't get my patent."
April 19II - The Delineator - "My Fifty Years in Puzzleland"
Walter Eaton's article based on his interview with Sam Loyd was published in the
April I9II issue of The Delineator. Eaten reports that Loyd claimed he was playing
chess matches at age ten with the "crack chess men of the country, and sometimes
beating 'em, too," According to Alain White, Loyd began playing chess at age fourteen
and by sixteen he became the greatest of American composers of chess problems,
After discussing Loyd's Donkey Puzzle, Eaton inquired, "Didn't you do 'Pigs in Clover'
too?"
"Yes," said Mr. Loyd sadly, "I did. But I couldn't patent it, and before my lots at
twenty-five cents a puzzle were sold, the market was flooded with cheaper ones. You
see, they told me at the patent office that you had to file a working model, and they
declared mine wouldn't work."
"Then there was the 'Fifteen Block' puzzle, " he presently added, "I dare say you've
worked over that?" I assented reluctantly
April 12, 19II - New York Times - "Sam Loyd, Puzzle Man, Dies."
"Mr. Loyds most profitable idea was the 'Donkey' puzzle, of which 1,000,000,000
were sold, but others, not less clever though hardly so financially profitable, were the
'Fifteen Block' puzzle, 'Pigs in Clover,' 'Parcheesi' and 'Get Off the Earth.' "
April 12, 1911 - Chicago Tribune - "'Puzzle King' Sam Loyd Dies."
"Sam Loyd had made a fortune out of his puzzles and died worth $1,000,000. The
two most famous puzzles invented by Sam Loyd were, 'Pigs in Clover,' and the
'Fifteen.' Many persons got the 'pigs' into the right place at the expense of their nerv-
ous systems, but nobody ever solved the 'Fifteen' puzzle."
[Almost everything stated in this obituary is wrong. Loyds estate was very modest.]
April 12, 19II - Mansfield News - "Noted Puzzler Dies."
"Some of Loyd's best-known and most widely sold puzzles are 'fifteen block,' 'Get
Off the Earth' and the 'donkey.' "
April 14, 19II - Mansfield News - Sam Loyd
"Sam Loyd, who invented the famous 'Fifteen Puzzle' and 'Pigs in Clover' and
other distracting devices, died on Tuesday"
""'
I ;.
.
L-..II..
 ......
\.... ,
'""
. 1 \. "'
"'I\f  ' '\ >,',
\:...: '....
Sketch of Sam Loyd,
87

CHAPTER 4
Sketch of Sam Loyd.
*On November 29, 1903,
less than two months
after the puzzle was first
published, the Charleroi
Mail (Penn,) wrote,
"some people have
attributed the original
'Ann' problem to Sam
Loyd, but there is no evi-
dence to support the
claim:'
88
April 20, 1911 - Oshkosh Daily Northwestern
"Sam Loyd, the inventor of puzzles, whose ingenious problems have puzzled the
brains of millions of people, and built for him a fortune of more than $1,000,000,
and who died last week at his home in Brooklyn from a stroke of apoplexy, was sev-
enty years old."
April 22, 1911 - Scientific American - Samuel Loyd
'To him we owe such puzzles as 'Pigs in Clover,' 'Fifteen Puzzle,' 'Donkey' and 'Get
Off the Earth,' nearly all of which were sold in enormous quantities. Mr, Loyd was for
some years chess editor of Scientific Amencan "
April 17, 1911 - Mansfield News - "Sam Loyd, The Puzzle Maker"
'The two most famous puzzles invented by Sam Loyd were 'pigs in clover,' and the
'fifteen' puzzle,"
May 1911 - The American Magazine - "Sam Loyd" by WP. Eaton
"Another of Loyd's 'best sellers' was the 'Fifteen Block Puzzle.' A still more famous
one was 'Pigs in Clover.' "
June 7, 1911 - Gettysburg Compiler - "The Puzzle King is Dead"
"Sam Loyd, Jr. has been chosen puzzle editor of the Womans Home Companion in
place of his father, Sam Loyd the elder. Among his most famous puzzles are the
'Fifteen Puzzle,' 'Pigs in Clover,' 'How Old is Ann?'* and the 'Disappearing Chinaman,'
of which it is said that more than one billion copies were sold."
June 10, 1911 - Syracuse Herald - "Famous Inventor of Puzzles"
This is a summary of the article mentioned above by Eaton in the May 1911
American Magazine,
June 23, 1911 - The Stevens Point Journal (Wise) - The "Pigs in Clover" Man
"One of his first inventions to bnng hIm fame was the 'Fifteen Puzzle.' Later came the
The Tigers and the Men,' 'Pigs in Clover,' 'Parcheesi' and The Disappearing
Chinaman.' "
1911 - Wilhelm Ahrens - Mathematische Spiele
Mathematische Spiele, by Wilhelm Ahrens, was published in 1911, and included a
section about the Fifteen Puzzle, Ahrens credits a deaf mute for the invention, in
1878, of the Fifteen Puzzle, His comments about the invention of the puzzle were
based on Hermann Schubert's earlier book.
1913 - Alain C. White - Sam Loyd and His Chess Problems
White explained in his page on "Sam Loyd's Puzzles" - that "The best account of
The Prince of Puzzle Makers' is that of G.C Bain in the Strand for January 1908." He

DID SAM LOYD INVENT THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE
then quotes from Bain's article: "Mr, Loyd patented and copyrighted many of his
inventions, but he failed to get a patent on his 14-15 puzzle."
1914 - Sam Loyd]r. - Sam Loyd's Cyclopedia of Puzzles
Although Sam Loyd wrote hundreds, if not thousands, of columns and articles
with his puzzles, these were scattered in many publications and are hard to find. And
Loyd's puzzle cards were distributed in very large numbers, but only individually, fre-
quently for advertising and for a short time, Even Loyds most famous puzzle, "Get
Off the Earth" was distributed with newspapers and with advertising. P.T Barnum and
others used Loyd's Donkey Puzzle for advertising.
Fortunately Sam Loyd compiled a huge number of his puzzles and published
them in Our Puzzle Magazine, in a series of ten quarterly issues
from July 1907 to January 1910, Apparently the
magazines did not sell well since copies are very
rare and few copies survived. Another problem in
their survival was the poor quality of paper used
by Loyd,
However after Loyd died in 1911. his eldest son
[Walther] began to use the name Sam Loyd. He
compiled the pages from all ten issues of Our Puzzle
Magazine, edited them, and in 1914 had them pub-
lished as a book, Sam Loyd's Cyclopedia. This brought
together thousands of Loyds puzzles, and made them
available in one mammoth volume, The Cyclopedia
was very widely distributed and read and had an enor-
mous influence in perpetuating and strengthening Sam
Loyd's reputation as Amenca's Greatest Puzzle designer.
The "14-15 Puzzle in Puzzleland" was included in the Cyclopedia, and convinced
untold numbers of readers that Loyd invented the Fifteen Puzzle.
s l.OS
(,'{('\'Qft\)Th
50 00
PUZZLES
-rR\C\o{S
NUNDRUMS
CO AtlSEf{S
1/11,-0\ 
October 18, 1925 - Sam Loyd,]r. - "The Best Puzzle 1 ever Made"
Sam Loyd, Jr. used the Fifteen Puzzle, with a twist, in his column in the "Aunl
Elsie Magazine" in the Oakland Tribune on October 18, 1925. He substituted fif-
teen letters for the numbers, with the last two, "0 " and "N" transposed, The puz-
zle was to slide the blocks into alphabetical order, The puzzle could be solved by
having the upper-left corner vacant. This took advantage of the unintended solu-
tion of his Father's] 4-15 puzzle when he first proposed it in 1896.
May 1926 - Sam Loyd,]t: - "Can You Solve the Worlds Greatest Puzzles?"
Sam Loyd, Jr. includes the" 14 - 15" and the "Pigs in Clover" puzzles in his
Popular Science article on 'The World's Greatest Puzzles" in May 1926, He does
not repeat his father's claim that he invented either puzzle, He does claim the inven-
tion of his Fathers "Get Off the Earth Puzzle," which was patented by his Father on

'"
Famous photo by Falh of
Sam Loyd.
'f::'\"i: 1415'PU1.:i!: . ..U,;":' Nl"
<:  _. \',  INPUZ",,' ' . 
. ... "jI:"  Y' ,,,, c.--
',-. '  . .,.-, ,.
_ , _.....-r.
.., I.  ,., ..,.,
 t " ,,.('
_ u'). , r/) fc.
:- ,y - .
_.......... _......._--'- 1'\rJ. f'II::I,
.';:_.E 1:"':'" = 1" - :r
__u___. ;i
'!f  _ 
   A. .  . -J?:'":11i
. p. 'i' "''' f I-iJ
.dr_ I 'r
:1'/L..."£ )-}
Loyds Cyclopedia.
t II L. I.t' I 1'1' J:.ot\ prJ\ur. -')o!rm
iA',', B I ;C 111D
I I 'F '6 H[
, (
.. I IJ;   IlL:
1\\1'01 iN
-"0.... -- ---.... --- -,
Alpabetic version of the
Fifteen Puzzle by LovdJr.
89

Henry Dudeney, in the December 1926 issue of The Nineteenth
Century magazine, asserted that,
"the great puzzle crazes only became possible under quite modern
conditions, because of the lack of 'easy locomotion, the Post Office,
and cheap journalism with wide circulation.' The first notable case was
that of Loyd's 'fifteen' puzzle, that in 1873 was sold by the million and for a short time
almost monopolized the attention of Europe and America,
1928 - Sam LoydJr. - Sam Loyd and His Puzzles - An Autobiographical Review
Loyd's book begins with several pages devoted to the Fifteen Puzzle; "It was in the
early SO's, when I had barely attained my 'teens, that the world-disturbing "14-15
Puzzle" flashed across the horizon, and the Loyds were among its earliest victims," In
this book, Loyd does not claim that he or his father invented the Fifteen Puzzle, and
he has the correct date of the craze, 1880.
CHAPTER 4
5, 6 "8
9 10 t 1
13 (II 15
12
-
Mosaic Box Cover 15
puzzle, England.
t
\
'-

July 14, 1896; "In the sequence of world-famous puzzles, my 'Missing
Chinaman' puzzle, which made its appearance in 1896, next caught the
popular fancy"
November 13,1926 - Sam Loyd,Jr. - "How Old is Ann?"
Later, in 1926, Loyd Jr. implies, but does not say, that he invented
the 14-15 puzzle in the November Liberty Magazine, when he men-
tions that he has "invented more than 10,000 distinct and separate
puzzles." He begins the next paragraph, "There was the famous 14-15
Puzzle. It was a craze in the 'SO's,"
December 1926 - Henry Dudeney - "The Psychology of Puzzle
Crazes"
January 1930 - Science and Invention - "Sam Loyd, the Puzzle King"
This brief article in the January 1930 issue of Science and Invention, credited Loyd
for the Fifteen Puzzle:
"Mr. Loyd may create another furor with even more disastrous results than his
famous 14-15 puzzle 'way back in the '80's.' "
I
Sam Loyd Jr. Photo by
Harry S. Drucker.
September 1931 - Sam LoydJr. - "Are You Good at Solving Puzzles?"
In this article in the American Magazine, Loyd does not credit his Father for invent-
ing the Fifteen Puzzles but has the date right.
"I spent most of my youth in Brooklyn, New York, where I went through the pub-
lic schools, It was not until I was in my teens, in the early eighties, that [ became a
truly chronic victim of my puzzle fever. I contracted that fever of a sudden through
contact with a famous box of numbered blocks known as the"14-15 Puzzle."
90

DID SAM LOYD INVENT THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE
1931 - Henry Dudeney - Puzzles and Curious Problems
Henry Dudeney mentioned "Loyd's famous 14-15 puzzle", when he presented the
"Magic Fifteen Puzzle" in his book, Puzzles and Cunous Problems The problem begins
with the fifteen blocks in numerical order except the 14 and 15 blocks are transposed,
Then slide the blocks around to "form a perfect magic square, in which the columns,
rows and diagonals all add up to thirty"
February 24, 1934 - New York Herald - "Sam Loyd Dies; Tantalized U.S. By His
Puzzles"
Sam LoydJr. died on February 24, 1934, and in an article about him in the New
York Herald, his father is credited with the invention of the 'The Fifteen Puzzle," and
"Pigs in Clover."
September 13, 1941 - E. C. Sherburne - "He'd Have Been a Whiz in a Quiz"
For his article in the September 13, 1941 Christian Science Monitor, Sherburne con-
sulted Scribner's Dictionary oj American Biography and found that Sam Loyd was listed,
"together with an account of some of his accomplishments," He then credits Loyd
with the invention of the 14-15 Puzzle and the Pigs-in-Clover Puzzle, and repeats
Loyds stories about not being able to get patents on either one,
March 5, 1943 - Hammond Times (Indiana) - "What puzzle swept the U.S. and
Europe 60 Years Ago?"
The answer, according to the Hammond Times of March 5, 1943, 'The 15 Puzzle of
Sam Loyd, which first appeared in 1878,"
1943 - Dictionary of American Biography - Samuel Loyd
The author of the write-up on Loyd includes a long list of references, all of which
were influenced by Loyd's claims, as shown by their summary:
"Later he developed 'Pigs in Clover' and the '14-15 puzzle', both widely popular m
Europe and America. The game 'Parcheesi' was also his invention."
August 1957 - Martin Gardner - Scientific American - "The Life and Work of Sam
Loyd"
In his August 1957 column, "Mathematical Games", Gardner includes an excellent
biography of Sam Loyd, and then states: "From the mathematical standpoint, Loyd's
most interesting creation is the famous" 14-15" or "Boss" puzzle, In the 1870s the 14-
15 puzzle had a tremendous vogue both here and abroad and numerous learned arti-
cles ahout it appeared in mathematical journals." Gardner's list of references includes
George Bain's article, "The Pnnce of Puzzle Makers", in Strand Magazine and Alain C.
White's Sam Loyd and His Chess Problems, both of which repeated Loyds false claim
that he invented the world's most famous puzzles, the "Fifteen Puzzle" and "Pigs in
Clover." Gardner repeated Loyds claim in two books he edited of Mathematical Puzzles
oj Sam Loyd, as well as Mathematical Puzzles and Diversions, Martin Gardner's Sixth Book
Humorous
The man who
invented the fif-
teen puzzle is
now making pat-
terns for the lat-
est styles of oil-
cloth. The rumor
that he had been
I struck by lightning
last summer was a
canard, published
by his friends to
throw hired assas-
sins off the track.
THE SATURDAY
EVENING POST.
91

CHAPTER 4
92
God Bless!
Here is a man to be envied. He writes as follows: "For years past my home has been a
curse through the unbridled tongue of my mother-in-law. But now all is changed, and
through the mystic influence of "fifteen." One evening last week I purchased a box of
the blocks and took them home. My mother-in-law grabbed them up and ever since has
not spoken a word to anyone, and my home has been a paradise. As I write I can hear J
the clicking of the cubes in the little box under manipulation of my mother-in-law. God
bless the inventor of "Fifteen:'
NEW YORK WORLD
oj Mathematical Games from Scientific American and an article he wrote for Houdini's
Magic Magazine, titled, "Sam Loyd."
1971 - Gwen White - Antique Toys and their Background
Gwen White, in her 1971 book, Antique Toys and their Background, mentions that,
"The French game of Taquin was played in 1880, in which 15 pieces had to be moved
into 16 compartments in as few moves as possible; the word taquin means 'a teaser' "
1978 - Pieter van Delft & Botermans - Creative Puzzles of the World
Creative Puzzles oj the World, by Pieter van Delft and Jack Botermans, published in
1978, one of the few books devoted primarily to mechanical puzzles, repeats Sam
Loyd's story; "In thel870s America's greatest puzzle expert, Sam Loyd, 'drove the
entire world crazy' (as he himself put it) with his newly invented 14-15 puzzle,"
January 1984 - Dr. Crypton - "The Boy Genius Who Fooled Millions"
The title of this article by Dr, Crypton (Paul Hoffman) in Science Digest is ironic,
since Hoffman repeats Loyds false claims and therefore was also fooled by Loyd:
"Loyd patented and copyrighted many of his creations, although he was unable to
take out a patent on one of his most famous, the' 14-15 Puzzle' or 'Boss Puzzle,
which drove people mad in the 1870s."
1986 - Jerry Slocum - Puzzles Old & New
In Puzzles Old and New, by Jerry Slocum and Jack Botermans, published in 1986,
Slocum repeated the story in Loyd's Cyclopedia that Loyd "drove the entire world
crazy" with his newly invented "14-15" puzzle, But later Slocum explained that Loyd
had not invented the Fifteen Puzzle, "What Loyd had done was to apply a remarkable
twist to the 'Puzzle of Fifteen' which at that time was being manufactured and sold by
the Embossing Company of New York" This statement was based on the "Puzzle of
Fifteen" made by the Embossing Company in his collection. On the cover of the puz-
zle the patent date of October 24, 1865 was printed. Slocum also had a later version
of the "15 Puzzle" made by the Embossing Company that contained an instruction
sheet that stated, "Back in 1870, when grandfather shopped in a frock coat, he bought
his first 15 puzzle. It was made by the Embossing Company." During the research for
this book, it was discovered that a patent number 50,608 with the date printed on the

DID SAM LOYD INVENT THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE
r
o-"$   'I J : 1
 ; J :J- ,1
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-

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1
I
Embossing Co. 1865
patent version of the
Fifteen Puzzle.
Albany, New Yorh. The
patent is for the embos-
sing of the blochs, not for
the puzzle design.
I
J J
15'
.
'I
box cover, L865, was awarded to Henry May for the process of embossing wood, not
for the design of the puzzle. The "Puzzle of Fifteen" made by the Embossing Company
was probably made in response to the puzzle craze during 1880.
1986 - Edward Hordem - Sliding Piece Puzzles
Edward Hordern's book, Sliding Piece Puzzles, published in 1986, is the definitive
book on the subject and includes a comprehensive history of the Fifteen Puzzle,
Hordern's major conclusion that Loyd did not invent the Fifteen Puzzle is correct.
However, Hordern assumed that Sam Loyd proposed the 14-15 problem during the
puzzle craze in 1880 or 1881.
Our research has found that Sam Loyd first mentioned the Fifteen puzzle in
January 1891, more than ten years after the Fifteen puzzle craze had ended (see page
68), When the puzzle craze began, early in 1880, the first note about the Fifteen
Puzzle mentioned the problem of reversing the "15-14-13" blocks, (See also the illus-
tration on the front page of the March 3, 1880 New York Daily Graphic, shown on
page 43.) Loyd's 14-15 challenge in 1896 was not a new or sepa-
rate puzzle; it was the key part of the Fifteen Puzzle from the
beginning and was the reason that it became a craze,
1996 - Pickard, Sid - The Puzzle King
This recent book with 710 of Loyd's chess problems also
gives him credit for "inventing Parcheesi and the maddening '14-
15 Puzzle,' with its numbered tiles to shuffle around and around
the single empty space."
2005 - Encyclopedia Britannica, Online School Edition
The Encyclopedia Britannica credits Sam Loyd with the inven-
tion of the "Fifteen Puzzle", the "Pigs-in-Clover" puzzle, and the
game "Parcheesi".
Gives It Up.
Little blocks shall all remind us
What block heads are yours and mine
When we depart and leave behind us
Still unsolved the final line.
The problem that perhaps another
Donkey will with might and main
Sweat and toil and swear and bother,
Try to bring out right again.
Let us then be up and doing.
Wrestle now no more with fate.
Cease the phantom-gem pursuing,
Threw the durned thing in the grate.
93

CHAPTER 4
A Slam at Life.
(As it is in the year /880.)
Tell me not in fifteen numbers
Life is but an empty dream,
For the bothered brain ne'er slumbers
Easy though the puzzle seem.
Life is real and life is ernest,
Fourteen-fifteen is its goal;
When thou to the "Gem" returnest
Fifteen-fourteen mocks the soul.
Some enjoyment, lots of sorrow.
Are our desined end and way,
Puzzling still. that each to-morrow
Find us puzzling like to-day.
Art is long and time is fleeting,
And our hearts, through stout and brave,
Still, like muffled d-ms are beating
Fifteen-fourteen to the grave.
In the little box of battle,
In the fifteen blocks of life.
Be not like unpuzzling cattle.
Be a hero in the strife.
Trust no "turning," howe'er pleasant;
Let the puzzle bury its dead;
Shove-shove in the living present,
Through it be with aching head.
Lives of"Gem"-kilied men remind us.
We may make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Fellows shoving all the time.
Fellows telling one another,
How they puzzled night and nain;
Did it first time, bothered brother,
But could ne'er do it again.
Let us, then, the "Gem" be doing,
Daring e'en the maniac's fate,
Still the impossible pursuing--
Business, pleasure, all must wait.
94
Sam Loyd Fooled the World!
Sam Loyd's name was not mentioned as the inventor of the
Fifteen Puzzle, or in any way associated with the puzzle, in any
newspaper or magazine articles during the Fifteen Puzzle craze
in 1880,
It was not until ten years after the Fifteen Puzzle craze
ended, in January 1891 that Sam Loyd first claimed that he had
invented the Fifteen Puzzle, It is apparent that with this inter-
view Loyd began a campaign to enhance his reputation by con-
vincing America and the World that he invented the Fifteen
Puzzle, the best -known and most popular puzzle that the world
had ever seen. And at the same time, he also decided to take
credit for inventing the "Pigs in Clover" puzzle which in 1889
was another huge puzzle craze in America and Europe, as well
as the popular game. "Parcheesi,"
For the next twenty years until his death in 1911, Loyd
included his claim of inventing the Fifteen Puzzle in many of his
own columns and printed puzzles as well as all the interviews
he gave to other newspaper and magazine writers.
As a result of the publicity of his claims of inventions in his
articles, interviews and books, all the obituaries we found of
Sam Loyd mentioned that he invented the Fifteen Puzzle, as
well as the Pigs in Clover Puzzle. We did not find any article
that questioned his claims.
So Loyd was very successful m convincing the world that he
mvented the Fifteen Puzzle, even though he had nothing to do
with its invention, development, or incredible success.
It is interesting to note that his son, who began to use the
name Sam Loyd after his Father's death in 1911, took credit for
some of his Fathers puzzle inventions, but we did not find any
example where Sam Loyd, Jr. repeated his Father's claims of
inventing the Fifteen Puzzle, the Pigs in Clover Puzzle, or the
game Parcheesi. And although Loyd senior had said that he
invented the Fifteen Puzzle at various dates from 1872 to 1878
in various articles, Loyd Jr. mentioned the actual date "early
1880s" in several of his articles, including "Are You Good at
Solving Puzzles?" in the American Magazine.
Since Sam Loyd did not invent the Fifteen Puzzle, we will
next describe our investigation into the most plausible inventors
credited in the newspapers during the craze of 1880, a deaf
mute in Hartford and a New York postmaster.

DID A DEAF MUTE IN HARTFORD INVENT THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE?
CHAPTER 5
 g  d' 3'UffMffom
.,..,. _ - - ...... " ...... ... .,....."-c...
.. .ow:- -.-
...,-

-.-
VOLUME VIII.
MEXICO.N.Y.. THUBSDAY, FEBR1!ARY 27. 1879.
-
Newspaper Stories.
February 27, 1880, The New York Sun
"Invented by a deaf mute who did not know its commercial value
- ravagmg Boston and invading the Metropolis.
"A deaf mute in Hartford, Conn. is said to have invented the notorious game of fif-
teen. Among all those engaged in the manufacture and sale of the puzzle, this story of
its origin is current. The deaf mute's name is apparently unknown to anyone here. D.E
Maguire, the Boston newspaper man, who introduced the game m this city, knows
most about it and he credits the story
Two ladies that know the inventor were astounded at the sensation the toy created in
Boston. They told Mr, Maguire that the deaf mute cut out a few sets of the wooden
blocks and distributed them among his friends as gifts. A Mr, Rice, a wood turner, in
Wareham Street, Boston, himself an invalid, began the manufacture of the numbered
wooden lozenges on a large scale, To the minds of the Bostonians there was something
more than a mere puzzle in the game: it was a mathematical study, and its solution a
science."
The credibility of this story is enhanced by:
February 27, 1880, the Hartford Daily Times
"It is a curious puzzle, the invention of a deaf mute at the Amencan Asylum
(American School for the DeaO in this city ..
The first manufacturer of the puzzle, Matthias]. Rice, said in an interview about the
sample Fifteen Puzzle that he received.
March 1, 1880, the Boston Herald
'The Fifteen Puzzle was then being made in a crude form by deaf mutes at
Hartford, and which were being sold at 75 cents apiece,"
1917 - HE Licks - Recreations in Mathematics
In his 1917 book, Recreations in Mathematics, H.E, Licks' began the section on
"The Fifteen Puzzle", with,
"About the year 1880 everyone in Europe and America was engaged in the solution
of this interesting puzzle." He also added, "It has been stated that this interesting puz-
--:._.:.==--=",.. .. :.-
NUMBER 9.
The Deaf-Mute's
Journal published the
article that claimed the
Fifteen Puzzle was
invented by a Deaf
Mute from Hartford,
Connecticut.
*Licks was a pseudonym
for Prof. Mansfield
Merriman of Lehigh
University,
95

CHAPTER 5
. ..1E£./!o"'.-l".'!l!','" .....,
 )-1
.. CALCULATvR 
1+1 J
 PUZZLES. Ii
(1
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T\\ "II I.,
i >1
t:, It Rq 
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'--
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....
Calculator Puz::::les. Two
games in one.
96
zle was invented in 1878 by a deaf and dumb man as a solitaire game."
Famous mathematicians wrote that a deaf mute invented the Fifteen Puzzle. (See
pages 68,69, 71)
The New York Sun article was also published by many other newspapers across the
United States during the craze, but they did not provide any further information
about the origin and history of the puzzle and the name of the deaf mute that was
said to invent the puzzle was never revealed.
,
American School for the Deaf.
Our investigation of this story began with the Archivist of the American
School for the Deaf in Hartford, Gary Walt, Founded in 1817, The American
') School for the Deaf is the oldest existing school for the deaf in America. Gary
searched the school records and annual reports, as well as their Museum, but
could find no evidence of the puzzle or of any information about the puzzle
being invented or even being made at the schooL The Annual Reports of the
School did not mention the puzzle and no clippings or detailed records of H3t30
have survived. Gary recommended that Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. has
the best Library of Deaf publications from the period.
Gallaudet University.
Thomas Harrington, Reference Librarian at Gallaudet University was very helpful
at providing information about the Deaf institutions that existed in 1880 and their
publications. He also provided a list of current organizations associated with the deaf
that might have information about events in 1880. However, none of these organiza-
tions were able to provide any information about the puzzle, or its invention,
Most of the 1880 deaf publications were stored on microfilm at the Gallaudet
Library, but some in printed form were kept in the archives, During a visit to the
library, we searched the pnnted copies in the archives and all twelve deaf publications
on microfilm. Twenty-two articles and notes about the Fifteen puzzle during the craze
were found. The article from the New York Sun and the story that a deaf mute was
reported to have invented the puzzle was repeated in many of the articles and notes.
Tom Harrington suggested starting with the Deaf-Mutes Journal, which had a
national readership during this period, In the March 4, 1880 issue, The Deaf-Mutes
Journal republished the New York Sun article, The next issue, which it was hoped
would have letters from readers naming the inventor and or maker, was missing from
the microfilm and it was also missing from the original paper copy in the Library's
Archives, Fortunately, late in the day, the Archivist found a second copy of the original
publication with the missing issue, An article described how the "The mania for the
Fifteen puzzle has burst out here in full force." However there was no clue, comment
or letter in any of the articles in the deaf publications about who may have invented
or made the puzzle.

DID A DEAF MUTE IN HARTFORD INVENT THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE?
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Tom Harrington also suggested contacting Harry Lang, author of several books
about contributions by the deaf, including Deaf Persons in the Arts and Sciences. Lang
conducted a search of his sources of information on inventions by the deaf. He found
and checked out William Shaw, a deaf inventor from Boston who worked with
Thomas Edison, and was encouraged by Alexander Graham Bell, but he was too
young in lR80 and never mentioned the puzzle,
The conclusion of the research was that no evidence was found to
support the story that a deaf person invented the Fifteen puzzle.
If a Fifteen puzzle was obtained from a deaf mute and the deaf
mute could not communicate the name of the deaf inventor, it
seems unlikely that he would communicate that a deaf person
was the inventor. It seems more likely that the person receiv-
mg the puzzle had never seen the puzzle before and assumed
that it was invented by a deaf person.
But this is not the end of the story of the deaf contribution
to the Fifteen Puzzle Craze! We will return to the role of
the deaf students later.
.2
AS.S. scholar was requested to learn
"Matthew Xv. 13 and 14:' when he
astounded the teacher by jumping up
with the exclamation: "Can't be done:
'taint in the blocks!"
SYRACUSE SUNDAY rIMES
(
I I
I J
The Mutes Chronicle;
A weekly publication by
the Ohio Deaf and
Dumb Institution pub-
lished four articles
about the Fifteen
Puzzle.
.
......
Souvenir d'Egypt. 15
square blocks in wooden
hinged cover box.
France.
97

CHAPTER 6

Noyes Palmer
Chapman in 1888.
*Noyes Chapman is not
related to Henry Chap-
man, Author of a booklet
about the Fifteen Puzzle,
titled, The Mystic Square,
described on page 12.
98
DID N.P. CHAPMAN, A NEW YORK POSTMASTER, INVENT THE
FIFTEEN PUZZLE?
Newspaper stories
The first mention of the specific name of an inventor of the Fifteen Puzzle, was in
a New York newspaper.
February 20, 1880, The Ontario County Journal, (Canandaigua, New York.)
"Probably N. P Chapman, postmaster of Canastota, NY, will, during the coming
few weeks, be the most heartily cursed man in the country. He invented the 'Game of
15.'"
Apparently, no other newspapers picked up this announcement until The Utica
Morning Herald, on February 24th, in a more comprehensive article, also claimed that
Noyes Palmer Chapman invented the Fifteen Puzzle.'
February 26, 1880, The Rochester Democrat
"Mr. Chapman, of Canastota, is the father of the game of 15, and he ought to be
ashamed of himself."
February 29, 1880, The Ontario County Journal
The Father of "Fifteen."
''It is said that the game of 'fifteen' was invented by N.P Chapman, postmaster of
Canastota, NY Our readers, especially those who are wrecked on 'impossible combi-
nations,' Will remember that this is the same individual whose office was robbed of a
pipe, pair of boots, and other valuables not long since. The first one of the games
invented found its way into the hands of a Syracuse lady, who gave it to an invalid
lady at Watch Hill, Rl. This lady took it home to Hartford, Conn., where it attracted
considerable attention. A Boston firm soon began manufacturing it. It was not long
before two firms were engaged in the manufacture of the blocks. Firm NO.1 tried to
block the game of Firm No.2, but could not, because the invention was not patented.
The puzzle is being manufactured at the rate of 2,000 a day The number of possible
combinations is said to be 1,307,674,368,000, but there are hundreds of people who
firmly believe that there are ten times as many ways in which it can't be done."
Utica Morning Herald.
Februaty 29, 1880, the Syracuse Sunday Courier
More details were added to the story.
"A reporter of the Sunday Courier, who has been spending a little leisure time in
looking up the respective claimants, is inclined to think the (invention) claim of Mr
Chapman, of Canastota, is the best established of all. He first exhibited the box and
cubes to a few friends at his bucolic home six years ago (1874), the idea being sug-
gested by an old (Magic Square) problem, which had he en going the rounds in the
almanacs for many years.

DID A NEW YORK POSTMASTER INVENT THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE?
The old puzzle required no box, no blocks, no
restrictions. The novice was merely asked to place
the sixteen numbers in such a manner that the
result indicated could be reached. Mr. Chapman hit
upon the cubes and box, as more convenient. He
found that by removing one block, the remainder
could be moved about at wilL His experiments con-
vinced him that no little ingenuity was required to
get the blocks in rotation, having distributed them
at random, without jumping, as in checkers. He too
discovered the fact - let it be disputed, ever so
much - that there were combinations which were
impossible to overcome. Many persons to whom
Mr. Chapman showed the toy, were carried away
with it. By chance it fell into the hands of the wife
of the ex-mayor of Syracuse, by whom it was taken
two or three summers ago to Watch HilL There the
little puzzle attracted a great deal of attention. It
found devotees in the giddiest of girls and most
prudent of prudes. The box of blocks was easily duplicated, an advantage which was
improved by numbers of the guests at the hotels on the sea beach. It is surmised that
one of these boxes reached Boston in due time, where some shrewd and enterprising
Yankee appreciating its value, began their manufacture. No one, however, took the
precaution to have it patented, but the sales already must have Yielded each manufac-
turer a handsome profit."
The pristine puzzle consisted of sixteen, not fif-
teen blocks. The trick was to put them together in
rows of four, so that the sum of all will be 34,
whether added horizontally, perpendicularly or
diagonally There are more ways than one of solving
this puzzle. (Example below on the right.)
Syracuse SUlldav Courier
, / ,-  .,-.
. $;. . 71 , j
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...

Top: Chapman's home
in Canastota, NY, still
stands.
Above: Recent photo of
the front parlor of
Chapman's home.
L() 13
{) 10 ]J 
q 6 7 .)
If) 14 1
Altogether more than twenty newspapers printed stories that Noyes P.
Chapman was the inventor of the Fifteen Puzzle.
Did Chapman apply for a patent on his Fifteen Puzzle?
Articles published during February about the Fifteen Puzzle had consistently
said that "no one took the precaution to have the puzzle patented." Matthias Rice,
the first manufacturer of the puzzle, was quoted in the Boston Herald.
Magic Square using all
16 blocks
99

CHAPTER 6
II
fi
o 10 II
If
Nicuw Geduldspcl. New
Patience Game. (Magic
Square Game of 34),
Dutch.
The Very
Simple Block
Puzzle.
Nothing could be
simpler than this
game, unless it be
those who seri-
ously attempt to
work it out.
PHILADELPHIA PRESS.
100
...
March I, 1880, Boston Herald
Mr. Rice said, ".. . the fact that Mr. N.P Chapman, the postmaster, had
applied for a patent on the puzzle."
March 4, 1880, The Washington Post
Quotes from an article in the Boston Herald:
The Inventor of Number" 15."
'The statement in some papers that Mr. N.P Chapman, the inventor of
'the number 15 puzzle,' had no rights in its manufacture, seems unwarrant-
ed. It appears that the puzzle found its way among the public without his consent. He
some time since made application for letters patent for the puzzle and expects they
will soon be issued to him. It is estlmated that he has already lost between $25,000
and $50,000 from the advantage taken by some manufacturers of the puzzle, pending
the decision on his application at Washington."
March 10, 1880, the Canastota Herald
There's Millions in it.
"Mr. Chapman has already been offered a large sum for his invention. He has made
application for a patent, and, as he is without doubt the originator of the game, the
patent will be granted to him."
March 20, 1880, the Canastota Herald
"About a year ago Postmaster Noyes P Chapman of this village invented a puzzle
that is to this day in the hands of thousands and has become a popular craze."
And the Oneida Dispatch, and Rome Sentinel soon published similar notes.
The Search for Chapman's patent
A search of the US Patents did not yield any patent being granted to Mr. N.P
Chapman for the Fifteen Puzzle. Jim Davie, Patent Examiner and unofficial historian
at the US Patent Office, and Ken Dobyns, author of a book titled, PATENT OFFICE PONY,
about the history of the Patent Office, were contacted and both were exceptionally
helpful in determining if any records still exist of patent applications for 1880.
It turns out that abandoned patent applications are destroyed 20 years after aban-
donment. However Ken Dobyns mentioned that:
"there is a very remote possibility that some trace of the patent application can be
found. The patent assignment records may still exist in large bound volumes with
handwritten entries, somewhere in the National ArchIVes III Suitland, Maryland."
Security at the US National Archives has been extremely tight since September 11,
2001 and it is quite an interesting experience to enter and search for documents at the
National Archives. The search was successful, however, and in Volume 71, Tab 71,

DID A NEW YORK POSTMASTER INVENT THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE?
NM93 in the 15 by 17 inch, leather-bound Serial Register, we did find that Noyes Palmer
Chapman applied for a patent ror his "Block Solitaire Puzzle" on February 21, 1880.
Chapman's patent application is listed as the bottom entry in the log shown below.
!liD!.
&mIIIm,
1IIBIDIIJtIB,
IITEiTIOI,
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- --""---- Patent Serial Register
"lan;IJ '"4Td .urlD&YJT. ......... -..... lII!EJ..... T<>IIDIIIIEI!.
t...-... 1100... - booh log from February
d+__ - -
-b7 If /u' II t /  /t'/H"O I' 21, 1880.
'1 /f"
I '" // / // /:1- "l 
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/, /I '1 ,/! "/ka7 1/ /- 1/ 
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/t , / ,
I
, Q , / ,. /.r- .. ,
The Patent Examiner assigned to Chapmans patent
application was Mr. Burke, and Jim Davie of the US Patent
Office found a photograph or the Patent Examiners in
1872 that includes Mr. Burke.
There are no records that explain why Mr. Burke reject-
ed the application of Noyes Chapman. However, examina-
tion of an earlier patent granted to Ernest U. Kinsey for
"Puzzle-Blocks" provides enough information to determine
the likely reason that Noyes Chapman did not receive his
patent.
.. '
,.
Patent Examiner, Mr.
Burhe, who examined
Noyes P. Chapman's
Patent application for
his "Bloch Solitaire
Puzzle".
101

CHAPTER 6
No. 207.124.
E. U. KINSEY.
Punle,Blooke.
Patented Aug. 20, 1818.
. .];':1' l
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Kinsey's patent certainly covers most of the features of
the Fifteen Puzzle, except Kinsey specifies that the pieces are to be held in a frame by
tongues and groves on the blocks and frame. The major difference with Chapman's
puzzle is that the blocks used in his Fifteen Puzzle are not constrained and dumping
them out and randomly putting them back in the box, whICh results in the puzzle
being solvable half of the time and impossible to solve half of the time, is what made
the puzzle so popular that it became a craze.
However, one key factor in determining whether a patent is granted, termed "obvi-
ousness" is whether the difference between the existing patent and the new applica-
tion "would be obvious to one skilled in the art" of designing puzzles.
The decision to leave off the tongue and groove constraints on the pieces
was not a sufficient difference to convince Mr. Burke that he should issue
a new patent to Noyes Chapman for the fifteen puzzle. So this is proba-
bly the reason that Mr. Chapman's patent application was rejected.
The Combination Block Puzzle, based on Kinsey's patent, was manu-
12' factured by Kinsey &: Co., and one copy of the six by six puzzle has been
found (Photo on page 6). On one side are letters and numbers for
spelling practice, and a picture puzzle is on the reverse side. Another
challenge is to remove the 35 pieces without separatmg the frame. In
1934 the Imp puzzle, a metal variant of the Fifteen Puzzle which was
developed and sold in Austria beginning in the Spring of 1932, used the tongue and
groove mechanism that prevented the blocks from being removed from the frame
Ernest Kinsey's Patent
for a Sliding Bloch
Puzzle.
,
own d,e
. fI
'j. '
., t I
4
8
10,
14
,
..
--
Imp Puzzle, popular in
1934. Manuf Party
Bridge Play, ChiLago, 1ll.
102
Kinsey's patent was granted more than one year before
Chapman applied for his patent. Although Kinsey shows a
6 by 6 array of sliding blocks, his patent would also apply
to the 4 by 4 Fifteen Puzzle. The key part of the text of
the patent is quoted below:
"My invention consists in the employment of toy
blocks of the same shape to form a puzzle, and I mount
them in a square or oblong frame, that surrounds them
moderately tight, one space being left instead of a block,
so that the blocks can be slid one at a time and the blocks
moved about from place to place thereby. In this manner
the blocks are retained in the frame, but can be gradually
changed in position.
If blocks of two different colors are made use of, then the
same can be moved about gradually, as aforesaid, to
arrange the blocks in such positions as to produce differ-
ent patterns. If letters or numbers are employed on the
surface of the blocks, then the puzzle will be to move
those blocks so as to arrange them to spell words or to
bring the blocks in certain orders."

DID A NEW YORK POSTMASTER INVENT THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE?
The "Imp" puzzle gained publicity when Admiral BYTd and his
mates took 48 with them on their journey to the South Pole, and it
became quite popular in the United States in 1934.
In 1950, a plastic "15 Puzzle" was made and sold in the U.S.A.
by the E.S. Lowe Company, New York. It had a very smooth tongue
and groove mechanism and also became quite popular.
2 3 4
5 6 7 8
9 10 I I 12
13 f l It:.
How To Play
LOWE'S "15" PUZZLE
The fascinating game with
2,615,348,736,000 VARIATIONS
Slate desk maker Charles C Shepherd, manufactured the version
of the Fifteen Puzzle titled "Kinsey's Block Puzzle" shown below. The
cover of the box included a note, "Patented 1874", even though
Kinseys patent application was not filed until November 22, 1877. It
seems likely that this puzzle was made and sold as a result of the
enormous demand for Fifteen Puzzles during the craze of 1880.
t !
KINSEY'S :BLOCK :'UZZtE. 1
(I.' I)
 II
0 11 ;:; 3 41
Ole
- 0
:E:; --.
 -; 6 7 B'
; r iii 1
o .. Co 
II;:  \J 10 11 12 ;;;t
, - ,
13 14 IE,
III, u.lFAl ,-,"it» DY ,'1
.n PTII '.'t.u, IS. ...
The Joumey of the Fifteen Puzzle from the inventor, Noyes Chapman in
Canastota, NY to the first manufacturer, Matthias Rice, in Boston.
Are the stories in the Ontario County Journal, of Canandaigua, NY, the Utica
Morning Herald, the Syracuse Sunday Courier and other newspapers accurate? We
tracked each step in the journey of the Fifteen Puzzle described in the newspapers to
determine whether the stories are credible and accurate.
Roy Dodge, a researcher and expert on the history of Syracuse, who greatly assist-
ed in our investigation, wrote that based on the information in the Syracuse Courier
article, the Ex-mayor of Syracuse and his wife that received the Fifteen puzzles, must
have been James J. Belden and his wife, Anna. According to Dodge, it was undoubted-
ly given to them by Mr. Belden's close business associate, Frank Chapman, son of the
reported inventor.
From the details of the story, it appears that the Syracuse Courier article on
February 29, 18RO, resulted from an interview with Syracuse resident. Frank B.
(orry i, wtlerenr )'ou go.,10y ilony.
lime - anywhere. PIa)' i1 )'Dune!'
.. ploy it wlib olhe1
Move rhe numben (which slide 'olly
in oil direchand unld )'011 hart Ihe
lomple lolu1ron shown (In IIgM
Then Iry u1her puule ,ugge10n\
illuslrtlled on revent ,ide. SOl\JTlON No. ·
When ploYlng with olbers, n1 num- IHer 10"'011
ben in some wqurmr for all plaf'r\. Stlrr1ldrn 01 punlr for all
10 !.olve. The wmner " ,he pe-non who completes the punl.
in Ihe: "bort'" amounl of lime-
I
5
9
I]
]
1
11 ,
15
Above: Lowe's "15"
Puzzle, popular in 1950.
Left: Kinsey 's Block
Puzzle. Manuf c.c.
Shepherd, New York.
103

CHAPTER 6
"'A .
Frank B. Chapman.
Q
, if
-- .
,
v
James 1- Belden.
Belden Manor.
\-
" "I. 
r;
, ,
.., '
r "
_k..-
.-- 
104
.
'-
Chapman, the son of the Canastota Postmaster, Noyes Palmer Chapman. It seems
likely that Noyes Chapman gave one or more of the puzzles to Frank, who took it
with him to his home in Syracuse about 20 miles away. Frank Chapman was a book-
keeper and was engaged in contracting and the real estate business. He held impor-
tant political positions and three times was elected Supervisor of a section of Syracuse
(Sixth Ward).
At one time he was private secretary of James 1- Belden. When James Belden was
President of the Robert Gere Bank, Frank Chapman was an officer and Bookkeeper of
the bank Frank Chapman and James Belden jointly owned real estate and were both
members of the First Presbyterian Church. Frank Chapman and his wife, Nellie, did
not have any children.
James J. Belden, prominent Syracuse businessman and politician.
Frank Chapman5 business associate, James 1- Belden, married Anna Gere, daughter
of Robert Gere, one of the foremost residents of early Syracuse, and a large manufac-
turer and contractor. Belden built a very successful business and obtained numerous
large contracts including; building four railroad lines, canals and canal locks and
dredging New York Harbor. He also was an officer of three banks in Syracuse.
"In 1877 the people of SYTacuse showed their confidence in him by nominating
him for Mayor without his knowledge or consent. He was elected by an unusual ma-
jority and gained lasting admiration for the vigor and ability with which he discharged
his duty. He was re-elected the following year by a very large increased majority."
In 1887 James Belden was elected to Congress and served ten years. He was a
trustee of Syracuse University, donated the Belden Economics Library to the
University as well as a share of his estate. He also donated his residence and land,
Belden Manor, to the First Presbyterian Church where a new church structure was
erected. The Anna Gere Belden stained glass window of the church, one of the finest
memorials of its kind, was made by Tiffany Studios.

/
Anna Gere Belden, wife ofJamesJ. Belden,
mayor of Syracuse.
Her obituary in the Syracuse Daily Journal
describes Anna Belden as:
j "a gracious social leader of Syracuse. Loyal,
 thoughtful, generous, she was beloved by many
who were fortunate enough to know her as a
friend. A brilliant talker, blessed with a won-
derful memory and a keen sense of humor, she
was ever a most delightful companion and
beloved comrade."
"Mrs. Belden was a most charitable woman
....-
fit!!. -"...
",'" ). .
... .
... ---
$
11 1
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----
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.  
vi)'
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DID A NEW YORK POSTMASTER INVENT THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE?
and gave lavishly of her abundant means, although always unostentatiously Her name
as well as Mr. Belden's always appeared in all good works, but it was her own personal
charities that were her chief pleasure. Many a young man and young woman have
been helped in their struggle for an education and many a friend has partaken her
bounty She never turned a deaf ear to the call for help where it was worthy, and her
hand was ever open to help, always begging for secrecy in her gift.
In Syracuse, her name was always in demand to head the list of patronesses for any
social and charitable affair and her home was the scene of some of the most brilliant
social functions ever held in Syracuse."
'

,I:'
Anna Belden, marble bv
Waldo Story, Rome,
1886.
A friend who knew Mrs. Belden well, says of her,
"Mrs. Belden was a person of rare personal qualities. For more than 50 years of
wedded life she was a veritable 'helpmate,' 'the heart of her husband did safely trust in
her.' She was one who had a true sense of the values of life, a remarkably keen
observer of political and world wide current events, a generous giver of money and
sympathy to those in need. Most modest and unassuming as to her own merits, and
possessing in an unusual degree, personal magnetism with a charm and graciousness
of manner that endeared her to all her friends."
Anna Belden's personality fits the story in the Syracuse Courier that
mentioned that the puzzle fell into the hands of the wife of an ex-mayor
of SYTacuse. The story then mentions that she took the puzzle to Watch
Hill, Rhode Island, during the summer of 1877 or 1878
The Boston Herald adds, "The wife of the ex-mayor gave it to an
invalid lady at Watch Hill. R.I.. who was longing for something with
which to divert herself. The lady lived in Hartford, Conn. When she
returned home the puzzle became the subject of town talk"
4
5 6 78
9 10 fBl12
.13 14 5 16
Watch Hill, Rhode Island, Summer Resort for the Rich and Famous.
The New York Times described summer life at Watch Hill in five arti-
cles from 1868 to 1894.
"As a place of summer resort there is probably not another by the sea-side as
popular as Watch Hill, as is shown by the vast numbers of people who visit it
annually, from nearly every state in the Union."
Located at the boundary between Connecticut and Rhode Island, Watch Hill
is blessed with four miles of sandy beaches divided by Watch Hill point with the light
house standing at the tip. The name Watch Hill came from the strategic importance of
the sand knoll, which in the seventeenth century was used by the Niantic Indians as a
lookout to watch for attacks from the Montaup Indians, and in the eighteenth century
by the colony of Rhode Island to watch for the British.
Puzzle of Magic 16 and
Fifteen. «)1930. Manuf
Embosing Co.. Albany,
New York.
"Invalids grow strong from the lively breezes from the sea, and the pretty girls
105

CHAPTER 6
Ocean House Hotel
Guest Log July 26, 1877
and July 30,1878.
Ocean House Horel
I :I:.J:J U
I I
I
t l "1-' (.
106
become more dangerously bewitching - guests from all over the country indulge in
riding, sailing, or bathing, as they choose.
While humanity in the cities and those who selected summer resorts in the interior
are wrestling with the heat that threatens out and out cremation, those wise mortals
who fled to Watch Hill at the first sizzle have not ceased to rejoice over the good for-
tune that guided their footsteps to this land of cool breezes, healthful air, and pretty
girls. There is something special about the air at Watch Hill that makes a well man
feel like a demigod and transforms an invalid into an athlete in an hour.
Here the pretty girls are the prettiest, mankind, in consequence, the happiest, and
joy is unconfined in all hours. The crabbed bachelor comes here to scoff, and remains
to raise a jubilee because he's alive. The invalid with an hour to hve comes here to die
and changes his mind. He decides promptly that if there are places like this he would
be an ass to die, except of old age, and not then if a renewal of his lease can be
obtained. "
Contact was made with Dwight Brown, Watch Hill historian and Archivist of the
Westerly Historical Society He was a wonderful help and was able to locate and
search an 1877-1878 hotel register of the Ocean House, one of the most popular
hotels at Watch Hill during the 1880s.
46
OCEAN HOUSE. VV'ATCH HILL. ".. I.
);.,  c:.!.£,.
.rL' . J Qd'-_-D;-"":::':r;;){ili
'::"-<4I _i.R---;  Q
.i.I,.,.iw Q'II/,,2 ... . .18?_JhJf'...------r h .n.'__ ...._m.."_<._
uti. . .;;-. . -,; .m . '.. "" ,) 187 f/.4ft6r _:.. __..Q:.().1&_.,.. -.......---- Dr. Or.
. ---- --" 1_ J II
OC:N HOUSE, WATCH Hl.,l, J- l
" -t)._...J.J._2 ,?cL4 -!.?: I. !£. ' f/' -----..,....  ',.Y.I:...(!.:.,!..-..- 
/-, / ..'...n_....... ? "I.'i-O/. 'tik/.
;="';"J..?i411 &on... jji?;;q" ,..... -.... .......a..C((l::.'!:?
.4rr, . ."du""/-...'..(Jd () ef - .(/ '
/' "' t:9 ' . ";" 187.0 BtJfO",...& u" e:';-
C1«(I '-b s: ... . ...... '"
I-I(")l'''' ...,.. . .Z87 JftRa_.....h........._ ,AI
.............-...........-...-....
Dr.
--!t.------. .
i
As shown above in the Ocean House log,
Dwight found that James 1- Belden of
Syracuse, and his family, stayed at the Ocean
House from July 26th to August 20th, 1877
and from July 30th to August 29th, 1878.
I
---
....
W ,.1

DID A NEW YORK POSTMASTER INVENT THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE?
As the Syracuse Courier wrote,
"There the little puzzle attracted a great deal of attention. It found devotees in the
giddiest of girls and the most prudent of prudes. The box and blocks were easily
duplicated, an advantage which was improved by numbers of the guests at the hotels
on the sea beaches."
During the Belden's three week stay in 1877 and one month stay in 1878, many
residents and guests would have had an opportunity to try the original and duplicated
Fifteen puzzles. The Utica Herald wrote that the:
"Syracuse lady (Anna Belden), gave it to an invalid lady at Watch Hill, R.I. This
lady took it home to Hartford, Connecticut, where it attracted considerable attention ,.

If'
,
Julius Catlin.
Watch Hill historian, Dwight Brown, responded to an inquiry by pointing out that
Julius Catlin, an ex-LL Governor of Connecticut who lived in Hartford, was one of
the earliest regular summer Visitors at Watch Hill and purchased a summer "cottage"
at Watch Hill in 1872,
Every year he and his wife were the first to arrive at the beginning of the season
and the last to leave in the falL Any thought that his wife may have been an invalid
was discarded when we found an article that said,
'The wife of ex Governor Catlin of Connecticut, at the mature age of 70, is a fine
swimmer, and every morning may be seen buffeting the waves off the beach at Watch
HilL"
We also found an 1886 list of four prominent Hartford residents who frequented
Watch Hill; Julius Catlin, James, L Howard, Dr. Hunt and E, Hoberstein. Dwight
Brown researched these people and found that
-Julius Catlin's cottage was located very near (within 700 feet) the Ocean House
hotel, where the Beldens stayed.
-James L Howard's cottage was not built until I879.
-E. Hoberstein's cottage was not built until 1883.
-Julius and Mary Catlin's only daughter, Hannah Maria, married Benjamm K. Phelps,
an outstanding lawyer, in 1857. Ben Phelps was
elected Distrlct Attorney of the City of New York in
lR72 and served with great distinction, Hannah was
struck with a life threatening bone disease in 1878.
In the Fall of 1880 the bones in both of her arms
"snapped" and she died just before Christmas 1880,
She and her husband had been guests of her parents
at their "cottage" at Watch Hill during the Summers
of 1877 and 1878.
- Dr, Hunt had a cottage built in 1850, quite close to
the Catlin Cottage. In I878 he moved to the cottage
formally owned by James S. Nash, Dr. Hunt visited the Catlins and their invalid
daughter, Hannah, in 1879, but he was not her primary physician.
,.1
1111(,1
.-'' 1'1 111 1 1 i'l
.......
Q
II
Q
,
:d 1 8
1"111111' II
.,
"
:?(
Catlin's cottage at Watch
Hill.
107

CHAPTER 6

'......
, .
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I
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It is possible that the Fifteen Puzzle was
given to her in 1878 to entertain her during her
illness. She or her parents may have then
hrought it from Watch Hill to Hartford. The
Catlin's Cottage was very close to the Ocean
House where the Beldens stayed at Watch Hill,
and both the Beldens and the Catlins were suc-
cessful and wealthy businessmen as well as very
successful politicians,
And finally, the Catlins lived in a large, fine-
ly situated home on Asylum Avenue in Hartford, overlookmg Bushnell Park and
across the street from Hartford's American School for the Deaf. The Hartford Daily
Times wrote on February 27, 1880 that the Fifteen Puzzle was invented by a deaf
mute at the American School for the Deaf in Hartford,
.
- .. . ....
... ' .,_. '--''1' ..'"
.'h IR -.<
 . . tL.
 - 10 :(
Catlin's home in Hartford
American School for the
Deaf in Hartford
108
The American School for The Deaf
According to Gary Wait, Archivist for the American School for the Deaf, the
Catlins occasionally invited the deaf students to their large stately home for an "open
house", In those days, the school was named The American Asylum for the Deaf and
Dumb and Hartford was a 'tight community", Mary Catlin was involved in charities
and tTying to help people, and she may well have given a fifteen puzzle from Watch
Hill to one of the students of the school.
r:- V
11 '
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:.;---irJ!. .\,
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-  ........ . ' - ;'"; 
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The July 3, 1879 Westerly Narragansett Weekly reported that an excursion party of
seventy-five students from Hartford's American School for the Deaf spent a day enJoy-
ing the various sports at Watch Hill, and then a dinner at the Peninsula House.
Perhaps one or more of the deaf students was given a fifteen puzzle while they were at
Watch Hill and they took it back to Hartford.
The American School for the Deaf taught communicating by sign language to the
students as well as all the academic subjects and occupational skills, such as cabinet
making, shoe making and tailoring. One of their cabinet shops is shown on the next
page,

DID A NEW YORK POSTMASTER INVENT THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE?
  I Woodworking Shop -
I '.' Amencan School for the
,9w,' , J ,- r' Deaf
  ,
, ",' '
"'I  . , (  ...
, ilh,l
( ,. 11._ 1
/ .".....(>. ....ta.:..
'U] , ' '--""
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......
The first manufacturer of the Fifteen Puzzle, Matthias J, Rice, said in an interview
in the Boston Herald on March 1, 1880, "[The Fifteen Puzzle] was then being made in
a crude form by deaf mutes at Hanford, and which were being sold at 75 cents
apiece, 
It seems likely that the puzzle obtained by Matthias Rice was one of the puzzles
made by students in this shop and sold in Hartford and Boston. During this period
the deaf frequently sold inexpensive merchandize on street corners and door-to-door
to make a meager living,
Ten of the deaf students at the school in 1880 were from Boston. Checking the
Census records and Boston City Directories revealed that one of the deaf students,
Frederick G. Skillen, who was fifteen years old in 1880, became a cabinetmaker and
lived in Boston after graduating from the schooL He or one of his classmates may have
made copies of the fifteen puzzles in the cabinet shop, brought them home to Boston
during a weekend or Christmas vacation in December 1879, and sold them on the
street. The deaf student could not tell the customer who invented the puzzle, because
he did not speak (and he probably did not know), and the customer who had never
seen the puzzle before could easily assume that the deaf seller had invented and made
the crude puzzle,
To summarize: The details of the Utica Morning Herald, Syracuse Courier and other arti-
cles check out very welL It seems clear that the Fifteen Puzzle was invented by Noyes
Palmer Chapman. His son gave one of the puzzles to Anna and James Belden, who
took it to Watch Hill, RL Duplicates were made at Watch Hill and one of these puz-
zles was taken to Hartford. The exact path it took from Watch Hill to Hartford is not
known. There are many possible routes. One possibility is that it was given to Mary
and Julius Catlin and their invalid daughter, Hannah, The Catlins brought it home to
Hartford and gave it to a student at the Amencan School for the Deaf, who made
copies in their cabinet shop. Or perhaps one of the puzzles was given to one of the
deaf students when they visited Watch HilL Crude copies were made in the wood-
working shops at the American School for the Deaf and one of the deaf students
brought copies of the puzzles home to Boston and sold one of them to the man that
gave it to Matthias Rice. We also know that Mr, Rice began to manufacture it in his
shop in December 1879 and sell the puzzles to shops in Boston. This started what
was to become the Fifteen Puzzle craze
The Humor of
14-13-15.
Even the infant
class children are
in their "teens"
now-a-days - in
their 14-15-13s,
109

CHAPTER 7
SOLUTIONS AND PROOF THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE IS IMPOSSIBLE
Rewards and Wagers for Solutions
Almost everyone who knows about Sam Loyd has read or heard that he offered a
reward of $1,000. to anyone that could show a solution for the Fifteen Puzzle when
the first 13 numbered blocks were in proper numerical order hut the last two num-
bers, 15 and 14 were transposed. Loyd's Cyclopedia of 5,000 Puzzles, published in
1914, describes the puzzle, and mentions that the prize was never claimed (see page
86). In January 1896 Loyd first made a "$1,000, Prize" offer to divide the prize among
all who send in the correct solution to the 15-14 puzzle in his column in The
Illustrated American. However, his offer was hardly the first reward or even the first
$1,000, award offered for the solution to the Fifteen Puzzle. Sixteen years before
Loyd's reward, a dentist in Worcester Massachusetts was the first to offer a reward for
the solution to the 14-15 puzzle,
On January 24, 1880, Dr, Charles K. Pevey announced in the Worcester Evening
Gazette, a prize of a set of $25.Teeth, "My Best!",to anyone who can do the "15"
Puzzle with only the numbers 14 and 15 reversed. In addition to his announcement,
he also paid for an advertisement of the prize in the
same newspaper, which is shown on page 16, and
noted that the prize was available for one month.
Several days later, on January 29, Dr. Pevey added a
$100. cash prize to his previous offer. His new ad is
shown on the left:
Dr. Pevey's ad for a
reward for the solution
of the Fifteen Puzzle.
Wr
bt ail}2 jvu;
A
Offered.
Prize
THE "15 n' PUZZLE.
'VIlO CAN })O IT 1)
I Offer a Set of $2Q.OO TeeH).
"WJ".I" 81:8,......'
1111 Huh",'r H' t','l1uluhJ, 1\111' ...;.lIh- It)' III.Y 1\]0:\'" 1:\1- I
J'J(ESSIU, warri..IIU"d .&1111 P'"I.\.'CI]) ndJmdl',I. ..
.AND $100 {A8H,
I '
To the Successful Competitor.
t""U)lt'lilu tho ",hoh' \\t.rl_t.
"I Ih.' 1IIIIIIIwJI'i III n'.:ular urtJ,'r. _rOIlI 11111'\. '1I1'u
:.:.nll: lt:L  ::I,!r"I'tt".li""ro. \\rJlt'n nlJlh"11
 hit. (\JI,'" o;.,.nul:ol outl fVI" l'Jll" luouth.
DIt. CJlAS. K. I.VEY,
t.C"C)"S Dental UOOIIIS,
WOUCE8TEU, 1IIA"".
110
The Boss Puzzle, Manuf
D. F Maguire & Co.,
New York.
,-
I: AQI BOSg pij'''8'1' .
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u
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,:
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4 10 11 12
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-
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"

SOLUTIONS AND PROOF THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE IS IMPOSSIBLE
January 30, 1880, the Worcester Daily Spy
"Dr. Peveys offer to anyone working on the "IS" puzzle continues to attract general
interest and scores Visit the doctors office satisfied that they have got the secret. Last
night, the doctor was called up after midnight by a gentleman who was satisfied that
he had achieved success, and who satisfied others that he had, but, after a trial of three
quarters of an hour before the doctor, he gave it up as a bad job, as all others have
been obliged to so far.
February 2, 1880, Worcester Evening Gazette
A welcome touch of humor was added when the following advertisement was pub-
lished.
"That Puzzle"
"1 have a cal that possesses a fine set of teeth, and ] will give to anyone the Entire
Set and $100.00 (One Hundred Dollars), who will transpose two of her teeth and then
put them back into their original positions and nol hurt the cat Operators to take all
the chances of getting bitten
Dentists are not allowed to compete,
''].'' 19 Curtis .'>1."
February 13, 1880, Worcester Evening Gazette
Dr. Pevey upped the ante again, with this statement:
"Now 1 back up my word with a hundred dollars, and
afterward with a thousand,"
Far left: The Champion
Puzzle. Manuf New
York + Eastern News,
Co., New York.
......

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February 27, 1880, The New York Sun
"Mr, James F. Hansen offers $100, to anyone that will
extricate him from the tangle in which he became involved
when he arranged twelve blocks correctly and found the
last three blocks in this order: 13-15-14,"
".>. : 8 
n 6 7\
H 10 11 t
13 1]-1 lr>
11fne Champ ion ! uzzle lIt
c;. 1 2 3 4' ..
 
 
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o r
 
 
 
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13 14 15
.lIAUl"ACT'(jnl:J)" ."on flALE BY
\ \\
'f I . l. I! I
:/;Jiij 1/1/
(f. '! ,IJ ('
.::: I i $1;
U{I I II;
{, , 1 ( 1 , "
,I I
1.1 tile DlolI". III Ibt' ftu,," Ir....-JI"DI.rI'.. .... _...
IIn.UI In ......ular ..r".....
}oAl.....:.: l'ou..t..r n".I::..,,',1 !'ill',-'-' "'0"1"
III

CHAPTER 7
February 28, 1880, The New York Herald
"Eureka!; The Popular but Perplexing Problem Solved at Last.-
Thi rteen-Fifteen-Fourteen"
This article describes a controversial method of "solving" the puzzle (see page 32), In
the article they mention:
"Two or three enterpTising gamblers took up the puzzle and for a time made an
excellent living, betting with any and all comers that the puzzle could not be done if
they were allowed to place the blocks, Many were willing to take the bet, and worked
hard to win it, but not a single instance has yet been reported in which the bet was
won by the man who tried to do the puzzle."
;,
I
):l-:J j
February 29, 1880, The Syracuse Sunday Courier
'The Sunday Courier is authorized to wager odds at 10 to 1, up to
$1,000., that the blocks cannot be extricated from 13-15-14"
.'
F
PRICE- 10 CENTS
 -
Many other rewards and wagers were offered in ads and articles in
newspapers during March 1880, On April 8, 1880, Mr. J-W Gitt of
Hanover, Pennsylvania, offered $1,000. to anyone that will work the puz-
zle with all the numbers in order except the IS and 14 reversed,
PAT PPUEO FO
..IN
>N
t:",f.O LA
By this time the Fifteen Puzzle craze has spread overseas and on
April 9, 1880, the German newspaper, Frankischer Kurio; reported
that, "a generous admirer of the new sport" in Berlin, offered a
reward of 1,000. German Marks for the solution,
-
I II
u,!
'5 ·
1.0
Of course no one collected any reward or won any bet by solving
the puzzle with only two adjacent blocks reversed, as long as
square blocks were used and the numbers were always right side
up,
,00.
t.l{E
?
$100. Puzzle,
Manuf. $100, Puzzle
Co., London, New
York, Paris.
Sam Loyd's $1,000. reward, first offered in January 1896, may have been inspired
by one or more of these reward offers made during the Fifteen Puzzle craze, more
than 15 years earlier,
Magic Square Challenges
The Fifteen puzzle had its roots in the four by four Magic Square using the num-
bers one through sixteen on the blocks The sum of each row, column and diagonal is
thirty-four. An article in Harpers Weekly of March 27, 1880 titled "The Gem Puzzle"
first proposed several new problems to be solved using its fifteen blocks:
"the puzzle is capable of variations which may seTve to prolong its use. The first of
these which I would suggest is that, instead of the regular order, we should try to
112

SOLUTIONS AND PROOF THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE IS IMPOSSIBLE
bring them into the shape of a magic square, the sum of the numbers in
every row or diagonal being 30, whether such row or diagonal contains
four blocks or only three and the vacant square."
Almost eight years later, on January L 1898, Dudeney disguised his
new magic square problem with a story titled, "The Spanish Dungeon",
in his column in the British periodical, Tit-Bits. His problem started with
the numbers on the prisoners uniforms in numerical order, and he asked
for the mmimum number of moves to form a magic square with the sum
thirty in the rows, columns and diagonals.
No. 65.-TuE SPAKISn DUNOl!oN.
The Spanish Dungeon, by Henry E. Dudeney. _,#&JJ.
Not fifty miles from Cadiz, a castle stood in the middle ages, all traces of which
have for centuries disappeared, Among other interesting features, this castle contained
a particularly unpleasant dungeon divided into sixteen cells, all communicating with
one another, as shown in the illustration,
Now, the governor was a very merry wight, and very fond of puzzles withal. One
day he went to the dungeon and said to the prisoners, "By my hali-
dame!" (or its equivalent holy relic in Spanish) "you jolly gaolbirds
shall be set free if you can solve this puzzle, You must so arrange your-
selves in the sixteen cells that the numbers on your backs shall form a
magic square in which every column, every row, and each of the two
diagonals shall add up the same, Only remember this: that in no case
may two of you ever be in the same cell."
It so happened that one of the prisoners knew a lot about magic
squares and other mystic things, so after working at the problem for
two or three days with a piece of chalk on the dungeon wall, he under-
took to obtain the liberty of himself and his fellow prisoners if they
would follow his directions and move through the doorways from cell
to cell in the order in which he called out their numbers,
He succeeded in his attempt, and what is more remarkable, it would seem
from the account of his method recorded in the ancient manuscript lying
before me, that he did so in the fewest possible moves. The solver is asked to
show what these moves were, and as only one cell can at anyone time be
vacant, it is only necessary to give the numbers of the prisoners in the order
in which they move,
Dudeney's ::'pamsh
Dungeon puzzle.
'0 fifit (,n 'AT.
. . ....
. ,1'tlfI.. '::1
-..  "'" 9, - .
t" . w 1&34 
F. 3 LAM] !'t I/III ONJo,
4
6
 7 8
{} 10 II 1
13' 14' IS 16
Dudeney's "Spanish Dungeon" problem is really a problem for the Fifteen
Puzzle with its fifteen numbered sliding blocks and one vacant space, The numbered
blocks are to be arranged by sliding to form a magic square with each row, column
and diagonal summing up to the same total, thirty The starting position has all fifteen
blocks in their proper order (13-14-15) (Fig. 7,1), As Dudeney admits, this is a very
The Great American
Puzzle 9, 15 & 34.
Manuf G W Bacon &
Co, ,London, Paris & NY.
113

CHAPTER 7
difficult puzzle and of course Dudeney wants the solution with the minimum
number of moves. The solution that he provides requires 37 moves,
The "Gem" Pl1ZZ!p,
...; 1 .) 3 4- .
r::j I -  
 .) () 7 8 i 
L4J ii -.
i   H J() 11 12 j 
3 I ''> 1 f 1 w  I
Ie., .... (') ';'
"I.".. ..... IU(loc..ln II." Ihntlrn-plal"l". '...m..... j
....Ul h. ....nhlll' 011'01."..
Just over a year later, on April 1, 1889, Sam Loyd included this same prob-
lem in an article in the New York Evening]ournal and he offered a $5.00 prize
for the best solution, He did not improve on Dudeney's solution.
Dudeneys 37 -move solution, shown in Fig. 7,2, stood as the best puhlished
solution for his problem for more that 100 years, until Professor Donald Knuth
of Stanford University was asked by the authors if he could improve on it.
,) 6 8
t.. 12
14 .. 16
,
The Gem Puzzle.
Double Puzzle with 16
blocks.
114
Don Knuth's new solution to Dudeney's Spanish Dungeon Problem
Knuth found a 3S-move minimum solution with a different magic square. Knuths
magic square is shown below next to the moves used to reach this solution. Knuth also
showed that no other magic square can be achieved in 35 moves or less. And he
demonstrated that exactly two magic squares, including Dudeneys, have 37-move solu-
tions.
I . 1
{) 6 7 S
,
q 10 11 1
J I ILl l{j
I 0 15 I :1
13 6
>-- 71
" 9 I'.>
14 {) 11
10 9 7
6 Pi n 
1 I 1,)
14
Fig. 7.1 Dudcney's Start
Position,
Fig. 7.2 Dudeney's Magic
Square. Problem L Can you
match Dudcnev's 37 moves
from Start?
Fig. 7.3 Knuth's MagiL
Square. Problem 2, Can you
match Knuth's 35 move solu-
tIOn?
Some one says dandruff may be destroyed by rubbing the roots of the hair with lemon.
The remedy is not as simple as it looks. It is easy enough to pull out each particular
hair and rub its root with a lemon, but to get the hair back in its proper place is where
the fifteen-puzzle comes in.
NORRISTOWN HERALD
Sam Loyd's 13-15-14 Magic square problem.
Sam Loyd offered a $10 prize in the January 1903 Woman's Home Companion for the
shortest solution to his variation of Dudeneys magic square problem, The only differ-
ence from Dudeneys Spanish Dungeon problem is that Loyd's starting position has the
14 and 15 pieces in the last row transposed.
Loyd published a 50-move solution fOT his problem in his Cyclopedia. His magic
square is shown in Figure 7,5. Henry Dudeney used this same problem and solution,
in his book Puzzles and Curious Problems, as problem number 245.

SOLUTIONS AND PROOF THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE IS IMPOSSIBLE
Don Knuth's new solution to Sam Loyd's Magic Square Problem
No one had published a solution for Sam Loyds Magic Square puzzle that reqUired
less than 50 moves during the last 100 years, until Professor Donald Knuth improved
Loyds solution by 14 moves. Don found three amazing 36-move minimum solutions,
one of which is shown in Fig, 7,6, as well as eight 3S-move and many 40-move solu-
tions, However Knuth reports that Loyd simply wasn't good at choosmg a magic
square to shoot for: Loyds 50-move solution was indeed the best way to reach the
particular square illustrated in Fig. 7,5,
1 " : I I
{) 6 7
9 0 F)
Iq 15 14
Fig. 7.4 Loyds Start Position,
l 13 1 6 10
14 . 5 9
1 11 7
I,j R
Fig, 7.5 Loyds Magic Square,
Problem 3, Can you match
Loyds 50 moves from Start?
5 t:.  10 I
P 14 .Z v
6 1 11 1"
10 1 7
Fig. 7.6 Knuth's Magic Square.
Problem 4. Can you match
Knuths 36 move solution?
proof That the 15-Puzzle is Impossible to Solve, by Dick Hess
Chapter 1 describes many "solutions" of the Fifteen Puzzle, based on the instruc-
tions written on the puzzles: "Place the blocks in the box irregularly, then move until
in regular order." Sliding the blocks to obtain "regular order" can always be done in
numerous ways as shown by Persifor Frasier Jr, and others (See pages 39, 40).
However, the picture on the box shows square blocks with all the numbers right side
up, the blocks in numerical order beginning in the upper left -hand comer and with
the empty space in the lower right-hand comer as shown in Figure 7.7. With the
understanding that the
solution of the puzzle
requires the blocks to be
arranged as shown in the
picture on the cover of the
box, the puzzle can only be
solved for half of the begin-
ning random positions.
Figure 7.S shows the
impossible challenge of
moving from Position A to
Position S.
1 J
5 6 7 ti
. I 11 I)'
l{ ]5 14
PosItIOn A
1 lJ
5 6 7 
Q to 11 l'
.,' 14 l)
Position B.
Fig. 7.8 The Impossible Challenge:
Move from position A to position B.
1 ..  j
{) 6 7 
9 10 1 I I
l' 14 1,}
,
Fig, 7.7 The 15 Puzzle;
Bloch, in regular order.
115

CHAPTER 7
116
Progress by Early Solvers
In Chapter I we noted that several early solvers [CK. Pevey; Anonymous, New
York Evening Post; Feb, 25, 1880; LEX; P Frazer, Jr.; MAME; D,; P.H. Vander Weyde;
JD. Warner; FS. ] discovered this impossibility and reported their Hndings from
January to March 1880, The earliest known of these publications is from Charles K.
Pevey, who wrote in January 1880 in the Worcester Evening Gazette, 'This problem is
mathematically impossible, and for the same reason that two trains of cars cannot
pass each other on the same track" He is right about the impossibility but it's not for
the reason he states, as we shall see later,
None of these early publications contains a mathematical proof, and a few of them
contain oversights. For example, the earliest known attempt at a published mathemat-
ical proof is from Peter H. Vander Weyde, a scientist, mathematician and publisher of
The Practical American, It is reported in The New York Herald that he addressed the
Academy of Sciences, The article comments that:
"He had investigated the puzzle mathematically and thoroughly, and by the laws of
mathematics, the solution is impossible if the last two figures were reversed,"
Nevertheless the American public kept on trying, but utterly without success, "It was
a national emergency"
Whether possible or not, the solution had to be found in order to save the public.
The Herald had foreseen this and had selected a reporter (Mr, David A. Curtis) with a
mathematical mind to solve the puzzle. The reporter had worked as other men had
worked, but afterward he labored with the energy of desperation. He consumed valu-
able time with utter regard of its value, He well nigh ruined a valuable brain... Dr.
Vander Weyde then drew a checkerboard and used it to illustrate the mathematical
laws governing the puzzle, "If you can Imagine the crossed squares to be black, .,
said he, "and the others to be white, it will be seen that the board is the same as a
quarter section of a chess board, This problem is similar in nature to the old chess
problem of moving a knight all over the board in sixty-four moves, touching every
square once and only once, Now, the fifteen puzzle is either simple or it is insoluble
If the 14 and IS are reversed, or if (referring to the diagram) any two numbers be
reversed one of which is in a black square and the other belongs to a white square,
the problem is insoluble, You may see this by arranging the numbers correctly and
then taking out any number belonging on a black square and putting it in the vacant
square at the lower right hand corner, which is also a black square, It is evident that if
the fifteen numbers be then pushed into position regardless of their rotation, a white
square number will come on the black square just vacated, and the black that was
moved will go to a white square," Dr,Vander Weyde expanded his comments in the
March 1880 issue of The Practical American, "With all that has been lately published
about this subject, we alone have announced the law, by knowledge of which anyone
can beforehand determine what kind of disturbance makes the puzzle insoluble, It is
the law of white and black squares,"
As we shall see shortly, the mterchange of any two blocks from the correctly

SOLUTIONS AND PROOF THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE IS IMPOSSIBLE
arranged blocks produces an insoluble position, so Vander Weyde
didn't get it completely right.
Early Mathematical proofs
There are two early impossibility proofs of the fifteen puzzle that
stand the test of rigor, One is by Hermann Schubert in the
Hamburgischer Correspondent and the other is by William Woolsey
Johnson. Often matched with Johnson's paper is one by William E.
Story published III the same journal. Johnson shows that all odd per-
mutations of the numbers are impossible positions and Storey shows
that all even permutations can be rearranged to the desired solution.
In modern articles about the fifteen puzzle [WWR. Ball &: H,M,S,
Coxeter; E.L Spitznagel, 1967; R.M. Wilson; AF Archer] Johnson's publica-
tion is always quoted because it appears to have been published first. It
came out in the December 1879 issue of the American Journal of Mathematics,
but that date is deceptive because the Journal was running four months late
and actually wasn't produced until April 1880 (see page 67). The Library of
Congress shows receipt of the Journal on 17 April 1880 Schubert's proof was
published on 6 April 1880, 125 years after the fact it's impossible to deter-
mine which author submitted his paper first.
 ..
I ,
. . , "1
?
,

. '--""'. I - 
,5 :'01
- 9'. ' tn- f12
. .'.. .
---.,. - - --"
· · - ,. r::::::;,.
.13...15
Johnson's proof uses language that is difficult to follow, such as: "When the blank
or sixteenth square is the vacant one, the arrangement of the counters may be called a
positive or negative one, according as the term of the IS-square determinant,
which has for the first and second subscripts the numbers on the squares and
counters, is positive or negative," He follows his argument later with the phrase
"In order to make the demonstration satisfactory to non-mathematicians who
may be interested in this puzzle, I add a simple demonstration of the theorem
upon which the classification of the arrangements as positive and negative
depends, viz: that a permutation that can be derived from a given one by an odd
number of interchanges can never be produced by an even number of inter-
changes, Then follows, in essence, the proof given below, which I have tried to make
as clear as possible,
Die Fatalen 15. Manu[
Klee, Germuny.
J 1. Number the cells ofthe frame 1 to 16 as shown in Figure 7.7 with the lower right
cell numbered 16. Any placement of the 15 tiles in the frame with a blank cell can be
represented as a scrambling or permutation of the numbers 1 to 16, (There are 16 fac-
torial or 20,922,789,888,000 ways to do this.) The example permutation in Figure
7.9 is represented by the second row of numbers giving the tiles occupying the 16
cells:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 IS 16
9 13 2 8 11 4 IS 16 1 7 3 12 10 14 6 5
9
11
I
13 8
IJ
7 1 )
14 6 fj
Fig. 7.9 One of 16 fac-
torial possible positions.
10
117

CHAPTER 7
J2. Express the permutation in cyclic notation by the following method. Pick any
3 .".. 2.... 1 3 number in the top row, say, 6 and follow it with the number below it (4 in this case),
 "- Next take the new number (4 in this case) in the top row and follow it with the
JII I  number thats below it (8 in this case), Continue the process until the onginal
tI  number is found in the lower row. In this case the cycle
t , (6,4,8,16,5,11,3,2,13,10,7,15) is generated, Now pick a number not in the cycle
16 I 5 to generate another cycle and so on until all the numbers are assigned to cycles,
, , The example peTmutation of Figure 7.9 is represented by the cycles
8 __ 6 (6,4,8,16,5,11,3,2,13,10,7,15);(12);(1,9);(14) and is pictured m Figure 7,10,
....... 4 
(:)
00
Fig. 7.10 The position of
Fig. 7.9 is represented
by four cycles,
J3. Consider what happens if any two tiles are exchanged with each other, If they are
in the same cycle the exchange will split the cycle into two cycles, If the tiles are in
different cycles the exchange will join the cycles into a single cycle. Figure 7.11 shows
an example of exchanging tiles 10 and 11 in the same cycle, Exchanging two tiles in
different cycles is just the reverse of this process and thus joins the two cycles.
J4. Define any permutation as being either even or odd according to whether the
number of cycles in its representation is either even or odd, Note from step J3 that a
single exchange of any two tiles will change an even permutatlon to an odd one and
vice versa. The cyclic representation of Position A consists of 16 single cycles so it is
an even permutation of the tiles. The cyclic representation of Position B consists of 14
single cycles and the cycle (14,15) so it is an odd permutation of the tiles. Thus get-
ting from A to B can only be accomplished with an odd number of tile exchanges,
3 .".. 2.... I 3
 "-
II 10
J 
5 7 J5. Each legal move in the 15-puzzle is an exchange of the blank tile with one of
 , its neighbors, For the blank tile to begm and end in the lower right hand corner
16 ) 5 as it does for Positions A and B, it must have moved an even number of times. It
'8 6 helps to see this by coloring the cells in a checkerboard fashion and noting that the
....... 4  blank cell alternates the color of its square with each move. Since we noted in Step J4
Before that A and B can only be connected by an odd number of tile exchanges it is impossi-
ble to get from A to B by a set of legal moves in the 15-puzzle.
Thus Johnson presented one of the two early rigorous impossibility proofs for the
fifteen puzzle,
The other early proof is from Schubert and is more concise. I trust here to a
translation from Dieter Gebhardt and give the proof in modern language. This
approach is also used by H.V Mallinson in his May 1940 article in Mathematical
Gazette, titled, "An Array of Squares."
3 .".. 2.... 13
 "-
JO  I
5 7
 ,
16 15
'8 6'
....... 4 
After
Fig. 7,11 Theeffect of
exchanging tiles 10 and
11 in the Position of
Fig,7.9,
118
51. Number the cells of the frame] to 16 as shown in Figure 7,7 with the lower right
cell numbered 16, Any placement of the 15 tiles in the frame with a blank cell can be
represented as a scrambling or permutation of the numbers] to 16 with 16 standing
for the blank space. The example permutation in Figure 7,9 is represented by the sec-
ond row of numbers giving the tiles occupying the 16 cells:

SOLUTIONS AND PROOF THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE IS IMPOSSIBLE
1
9
3
2
6
4
7 8
15 16
12 13
12 10
14 15 16
14 6 5
1
13
4
8
5
11
9
1
10 Ll
7 3
52, Define an inversion among the tiles 1-15 as each time a lower number follows a
higher number in the left to right reading of the permutation of numbers, Count no
inversions for the blank space, In the example of Figure 7.9 the total number of inver-
sions is (8+11+1+6)+(7+2+8)+(0+3+0+3)+(2+2+1+0) = 54,
54. Position A in figure 7.8 has no inversions and Position B has
one inversion, For the blank tile to begin and end in the lower
right hand corner as it does for Positions A and B, it must have moved an even
number of times, Since we noted in step S3 that the number of inversions
changes by an odd number each time the blank cell changes by one row, the
total numher of inversion changes in moving from A to B must be even (The
sum of an even number of odd numbers IS even,), Since Positions A and B dif-
fer by one inversion it is Impossible to get from A to B by a set of legal moves
in the L5-puzzle,
This completes Schubert's proof. In this approach the parity (evenness or oddness)
of any permutation as described by Johnson can be determined by adding the
number of inversions to the number of rows each number is displaced from its
row in Position A For the example of Figure 7.9 there are 54 inversions and
(2+3+0+1)+(1+] +2)+(2+ 1+2+0)+(1+0+2+2) = 20 row displacements for a total
of 74. Thus figure 7.9 shows an even permutation of the numbers and can be
legally moved to Position A
Modern Mathematical Discussions
Several authors rely on the theory of even and odd permutations for their
discussions so are essentially following Johnson's approach, These include
WW R Ball and HS,M, Coxeter in their 1939 book, Mathematical Recreations
and Essays, as well as EL. Spitznagel in his 1967 article in Mathematics Magazine,
titled, "A New Look at the Fifteen Puzzle, and AF Archer in his 1999 article American
53. Note that each time the blank space shifts along a row the number of inversions
remains unchanged, Each time the blank shifts to a new row it
causes the tile that fills the blank space to jump over three inter-
vening numhers in the permutation. If the jumped numbers are all
less or all more than the number on the moving tile, then the num-
ber of inversions changes by three, ]f the three jumped numbers
contain two larger and one smaller or two smaller and one larger
than the number on the moving tile, then the number of inversions 
changes by one, ]n all cases the number of inversions changes by If .
an odd number each time the blank space changes position by one
row.
--I{ )J
8
/
...'-./ -.-.....:-,.....-.. -.' _ .' ' ',J
; - ?: ,  1"'11\ )
9 i!'}
 r: m  
I_
,_. l\,\ .
15 Puzzle. 1915,
Manuf Spear & Sons,
Nuremberg, Germany
OU.DLE BLOC KPUZ7.T .-Po l
' L2 I _  IH 2 16
Sr&718 11 f)
11<! 111211 7619 1
13!1415 1 14 U, 4-
T ----
T
J ,ItM
, H<-
,...
I I
l _
Double Block Puzzle.
Square blocks. Manuf
Black & Bryant. Boston.
119

CHAPTER 7
Fig. 7.12 Graph for the
IS-Puzzle.
Fig. 7.13 Cyclic graph
with n+ 1 nodes.
Fig. 7.14 Exceptional
Graph, known as e.
The
most
Fasl:ina.
ting
Dlredions inside lid of Box.
The clerk of the
weather must be
trying a "IS" puz-
zle with the sea-
sons. He has got
them confused
and cannot get
them in their
proper sequence.
120
Mathematical Monthly, titled, "A Modern Treatment of the 15 Puzzle," Mallinson fol-
lows Schubert's approach and is the most concisely stated proof that has come to
light. In the Journal of Combinatorial Theory, R.M. Wilson generalizes the problem in
his article titled, "Graph Puzzles, Homotopy, and the Alternating Group," and his
results are worth reporting here since they are so elegant. He characterizes all such
problems as the movement of n numbered tiles on the nodes of any connected graph
with n+l nodes, If two positions can be achieved from each other, he calls them
equivalent labelings of the graph, figure 7.12 shows the graph for the IS-puzzle,
Wilson's remarkable result is that for all graphs, with two exceptions shown in Figures
7,13 and 7.14, either half the permutations are possible (as with the] 5-puzzle) or all
of the permutations are possible, ]f the graph contains no closed path of an odd num-
ber of nodes, then exactly half the permutations are possible,
]f there is a closed path with an odd number of nodes, then all permutations of the
tiles are usually possible, The first exception to this rule is all graphs that are a single
cycle of n+ 1 nodes (Fig. 7,13), For these graphs the initial placement of n tiles can be
positioned into only n(n+l) of the (n+l)! possible permutations, producing (n-I)!
inequivalent labelings. The second exception is the graph of Figure 7.] 4 in which 6
tiles can be moved into 840 different permutations, producing 6 inequivalemlabel-
mgs,
Puzzle
yet
Invented
THE WONDERfUL 
::.:"o';.,E.i'E FIFTEEN
nto..;:;_n2'ln.. :;':11 0 bo_ t:e;.. be'l\- .
." 'III.:' anI' "rOIn ";..1)1' Slid'"a- U..iIZI. co':.:"aoea
read In . bo Jr . and 'WIth ..t. In
R. :;'LQ?eric, : 'that 'the flOUt re_
I . ON OON rtler rrol1"l r:
M -OIU:Qbe'" .............. 'I.. .,..... I ........
erAJ'lfr.oIlQl"'-"". ,,-;;;;
rllt,. boltom 1:::'11 i,,, pl'lce
COV7
c:";JlIrnbl!'Ui"'(llI h
Qn; ';I::7'r b..
crrJLJell"
t5
5b 8
Jl,IL
14,f)
,
.....--......
Left: The Original
15 Puzzle.
Manuf- R.
Journet, London,
...-
t J.
I"
Right: Japanese
IS-Puzzle

CHAPTER 8
WERE SOLVERS OF THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE DRIVEN INSANE?
News Paper Stories
It can be argued that the Fifteen Puzzle had the greatest impact on American and
European society of any mechanical puzzle the world has ever known On the people,
as an unforgettably frustrating and rewarding experience; on the media, from the
newspaper coverage, to Presidential electIOn cartoons; on the culture, from theatres
on Broadway and in Philadelphia, to songs and dozens of poems; and as a lasting
metaphor to insoluble problems of all types. In this chapter we look at the widely
held view in the 1880s that the frustration from trying to solve puzzles could drive
one insane.
Spring Blossom
Put away this crack brain puzzle.
He has climbed the Asylum stair.
Number 13. IS, 14.
Turned his head and sent him their.
When his brain it gets all right again
And you wish his blood kept pure.,\
No longer let the game remain ! \
And Spring Blossom it will cure.
LONDON ADVERTISER, CANADA,
NOVEMBER 16. 1880.
l
.
, 1c-89
o
\ ,,'e I 1

f\
3

4:
-
 15 6 7
..
LIt. , _:Q'  11
,
Fifteen Puzzle. Manuf- KP. 13 1' I 15

12
One of the surprising discoveries from reading hundreds of news-
papers from February and March, 1880, was the number of
notes, articles and poems that claimed that the P-iftn
---
Puzzle was driving solvers insane and overcrowcf.....__
ing the "lunatic asylums". It appeared that this
-
was an assumption of the "conventional wis-
dom" of the time. In only one case of insane
behavior that involved the puzzle, a
reporter interviewed the victims and docu-
mented the circumstances, And only one
article that we found questioned the almost
universal assumption that trying to solve the
puzzle was a cause of insanity Several
poems, published in newspapers early in
I8RO, captured the attitude of the media on
the subject.
--,

CHAPTER 8
The Game oj 15,
In the morn he brightly rose,
Clear of mind and strong of limb,
Found beside his pillow laid
A box some enemy sent him,
Opened he the present then,
Saw what he had never seen:
Blocks therein and numbered all,
One to fifteen, all between,
Waiteth not to eat or drink;
Waiteth not to sleep or think;
Quickly graspeth he the box;
Moveth here and there the blocks
Easy moves from one to seven;
All in place from one to 'leven.
Then reversed the figures stand,
Thirteen, fifteen, fourteen, and
Twelve is also out of place,
Wearily he wipes his face,
Rubs his head and rubs his nose;
He can do it well he knows.
Hours fly, and still the moves
Backward, forward, nothing proves.
Fifteen, fourteen, nine and ten,
Still no nearer at the end,
Twelve and thirteen, eight and seven,
Then he gets mixed up on 'leven.
Night has come and day has gone,
Still the labor is not done.
Morning with its smiling face
Finds him in the self-same place;
Haggard looks and vacant stare
Fastened on the puzzle there;
Nothing moves him from the spot,
He's a gibbering idiot.
Oil City Derrick.
The Daily Gazette, Colorado Spnngs, March 13, 1880.
122
One More Victim,
O'er the puzzle Brown is bending,
Never once his strained eye liftin'-
See! he thinks at last he's triumphed;
No! 'tis 14-13-15,
Once again he tries the puzzle,
Puzzle that there's fala] "sport" in:
Ha! He's got it now! Not much he
Hasn't, 14-13-15,
Long he pauses, long he ponders,
Now he thinks he's got it certain,
Moves the figures very slowly-
Pshaw! 'tis 14-13-15,
See! His eyes dilate and glisten!
Into madness he is driftin
One more victim for the asylums,
Crazed by 1314-13-15,
Baltimore American, March 14, 1880.

 . ' O'f' 'flETEEN:e \ 
p'JI£; . 3_ 4: . 
h- 7 \ 8 :.;
 0 6 I -',- 
 9 10 11\ 1 
-- 410\ ..
13 1 :. "..,,,,0' h".
rrq.!;Uhr1 1. )C'k' !rO tO
HlflC'\!. ." " . ''' ,, lI;\bO...'' remo"l' _(
1'18' t1;e1' ae (
yeql f 0 I
R »OJ.
The Game of
Fifteen. Instructions
say regular order is
shown on cover.
j C' 4

-
Q lOJ -
q 1 1 161
j

WERE SOLVERS OF THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE DRIVEN INSANE?
March 1925, Chronicle Telegram (ofElyria, Ohio),
An article in 1925 summarizing events in the town, "45 Years Ago" (March 1880) , they wrote:
"The 13, 15, 14 Puzzle was all the rage, and at least one man went crazy trying to solve it."
December 25, 1958, the Hamburg Reporter (Iowa)
An article, "From Old Newspaper Files" about events 78 years earlier was reprinted
with the headline:
"13-14-15 Craze Spreads,"
The article about the Fifteen Puzzle continued:
'The 13-14-15 puzzle is the game that is driving people crazy in the cities, and it is
said there are several applicants for lunatic asylums on account of it. It would be a sad
day for Hamburg should the game spread this way, some of the people are so easily
thrown out of balance,"
February 25, 1880, The Fitchburg Sentinel (Mass.)
A February 25 article in the Fitchburg Sentinel begins: "The increase in the number of
suicides recently is said to be entirely due to the fifteen block puzzle."
February 25, 1880, The Oswego Palladium (New York)
The Oswego PalladIUm quotes the Utica Herald and says ", ..and is filling the lunatic
asylums of this country at a rate of about 5,000 per day"
February 27, 1880, the New York Sun
The headline of first article about the puzzle in the Sun:
The Game of Fifteen
A PUZZLE OVER WHICH PERSONS ARE SAID TO HAVE GONE CRAZY."
The long article contained only one sentence about the headline:
"One dealer solemnly assured the Sun reporter that two unfortunate men in Boston
who encountered an impossible combination are now insane and in an asylum."
Well Worn Blocks
Put away the well
worn blocks.
Marked by little
Johnny's thumbs;
Put them in the
bureau drawer
Till he from the
asylum comes.
Put away the new
prize puzzle,
'Twill be never
needed more;
"Fifteen. fourteen,
botheration!"
Bang! There goes
the asylum door!
NEW YORK ExPRESS.
THE CRAZED PEOPLE.
February 28, 1880, The Philadelphia Evening Bulletin
This headline also sounded an alarm:
The article went on to say:
"everybody is studying, fooling with, and confounding the
thing, while the insane asylum managers are enlarging their insti-
tutions in the expectation of an increased number of patients,"
II THE GAmE OF FIFTEEN."
Tile Gem Paa.le And f "e,,r II JI....
....'...d-AII AlJouT ... IlllIIOr.r-U
lEe...,.... ,he ""...,..e.,' And... lie.......
the Peopl. W..d-....h. "anMyof ....e
Popula.IOD'I'brentened
February 29, 1880, the Philadelphia Press
The Fifteen Game
Suggestions Thai May Save Some Victims From the Asylum,
This article mentioned that the inventor was:
"without a thought of the insane asylums for which it seems
likely to make so many patients."
Philadelphia Evening
Bulletin, February 28,
1880.
123

CHAPTER 8
March 1, 1880 The Philadelphia Times
That Awful Game
'The game of Fifteen is spreading in a way clearly out of proportion to the capacity
of the lunatic asylums to accommodate the vICtims, Everybody carries one of the little
flat boxes around in his pocket and works away on it at any possible time or place.
The interest which the thing has excited is actually astonishing, and there is the great-
est danger that the country will become so absorbed in this puzzle boom as to over-
look the fact that we are on the eve of a vital Presidential election,"
March 3, 1880, the Hartford Courant
The Courant quoted remarks about the puzzle by Dr. Hammond, whom they said
is the leading specialist of the country on mental science and mental disease, to the
New York Academy of Sciences, He said the puzzle is upsetting minds all over the
country, but it is a first rate thing for his trade. He expanded:
"The doctors feel as the Scotch surgeon did when he chide a boy for breaking his
windows, 'My father is a glazier and I'm doing it to make his trade good,'said the
boy. Then I'll make my trade good,' said the surgeon as he hit the boy on his
head, fracturing his skulL This puzzle is good for our practice."
A Wisconsin newspaper published an article called, "The Block Puzzle",
which began:
"The increase in the number of suicides recently, says the Boston Gazette, is
said to be entirely due to the block puzzle. Judging from recent experiences,
the same thing is threatening this city. The block puzzle is all the rage, and
the fact that Allen &: Hicks have sold some days as high as a hundred a day,
shows that it is all the rage, even if people are not actually
.0;:-== - =; J going crazy."
The Game of Fifteen.
Square blocks.
\
,.."
':tA c.J.m.q A
12£ 4:
.) (, I
) 10 H 1"
l: It: 1:)
"
_Now /d(£ hanf3  .bell tl.U1ch - 
)ee5.3 e.nf'e r wo..clC3 ;IT lI'4,i-z - .{] Q---n;-
drllJe.r c",cI c<Jnduc-rl)l nQ"e r1on
;6- ,11,1% I 3'
There were many claims of mdividuals or groups going
insane and being committed to an institution written about
in the Newspapers during February and March 1880, A few
examples follow:
--?
,.
From The Atlanta Daily Constitution:
"An estimable young man in Lynchburg, Va" was
recently taken with violent spasms whilst trying to solve
the mystery of the 15 puzzle, and for several days his life
was despaired of. And now comes the statement from the
New York Commercial Advertiser that the week before last six
lunatics were received at Utica asylum from too much of the
same puzzles, These warning should not go unheeded."

WERE SOLVERS OF THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE DRIVEN INSANE?
From the Manitoba Free Press (Canada):
"The Times says that the "fifteen" puzzle has reached Winnipeg, and
already between thirty and forty persons have applied for admission to
the lunatic asylum."
From the Idaho Statesman:
"It has struck us at last. We mean the fifteen block puzzle. On
entering the composing room yesterday we found the foreman, the
chief compositor, an outside party, and the "devil" all leaning over the
"imposition stone" in the vain attempt, by a combination of intellects,
to work out that terrible puzzle. We went out immediately and sub- -
scribed $1,000. toward the erection of a lunatic asylum, and are now makmg
arrangements to shut up shop."
From the Morning Oregonian:
"A heartless wag at our elbow declares that the fifteen puzzle was devised in
the interest of all the insane asylums in the country"
I I
I
P"i.fZZLE
!.-.,..-
I

I
...

'7!
6.
8
.. 11 '
9:' 40'
1 "'1 '" 4'....
1
From the Chicago Herald:
"And so they go, Anything to avoid hard work. Yet they exhaust more brain
tissue studying their valueless schemes than would be required in earning a week's
salary Little by little the victim gets wilder and less of an ornament to society Little by
little his mental forces fail, until he leaps from irritation to maudlin rage, and goes gal-
loping off to an insane asylum, the wildest, most hopeless of imbeciles. It puzzles a
fellow to know why puzzles were made."
The Popular 15 Puzzle.
Manuf International
Card Co., London.
From the Philadelphia Record:
'The Commissioners of the new Insane Asylum at Norristown will ask the
Legislature for an additional appropriation next winter, on account of the puzzle
boom. Dr. McFadden prohibits the game in the Water Department."
From the Reno Evening Gazette:
'j.C Wheeler, an old overland conductor, has gone crazy over the fifteen puzzle.
He was running a train out of Los Angeles, and the first intimation of his insanity was
a request made to the superintendent for permission to discharge his brakemen
because they could not do the puzzle, He is now a raving maniac and there is but lit-
tle hope of recovery"
From the Bangor Daily Whig and Courier (Maine):
"George Mitchell, a painter, was arrested last night in San Francisco, He had
become insane over the 'fifteen' puzzle and covered the floor and walls with figures in
the attempt to solve it."
125

CHAPTER 8
Then round In a ring the blocks IIlI tl.ew,
The shovel and tongs joln'd the nolsycrllw,
The clock ran down with a loud halloo,
The bellows laughed till It '!pUt  two.
"Humorous" cartoon
from Golden Days
Magazine.
The Philadelphia
Press thinks that
the Democratic
platform came to
fill the place of
the fifteen puzzle.
It was said at one
time that the fif-
teen puzzle was
an invention of
the devil to drive
weak mortals to
insanity and sui-
cide, but it was a
simple and harm-
less thing com-
pared to the elab-
orate enigma
evolved by the
Democratic plat-
form mechanics.
( 1884)
126
From the Camden Advance (New York):
'The other day a man in Philadelphia became insane over the 'Fifteen Puzzle'
and now San Francisco furnishes another,"
From The Washington Post:
"A man named Kennedy, who occupied an official position in the Pittsburgh
city government, is at Hotel Hunt, St. Louis, insane over the Fifteen Puzzle He
incessantly mutters 'thirteen, fifteen, fourteen.'"
Mr. Daniel Conroy
March 23, 1880, Philadelphia Times
The hearsay "chatter" in the newspapers about the fifteen puzzle driving
solvers insane suddenly changed in late March with the headlines:
A GEM 'PUZZLE 1¥IANIAC:
.'
'. .
MADE MAD BY THE TERRIBLE 13-14-15.
DaIIle1 Conror, A Qlllet, Sor Citlzt'n or Erh'; pr'o-
yoked by th Tlt Dothel'llomc Dlo('ks Until
Dla RE'880n 18 D.-throned-Trying to Mur-
der Bill Child-TaliI'll to an APi)'lolII.
"Mr, Daniel Conroy is well known in the city, and all who are acquainted with him
can bear witness to his temperate habits, his devotion to his family, and his manly
qualities, And yet this man, with the physique of an athlete and with a normal dispo-
sition as gentle as the lamb, stood in the presence of his family transformed into an
unnatural being, capable of putting his child to a most horrible death. To mention the
game of 'Fifteen' in connection with this sad affair, and to say that this man's madness
is attributable to the little game, may provoke a smile of incredulity. But such is the
well-authenticated fact. For nearly three weeks this man, who is a first-class stone cut-
ter and does the principal work on the Cathedral, has been greatly exercised over the
game, His wife became aware that the solution of the puzzle was a subject of more
interest to him than his family All day Sunday he was engaged in manipulating the
blocks and far into the night he worked. moving and moving until weaned out, he
sank into a fitful slumber, which was broken by mutterings of 13, 14, 15, Yesterday
morning Mrs, Conroy saw him arise and take one of the twin children and paced
about the room, In his frenzy he was about to place the child on the hot stove when
in rushed Captain Sullivan and a posse of police who secured the madman and the
infant. The officers took the unfortunate man to the county jail for security and he
will be removed to Dixmont Asylum to-morrow morning."
May 8, 1880, Atlanta Daily Constitution
Less than two months later, Mr. Daniel Conroy was III the news again:

WERE SOLVERS OF THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE DRIVEN INSANE?
The "Gem Puzzle Maniac" Fully Cured
"Daniel Conroy, the 'gem puzzle maniac,' arrived a little before midnight from
Dixmont asylum. He is perfectly cured of his passion for the blocks. His return to rea-
son and house has made a highly respectable family intensely happy"
Mc1Y 19, 1880, The Indiana Weekly Messenger (Indiana, Pennsylvania)
Less than two weeks after being "cured", Mr. Conroy was agam in the news:
"Daniel Conroy, of Erie, the man who was driven to raving madness over the fif-
teen game, and returned from Dixmont Asylum a couple of weeks ago, had another
attack Sunday morning, while in the cathedral. The solemnities of High mass were
disturbed by Conroy flinging his hat high above the Bishop's throne and exclaiming
that he was Daniel in the lion's den, The excitement spread from end to end of the
large edifice, and the poor fellow was got out and taken home. He will prohahly he
sent back to Dixmont."
August 5, 1883, Newark Daily Advocate (Newark, Ohio)
And three years later Daniel Conroy was once again in the news:
A TERRIBLE STRUGGLE.
A Fight With a Maniac On a High
Church Spire.
"Daniel Conroy, who became furiously insane over the fifteen puzzle twO years ago,
and was committed to Dixmont for treatment, was arrested at the insistence of a fel-
low-workman, John Bowden, who alleges that while working on the tower of the new
Cathedral, 135 feet high, Conroy became furious over a trivial matter, and threatened
to throw him down from the tower, and proceeded to put his threat into execution. A
terrible struggle ensued, and the men rolled and tumbled about on the narrow scaffold
until Conroy was overpowered by other workmen, and both he and Bowden saved
from being dashed to pieces at the base of the dizzy height. Bowden was seriously
injured in this struggle for liberty"
Trade card from 1880
advertising Turnbull's
Hats in Brooklyn,
New York.
- 1.3 - 1.5 - 1.4 -
-------  ' . . . ; -. : CJ ' !.: .
,:.1, '4 ':t.,   '"-
I , " .. , 'J 
.!2:.- -
i,'
I:. ..:1
-- "" -
 .-.....
"Q., .
- I!I'_"'\... _' " -.-.:: :to
tIP_ - ,11111111 RIll Ii IIIUliIIl....i'illIlIIlJ
,"-J
Jason Rogers
Do not weep for Jason Rogers,
He has gone away for good,
Quickly passed his latest moments,
Shoving little blocks of wood.
 ,
"
When was brought that awful puzzle
To his happy fireside, I
little thought his wife and children
That from them he soon would glide. J
SIjOSEPH HERALD, APRIL 3, 1880.
Enlcl1 a.eeordius to Act of COI"NII in the Tear 1880. b7 1. B. Jd:ortlOD, ';81 B.....,.. N. Y.
In the uffttoe 01 thlll Lihraric.n of Co11Krel., . WuhlinJt1on. u. C.
RTILL' UNSOL ,TED.
-- .-....-..,--::....
THE KEY TO THIS MYSTERY
IS ONE OF
TURNBULLS HATS,
39 & 41 FUL TON STREET,
BROOKL YN.
127

CHAPTER 8
13, 15, 14 The General Solution.
Professor Theophillus Dutter
Had never been in a flutter;
He went on his way growing greater each day;
"Oh. Famer' he would frequently mutter.
Impressive he was in his manner,
And par excellence in his grammar;
A marvel in speech. and a man who could teach,
Though vanity shown on his banner.
He heard of the little "Gem" wonder-
The puzzle that made people ponder-
And do it he would, for he knew that he could,
Through daily of life he grew fonder.
The thought of the act of salvation;
The gratitude of a great nation;
His wonderful name and the spread of his fame-
The key-note of his elevation.
'Twas easy to solve, why deny it-
So simple he cared not to try it-
"But duty, you see, is my reason," said he;
"I've talent, and I should apply it."
He worked till he grew quite excited;
His labor- would it be requited?
He puzzled his head till his reason had fled.
Alas! Can he ever be righted?
The Brooklyn Daily Eagle published an article on
March, 26, 1880, a few days after Conroy was rirst sent to
the Dixmont Asylum, which put the issue of the rifteen
puzzle causing insanity into a sensible perspective:
Insanity and the Fifteen Puzzle.
"A piteous story is sent from Pennsylvania describ-
ing the utterances and actions of a raving maniac. As a
rule, the wanderings of a demented man or woman are
not usually deemed of sufficient importance to the body
politic to demand publication, and, as one may antici-
pate, there is a special reason why an exception is made
in this case. The victim is declared to have been a hard-
working, temperate and kindly stonemason, fond of his
wife and children, and a total abstainer from intoxicating
drinks, Not long ago he was infected by the fifteen puzzle
and strove to solve a combination which results in 13,
15, 14. After working at it night and day, he became vio-
lently insane and is now in an asylum, with small chance
of recovery This is the story as it comes from
Pennsylvania. It is undoubtedly true up to a certain
point. That he is now insane and that he worked upon
the fifteen puzzle is very likely
But that he became insane because of his devotion
to this amusement we question very much. In fact we
take the position that no man or woman has been driven
mad by it. For when one comes to consider the endless
number of puzzles that necessarily confront one in this
world, and try to understand why, if virtue brings its own
reward, men prefer to seek vice; why poverty and misery
abound; why the wicked prosper; why the more money a
man has, the more he wants; why the richer he becomes,
the stingier he becomes; why he is, where he comes from
and whither he goes; how to make a small income cover the necessities of a large fam-
ily, and so on until the brain reels at the mere contemplation of the puzzles requiring
solution-when these things are considered, surely no man of sound mind can
address himself to the proritless and dreary problem of arranging rifteen blocks in a
box,
"Fifteen," now is all he can mutter;
'Tis what he calls Latin and butter;
With dignified air he will vacantly stare-
Professor Theophilus Dutter.
By. WM. HENGLER - To JOHN FAULKNER.
PHILADELPHIA SUNDAY TIMES, MARCH 1880.
The people who are alleged to have become insane over the puzzle are those
whose insanity was firmly seated; these who, after devoting the precious hours to it,
are still apparently normal, are not quite hopeless, The fact that the puzzle has
128

WERE SOLVERS OF THE FIFTEEN PUZZLE DRIVEN INSANE?
become widely popular is the strongest evidence that the prevalence of
insanity is much greater than is usually supposed."
J :.. o.
Finally, the Cazenovia Republican (New York), described benefits the
puzzle has provided to patients of hospitals and other charitable institu-
tions:
"The future of that ubiquitous puzzle 'Fifteen' is a problem almost as
hard to solve as the puzzle itself. It has been the means of some good,
despite its crack-brain tendencies. The inmates of hospitals and other char-
itable institutions have been supplied with the fifteen puzzle with marked
benefit, the occupation giving employment to the mind, and relieving the
monotony of the situation."
, .."1. \" ')
f 1\:' , - "1 t_  I
(, JI. "') I ' , '
,,_"'  ! / I
rr I" ',: ,", :1&/1,
II I 11  ", "rW II
II _ ,>  . J) n-
#i..  ..., ".I.:it-:.,t '//
>.' " , {/ /.
':lit - . "/
PIt£ AllTru .04£ \{!-. '1,1 "
''2'a  "'i1:,,, , I. !) /} . , ;
&.18. t \ ...-----:.1¥t? ." ,,'" ..",, 4.   f 7
.Io - - ..' \' ', -, -' '{, .'"
13.,S 'II.I I:..  ft" \" i ") -, .  ')
.'io'... ,/ ,I, " 7 I 4  5 11 '
,: ) ,,' (, --.- "' 8
\, 'f. q , ,, I '-cjfl
'/ it  7 , )0 .... IS
.. CA..... 11. . k ' ':' -, ;,2. I 1 ' .
1 ' , "r 9 -:. ,./ . h 
 " , \ . \\' (..; , \ ' '. uc D/tJ"  I '" 1></ \ \! 2. I A 11
\ . \,:'\ ('f' \' '1 S I' ....
: ' y '" \ , "'" 'tHE", " / 1 .' '
:. \,. .('tE: Y I /
'-
00 'lOUR OR!)(RS FOR THE NEW' PUZZLE or f"T"'" *' .
VVP"rTE Ff)'A' ()uqj.[N...R_ GAT-....OGUE Df SP£UI.\N BRCTHERS 3S.Ji tl.sS7 BRDIUJW'Ai
FANC'( GOOD N>r,oNs. Nt... VORI'v
In London, a special Fifteen Puzzle was made for the
blind by The National Institute for the Blind.
The further developments in the case of Daniel
Conroy, after the Brooklyn Daily story was published,
show that Conroy's instability was triggered by a High
Mass and a minor disagreement on top of a 135 foot
Cathedral tower, and few would believe that these events
were the wuse of his insanity Likewise, insanity was not
caused by trymg to solve the Fifteen Puzzle.
$' ,
'i)'''' '
 .,
\.; - .' :

1.1 \
. i

"
/1
1<"
/IIJ
..,
, ',\ {
- ... ;)
(,,,> ),,<> .'/. 'j \Q
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, ),
,1 1 1
J   1",
 
, '
\ yo' ,'"
, ",.'_''''11'
,. ..._.....

\,

711.
1ft'.. " -
,,,,JoT \') ,
t- FIFTEEN PUZZl
That 15 Puzzle.
Some Ijttle blocks were made of wood,
Which puzzle all who saw them;
Move which every way you would,
The 14-15 wrong you'd always get 'em.
Old and young, black and white,
Have tried to solve the problem;
They work all day. and work all night,
And yet they come wrong, "darn 'em:'
Men aged and wise stood on their heads,
And every which way moved the "little jokers;"
Easily they can; all right they said.
Except down in them "cussed corners."
They played and moved 'till haggard and worn,
But the puzzle is still the same;
A thousand generations yet unborn
May tackle the little block game.
EVENING GAZETTE, PORT JERVIS, NY, MARCH 18, 1880.
Top: The Fifteen Puzzle
for the Blind. Designed
and sold by The
NatIOnal Institute for
the Blind, London.
Left: Postal Card adver-
tising ''The New Puzzle
I of Fifteen." Spellman
Brothers, New York.
(The same cartoons are
on the cover of "The
Puzzle March" on page
46)
-----'
129

CHAPTER 9
THE LASTING IMPACT OF THE PUZZLE CRAZE
New Sliding Block Puzzles Flourish
The Fifteen Puzzle was the first commercially successful sliding block puzzle, and
one of the most successful mechanical puzzles of all time. The commercial success of
the puzzle stimulated the invention, manufacturing and sale of a wide variety of other
forms and versions of new sliding block puzzles, New puzzles of the same type are
still very popular and are still being invented, developed and sold. A book, Sliding
Piece Puzzles, by Edward Hordern, documents the designs and solutions of more than
250 sliding block puzzles.
Below are some early examples of sliding block puzzles that were sold after the
Fifteen Puzzle Craze in 1880, and the Rubik's Cube, which created its own puzzle
craze in the 1980s.
The Premier. The Prince
of Puzzles. Gladstone
and Beaconsfield.
England,
) - " ,
_, ,. '! U h. 
... .. 'WHEN IT RAINS ." ..
Vlr;AR A KENREIGN RAINCOAT
. r 'e}
I r
tJ
,
t 
t} ,
.
'e'
I.
';, VII
, - ' I
" .,
r.
----
I -
-. .
I
OT
,
(\,,,...\,
,,\,)"'
EJ'- ,..
, .
-,
11" He"s 'OR TIIJIIII 'Uf
If' I . RU..tUt-we MAV! tf ---i' .
New Game Puzzle
Manuf Geo. B. Doan
& Co., Chicago Rubber
Co., Chicago, ILL.
C IH A A B
 1 J I GI BIR
$ L I
N IA.R
- --- {..,
  r M-
..... .-.w, ..
OR
<:  , r'!- J.
t  
  
t
'"
...

t
I
»4
_JH '1- 8M
n'
- '
.Q. \\ 
-Q \  \\
RO-
V c @
\;I ,
" THE
ADMINISTRATION UZZLE.
I'H\" \I (.t., \
.
Adminstration Puzzle. Manuf Ives,
Blakeslee & Co., New York.
'liR)
p-ICI\II


p I (j N
UZZL[
 /"1:-..
r . .-t' .  f ) - \. l
\ .-  .. _, I.....
"WITHOUT NW'
"16 TO I"
07900
, ',:!
"I I,
 x...


"-
"'<
Campaign Puzzle
Presidential campaign
of 1900 is the theme.
130

THE LASTING IMPACT OF THE PUZZLE CRAZE
Foot Ball Pu:;::;:le.
Patent 1904 by
William HE Wehner.
(
1\'1
cr;EHJ1!'I1"ft' ....
..

. II>
.. "It.. I
0- CA
,. .
,.-(
YOU
I Y
THE GREAT
. NATIONAL-AMERICAN
BA E-BALL PUZZLE
2nd row left: Can you
----: Solvit. @1909 by EY.
Horder, Chicago, 1LL
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The Race-War Puzzle.
Patented 1892. Manuf
Gold and Silver Puzzle
Co., New York.
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131

CHAPTER 9
Right: Columbus. Patent 1891 by
William Trumbull. Manuf Milton
Bradley Co., Springfield, Mass.
Below: The Thirteen Puzzle. Manuf
Columbia Novelty Manufacturing
Co., Boston, Mass.
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Thirt('PII Puzzlp
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16 6
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10 11 1 13
Below: Klondike Brain Tester.
(91897 Clement Hill, Va.
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Right: The
ARC Puzzle.
Patent 1883
by 1- u,
Mackenzie.
Manuf The
Sunday and
Daily Mereu
ry, New York,
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Right: The
Block Puzzle.
c.1890. Manuf
Dr. Miles
Medical Co.,
Elkhart, Ind.
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Above: Tnlemma, by Dt: Alwin Vietor. c-
1890. Manuf- Abel Klinger, Germany.
1 2 1 3 I.. 5
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.-"

THE LASTING IMPACT OF THE PUZZLE CRAZE
A Legacy of the Fifteen Puzzle Craze: Swap-trick Puzzles
The mathematical property that made it impossible to solve the Fifteen Puzzle is
used in the design of several newer puzzles. These puzzles appear to require reversing
two square blocks, which we know is impossihle. The swapping of round blocks with
letters was described on page 20, However, these new puzzles all use square blocks
and are solved by sliding, using what has been called a "swap trick". They are
described in two articles by Slocum and Gebhardt, in Cubism For Fun, published by
the Dutch Cube Club. The following is based on these articles.
Basically there have been two groups of swap trick puzzles. One group uses letters
which are not all different. The second group uses a design or picture (usually with
two identical blocks) which makes a swap trick possible. First some early and impor-
tant Sliding Block Puzzles with letter swap tricks will be presented.
Swap-Trick Puzzles With Letters
Strictly speaking, there is no trick that allows an honest solution to the unsolvable
basic prohlem. However, puzzle inventors have designed many Sliding Block Puzzles
for which a clever solution with a swap trick is possible, This can be accomplished by
including at least one pair of identical blocks. An 'invisible' swap of these, allows a
simultaneous 'visible' swap of two other blocks,
The Panama Canal Puzzle
The Little Buttercup Puzzle, shown on page 20, was the first swap-trick puzzle. It
used round blocks that were rotated to solve the puzzle, The first swap-trick puzzle
using square hlocks was the Panama Canal Puzzle, dated 1915 (Fig, 9.1). The starting
position has the red letter Up" and the black letter "c' reversed. The problem is to
swap the two blocks in the left column, This can be done if either the two hlack I\s or
two of the three red I\s are swapped simultaneously.
The suggested solution is to swap the middle and
left red "/\' blocks which do not significantly
change the background of the scene. Our best
solution usmg this approach requires 32 moves.
Can you improve this?
Rate Your Mind pIa
Another letter version of a
swap-trick puzzle is shown in
Figure 9,2. It was produced in
the USA by the Plas- Trix Co_
in 1959. The problem is to
rearrange the blocks such that
they correctly spell RATE
YOUR MIND PAL This can be
,/ t\i =M
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€Q\- N IX ' t .
Fig. 9.1 Panama Canal
Puzzle. (91915, SS A Co.
133

CHAPTEp
done if, simultaneously with reversing the yellow "PI.' and "[' blocks, two identical
blocks are exchanged. Since the blocks of the upper and the lower half are distin-
guished by two different colors, you have just one pair of identical blocks to swap,
namely the two blue blocks with the letter "R"
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t' t
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ND
A
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Fig. 9.2 Rate Your Mind
Pal. Manuf
@ Plas Trix. Brooklyn,
NY.
Fig. 9.3 Get My Goat
Puzzle. Patent 1914.
Manuf Rust Craft
Publishers, Boston,
Mass.
Fig. 9.4 Kapture the
Kron Prinz. Patent
1916. England.
r
:APTU R E
THE
RO N PRIN Z
I L ..R....H ....".. 11!41..
nt NO 1:'6 : 
1. 1
[MOVE
1 .HIS
I BLOCK
134
Swap-trick Puzzles With Pictures
The Get My Goat Puzzle
The Get-My-Goat puzzle, shown in Figure 9.3, might be the best-known Sliding
Block Puzzle based on a swap trick picture, The puzzle was patented in 1914 The
problem is to get the goat inside the fenced-in area, after removmg the marked block.
This basically requires a swap of the block with the goats head and the block adjacent
to it. To successfully swap these two blocks, you must at the same time swap two
other identical pieces, These are easily discovered as soon as one knows what to look
for.
 PltTFNT£1)
OC7.BI9'4.
-
G(T -d1
Y
GOAT
I
_4  'L
r I REMOVE I I I rI8'
THIS ! , -,.
BLOCK ; 

 
;
The Get-My-Goat puzzle apparently sold well and stimulated many dif-
ferent variants. A similar puzzle with historicaVpolitical theme, Kapmre the
Kron Prinz, thal was patented in England in 1916, is shown in Figure 9.4,
.
Other clever more recent versions of swap-trick puzzles were designed
by Noh Yoshigahara, Len Gordon and Naoaki Takashima. There are many
modern sliding block puzzles with swap-trick solutions, some of which
appear to be inadvertent.
I "
,
U'
,
:.
16
ppft '01 Three-dimensional sliding block puzzles
The Bloxbox Puzzle
Prof. Peter G. Tait, in a brief "Note on the Theory of the 'IS Puzzle,'''
mentions the possibility of a three-dimensional version or a sliding
block puzzle but says it is 'scarcely realizahle' (page 68).
Tait would be surprised to learn that Charles L Rice patented a
cube puzzle version of a sliding block puzzle in 1889, and Piel Hein
Ij r I
I

THE LASTING IMPACT OF THE PUZZLE CRAZE
brought the puzzle to market in the 1970s under the name "Bloxbox."
Heins version consisted of a 2x2x2 transparent plastic cube contain-
ing seven small cubes, as shown in Figure 9,5.
Another Puzzle Craze
In 1980, one hundred years after the Fifteen Puzzle craze, another
puzzle began being sold. which amazingly became an even larger
puzzle craze, in the number of puzzles sold, than the Fifteen Puzzle
craze, It was the Ruhik's Cube Puzzle craze (Rubikmania), Rubik's cube
is certainly one of the most elegant puzzles ever made. It is self-contained,
colorful, a simple shape, and it is obvious what the puzzle is; restoring the solid
colors on each side. The twisting is natural and satisfying, and although solving the
entire cube is very difficult, one side can be solved fairly easily
When Erno Rubik was asked how he happened to invent the famous Cube Puzzle,
he said it was a result of his attempt to improve on the Fifteen Puzzle. He was trying
to eliminate the vacant space, which he considered "ugly", He patented his Cube
Puzzle in Hungary in 1976, and the puzzles were first made in Hungary (Fig, 9,6.)
The stories about the craze that resulted are quite similar to the newspaper reports of
the Fifteen Puzzle craze in 1880, In their 1986 book, Puzzle Old and New, Jerry
Slocum and Jack Botermans reported,
"The Rubikmania 'disease' reached epidemic proportions in the early I980s, In
offices, in bars, in parks, in the subway, no matter where one went, it seemed that
everybody in the world was twiddling the cube, The former mayor of an English city
was operated on for tendonitis of the thumb after a long cube twiddling session. A
German woman sued for divorce after giving her husband a cube as a gift and then
finding he was so obsessed with it he had no time for her. A postal engineer wrote
that cube playing had reduced the efficiency of his office to zero, but that
'being a government department, no one noticed', At the height of
its populanty the cube had become a minor industry, spaning
dozens of variations and solutions by the score. At one point
three of the top five books on the New York Times Bestseller
list were solution books for the cube. The craze hit the
height of absurdity when 'Mr Rubik', recorded by the
Baron Knights, became a hit song."
'\t
,
Since Rubikmania ended, we have seen some won-
derful new puzzles on the market, but we may have to
wait a long time for the next puzzle to capture the
world's attention and become another craze.
'RtJvos
........ OCA
.....
... .
I"
"
Fig. 9.5 Piet Heins
Bloxbox. Patent 1889 by
Cl. Rice. Japan.
Fig. 9.6 The original
Rubih's Cube & Box.
Autographed. Manuf
Politechniha. 1pari
Szovethezet, Trial,
Hungary.


SOLUTIONS & CREDITS
Page 32, Pmblem I. Fig. 1.14 to
Fig. 1.15 (39 moves, 15 combined
moves)
14, 15, 13, - 9, 5, 1, - 2, 3, - 7, 11,
15, - 13, 9, - 5, 1, 2, - 3, 7, 4, - 8,
12, - 15, 10, - 6, 7, - 4, 8, - 12, 15,
14, - 13, 9, 5, - 1. 2, 3, - 4. 8, 12.
Page 37, Problem 2. Fig. 1.22
"Start" to "LEX Finish" (71 moves)
12,11, 7,3,4,8,3,6, 10, 15,13,
9,5, 1,2, 10, 15, 13,9,5, 1,2, 10,
15, 13, 1,5,9, 1,5,2, 13,5,2,9,
1,2,5, 6, 4, 15, 10, 13, 9, 5, 7, 14,
12, 11,3,4, 14, 12, 11,3,4,8, 15,
14, 12, ll, 3, 4, 8, 12, 11, 7,6, 10,
14,15.
Page 38, Problem 3. Fig. 1.23
"Start" to "Finish by MAME & ].D.
Walker" (44 moves)
14, 11, 12,8, 7,6, 10, 12,8, 7,4,
3, 6, 4, 7, 14, 11, 15, 13, 9, 12, 8,
4, 10, 8. 4, 14, 11, 15, 13, 9, 12, 4,
8,5,4,8,9, 13, 14, 10, 6,2, I.
Page 39, Problem 4. Fig. 1.24
"Start" to "D." Finish (65 moves)
14,11,12,8,7,6,5,9,13, 15,10,
12, 8, 7, 6, 5, 2, 3, 4, 6, 5, 2, 3, 1,
9,3,2,4, 1,2,4,8, 7,5,6, 1,2,4,
3, 9, 4, 3, 12, 13, 9, 12, 8, 7, 13, 9,
12,8,7,6,5,13,9,10,11, 14,13,
9, 10, 11, IS.
Page 56, Problem 5. Harper's
Weekly Problem - Solve in 72 sim-
ple and 28 combined moves (72
simple moves - Knuth)
5,9, 13, 12, 14, 15,8,4,3,2, 1,6,
10, 14, 15,8,4,3,2,1,6,5,9,
13, 14, 11, 7,6,5, 10, 11, 15,8.4,
3,2, 1,5, 10,9, 13, 14, 15, 7
6, 10, 9, 13, 14, 15, 12, 8, 4, 3, 2,
1,5,9,13, 14, 15, 12,8,4,3,2, 1,
5,9, 13, 14, IS.
Page 56, Problem 5. Harper's
Weekly Problem (28 Combined
moves)
5, 9, 13, - 12, 14, IS, - 8, 4, - 7, 6,
- 10, 14, - 15, 8, - 4, 7, - 6, 10, -
14, 15, - 8, 4, - 7, 6,3, - 2, 1,5, -
9, 13, - 15, 11,6, - 3,2, - 1, 5, 9, -
13, 15, 12, - 8, 4, 7, -3, 2, 1, - 5, 9,
13, -15,12,8, - 4,7,3, -2,1,5,-
9,13, - 14,11,7, -3, 2, -I, 5, 9,-
13, 14, IS.
Page 56, Problem 6. Harper's
Weekly Problem - Solve in 82
moves (Solution by Igor Prelutskiy
in 76 moves)
2, 1,3, 7, 11, 15, 14, 13,9,5, 1,3,
7, 11, 15, 14, 13,9,5, 1,4,2,3, 7,
136
SOLUTIONS
11, 15, 14, 13, 9,5, 1,4,2,3, 7,
11, 15, 14, 13,9,5, 1,4,2,6, 10,
2, 6, 11, 15, 14, 13, 9, 5, 1,2, 6, 8,
3,11,8,3,12,4,3,8,11,7,15,
11, 7, 12,8, 7,11, IS.
Page 56, Problem 6. Harper's
Weekly Problem - Solve in 82 moves
(Minimum Solution 70 moves)
2, 1,3, 7, 11, 15, 14, 13, 9, 5, 1,3,
7, 11, 15, 14, 13, 9, 5, 1,
6, 15, 14, 13,9,5, 1,6, 15, 10, 6,
8, 4, 2, 3, 15,8, 4, 2, 3,
IS, 7, 11, 14, 13, 9, 5, 1, 4, 2, 12,
4,2, 8, 3, 12, 8, 3, 7, 11,
14,13,9,5, 1,2,3, 7, 11, IS.
Page 56, Problem 7, Solve in 28
moves (by Don Knuth, 28 moves)
12, 11, 10, 15, 13, 9, 5, 2, 1,3, 7,
10, 15, 6,2,5,9, 13, 14, 15,10, 7,
3,2,6, 10, 11, 12.
Page 57, Problem 8. Srtictly
Downhill Each move a piece is dos-
er to the destination (Knuth - 56
moves)
I, 13, 12, 1,4,3, 11, 10, 1, 4,3,2,
5, 14, 15, 12,4,3,2,8,9,6, 14,
IS, 12, 4, 3, 2, 8, 5, 13, 8, 5, 11, 7,
9, 6, 13, 11, 7, 10,5, 7, 6, 13, 14,
IS, 12,8, 7, 6, 10, 9, 13, 14, IS.
Page 57, Problem 9. Kmght's Move
(Knuth - 37 moves)
13,6,9, 12,3,8, 11,4, 7, 14, 12,
2,5, 10, 14, 12, 4, ll, 8, 4, 11, 7,
12,11, 7,8,4,3,2,5,6,9,5,6,
10, 14, IS.
Page 57, Problem 10. Super
Challenge #1 (Knuth - 36 moves)
Knight's Move
- 5 10 I
13 2 7 4
6 9 1411
15 12 3 8
Solution
5, 10, 1,4, 7,2,9,6, 13,9,6, 14,
3, 12, 15, 13, 9, 6, 10, 1, 2, 3, 11,
8, 12, 15, 14, 10, 6,5, 1,2,3, 7,8,
12.
Page 57, Problem II. Super
Challenge #2 (Knuth - 65 moves)
Knight's Move
15 4 13 -
10725
3 14 9 12
8 11 6 1
Solution
5,2,9,6,1, 12,6, I, 11.14, 7,4,
13, 9, 1, 7, 3, 10, 15, 13, 9, 1, 4, 3,
10, 15, 13, 9, 1,5, 2, 4, 3, 10, 15,
8,14,15,8,13,9,1,5,2,4,6,7,
8, 10,5,2,3,6, 7,8.11, IS, 14.
13, 9, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12.
Page 57, Problem 12. The Hardest
15 Problem (by the Authors - 80
moves)
12,9, 13,14,6, 1,2,3,8, 11,9,
13, 14, 6, 1,2,3,8, 4, 7, 15, 12,
13, 9, 10, 1,2,3,8, 4, 7, 15, 12,
13,9, 14,1,5,4, 7, 11, 12, 13, 10,
14, 1, 6,2,3,4, 7, 11, 12, 14,5, 7,
11, 12, 15, 13, 10, 9, 1, 6, 2, 3, 4,
8, 12, 15, 14, 10, 9, 5, 6, 2, 3, 4, 8,
12.
Page 83, Fig. 4.2b Loyd's Problem
I. (15-14 to 14-15 with space in
top row) (Loyd - 44 moves)
14, 11, 12, 8, 7, 6, 10, 12,8, 7, 4,
3, 6, 4, 7, 14, 11, 15, 13, 9, 12, 8,
4,10,8,4, 14, 11, 15, 13,9,12,4,
8,5,4,8,9, 13, 14, 10, 6,2, I.
Page 83, Fig. 4.2c Loyd's Problem
2. (15-14 to 14-15 with 1/4 turn)
(Loyd - 39 moves)
14, 15, 10, 6, 7, 11, 15, 10, 13, 9,
5, 1,2,3, 4, 8, 12, 15, 10, 13, 9, 5,
1,2,3, 4, 8, 12, 15, 14, 13, 9,5, 1,
2. 3. 4, 8, 12.
Page 83, Fig. 4.2d Loyd's Magic
Square Jrom 15-14 (See below
Page 115, Fig. 75 - Loyd's 50 move
solution)
Page 114. Fig. 7.2 Dudeney's
Spanish Dungeon Magic Square
(Dudeney - 37 move,)
15, 14, 10, 6, 7,3, 2, 7, 6, ll, 3, 2,
7,6,11,10,14,3,2,11,10,9,5,
1, 6, 10, 9, 5, 1, 6, 10, 9, 5, 2, 12,
15,3.
Page 114. Fig. 7.3 Knuth's Magic
Square (Knuth - 35 moves)
12, 11, 10, 9, 5, 6,2,3, 4, 8, 7, 10,
15, 12, ll, 7,8, 4, 10, 15, 9, 5, 13,
14, 5, 2, 3, 10, 15, 3, 6, 13, 2, 9,
12.
Page 115. Fig. 75 Loyd's Magic
Square (Loyd - 50 moves)
12, 8, 4, 3, 2, 6, 10, 9, 13, IS, 14,
12,8,4, 7, 10,9, 14,12,8,4, 7,
10,9,6,2,3, 10,9,6,5, 1,2,3,6,
5,3,2, 1, 13, 14,3,2, 1, 13, 14,3,
12, 15, 3.
Page 115. Fig 7.6 Knuth's Magic
Square (Knuth - 36 moves)
12, 11, 7,3,2, 1,5, 9, 10, 7, 14,
15, 7,6,1,2,4,8,3,14, IS, 7, 13,
10,6,1, 14, 15, 11,3, 15,4,8,15,
3,12.
CREDITS
Puzzle Credits
(page) [Legend: upper-u, middle-m.
lower-I; leJt-l, middle-m, right-r,]
Mike Cianciosi 24ul, 27
James Dalgety 6m, 1911, 25mr, 3911, 50,
74, 78,80,85,90, 103m!.
John Ergatoudis 22ml, nIl. 61um,
631r, 100, 124. 129.
Dick Hess 19mr, 73.
Harold Raizer 26ur, 29 mr, 29ur, 38,
119mr, 12011, 121, 125.
Will Shortz 13mr, 17, 54. 57, 62ur.
6311, 67, 71, 110, 111.
Picture Credits
Page 10: Buffalo Bill
WyomingTailsandTrails.com.
PinaJore Poster - Gilbert and Sullivan
Archive.
Edison Lamp - National Mu,eum oj
American Histmy
Page 44: Game oj Fifteen Poster-
Librmy oj Congress
Page 77: Museum oj India Art, Berlin,
Germany
Page 98: N.P. Chapman - Canastota
Public Librmy, NY
Page 99: Intflior oj Chapman home-
Lynne Ahnert
Page 104: Frank Chapman - Onondaga
Historical Society, Syracuse, NY
Page 104].]. Belden, Belden Manor -
Onondaga Histmical Society, Syracuse,
NY
Page 105: Anna Gere Belden - Marble
High RelieJ by Waldo Stmy, Rome,
Italy, 1886 - First Presbyterian Church
United, Syracuse, NY
Page 106: Ocean House - Dwight C
Brown, Jr
Page 106: Ocean House Log Book -
'w.:sterlv Historical Society, CT.
Page 107: Julius Carlin - Yale
UniversIty
Page 107: Catlin's Cottage - Dwight C
Brown, Jr
Page 108: Catlin's Home, Hartford -
Connecticut Historical Society,
Hartford.
Page 108: American School Jor the
DeaJ, HartJord - ASD Archives
Page 109: American School Jor the
DeaJ Woodshop - ASD Archives
Music Credits
Page 45 - 47: American Sheet Music.
Librmy oj Congress

BOOKS
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1911.
Ahrens, Wilhelm. Mathematische Unterhaltungen und Spiele,
Vol. 2. Teubner, Leipzig, 1918.
American Asylum of the Deaf and Dumb. The Sixty-Fourth
Annual Report of the American Asylum of the Deaf and Dumb.
Hartford, 1880
Archibald, Raymond Clare. Unpublished Letters of Jame
Joseph Sylvestn and Other New Information Conceming his
Life and WOI-II. The Saint Catherine Press, Bruges, Belgium,
1936.
Ball, WW. Rouse. Mathematical Recreations and Problems,
First Edition. Macmillan, London, 1892.
Ball, W.W. Rouse and H.S.M. Coxeter. Mathematical
Recreations & Essays, Eleventh Edition. Macmillan &: Co.,
London, 1939.
Berkeley &: Rowland. Card Tr-icks and Puzzles. George Bell
&: Sons, London, 1894.
Cassell's Book of In-door Amusements. Cassell, Petter, Galpin
&: Co., London, 1881.
Chapman, Henry A. The Mystic Square. A Few Facts About
13-15-14. Henry A. Chapman, Hartford, 1880.
Cremer. Brilliant Melancholia; Albrecht Durer's Game of the
Thirty-Four and "Boss". 1880.
Curtis, David A. Fifteen: The Gem Puzzle. How To Do It.
American News Company, New York, 1880
Dobyns, Kenneth W The Patent Office Pony. Sergent
Kirkland's Press, San Diego, 1994.
Dudeney, Henry E. Amusements in Mathematics. Thomas
Nelson &: Sons. London, 1917.
Dudeney, Henry E. Puzzles and Curious Problems. Thomas
Nelson &: Sons, London, 1931.
Encydop£rdia Britannica. Encyclop;edia Britannica Premium
Service, 2005.
Fehrman, E.H. The Key to the 13-15-14 Puzzle. Louisville,
KY, 1880.
Fujimura, Kozaburo and Shigeo Takagi. Pazuru no genryu
[Origin of Puzzles]. Diamond-sha, Japan, 1975.
Gardner, Martin. The Scientific American Book of
Mathematical Puzzles and Diversions. Simon &: Schuster,
New York, 1959.
Gardner, Martin. Sixth Book of Mathematical Games. W.H.
Freeman &: Co., San Francisco, 1971.
Hordern, Edward. Sliding Piece Puzzles. Oxford University
Press, Oxford, 1986.
Kraitchik, Maurice. Mathematical Recreations. George Allen
&: Unwin, London, 1944.
Lang, Harry G. &: Bonnie Meath-Lang. Deaf Persons in the
Alts and Sciences: A biographical Dictionary. Greenwood
Press, Westport, CT, 1995.
Leopold, L Das system und die Losung des Boss Puzzle, Spiel
der Funfzehn. Gebr Spiro, Hamburg. 1880.
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND SOURCES
Licks, HE (Mansfield Merriman). Recreations in
Mathematics. D. Van Nostrand Co., New York, 1917.
Loyd, Samuel. Chess Strategy. Sam Loyd, Elizabeth, New
Jersey, 1878
Loyd, Sam. The Eighth Book of Tan, Pan I. Loyd &: Co.,
New York, 1903.
Loyd, Sam. Mathematical Puzzles of Sam Loyd. Dover
Publications, Inc., New York, 1959.
Loyd, Sam. More Mathematical Puzzles of Sam Loyd. Dover
Publications, Inc., New York, 1960.
Loyd, Sam Jr., Ed. Sam Loyd's Cydopedia of Puzzles. Lamh
Publishing Co., New York, 1914.
Loyd, Sam, Jr. Sam Loyd and His Puzzles. Barse &: Co., New
York, 1928.
Lucas, Edouard. Recreation Mathematiques, Second EditIon.
Blanchard, Paris, 1882.
Malone, Dumas, Editor. Dictionary of American Biography,
Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1943.
McClintock, Inez &: Marshall. Toys in America. Public
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Meredith, Bill. The Embossing Co., Albany, NY: Toys That
Teach. WH. Meredith, Alhany, NY, 1996.
Ocean House Guest Register. Watch Hill, RI, 1878 - 1879.
Parshall, Karen Hunger. James Joseph Sylvc.ter. Clarendon
Press, Oxford, 1998-
Pickard, Sid. The Puzzle King. Pickard &: Son, Dallas Texas,
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Proctor, Richard A. Familiar Science Studies. Chatto
&:Windus, London, 1882.
Sala, George Augustus. America Revisited: From the Bay of
New York to the Gulf of Mexico. Vizetelly &: Co., London.
1883.
Schubert, Hermann. Theorethche Entscheidung ubel' das Bos
Puzzle Spiel, Hamburg, 1880.
Schubert, Hermann. Mathematische Mussestunden. Gbschen,
Leipzig, 1900.
Slocum, Jerry &: Jack Botermans. Puzzles Old and New.
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Starck, Edward L Key to the Puzzle of Fifteen, Containing a
Thorough Investigation of it, Together With Numerous
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van Delft, Pieter &: Jack Botermans. Creative Puzzles of tIle
World. Harry N. Abrams, Ine. New York, 1978.
Weyde, Peter Henri van der, Editor. The Sliding Number
Puzzle. New York, 1880.
Whistler, S.M. The Fifteen Puzzle. Its Solution. J. A. Heistand.
(Printer), Lancaster, PA, 1885
White, Alain C. Sam Loyd and his Chess Problems.
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White, Gwen. Antique Toys and their Background. B.T.
Batsford Ltd., London, 1971.
137

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND SOURCES
ARTICLES
Archer, Aaron F. "A Modern Treatment of the 15 Puzzle."
Am. Malh. Monthly, November L999.
"Arthur Black Letter." Knowledge, October 20, 1882.
Bain, George G. "The Prince of Puzzle Makers." Strand
Magazine, December 1907,
Black, Arthur. "The Fifteen Puzzle," Knowledge, December
12. 1881.
Black, Arthur. "Our Latest Gift to England," Brighton
Herald, May 22, 1880.
Black, Arthur. "Solution for the 15 puzzle." Knowledge,
January 1, 1882-
BrOngger, Adrian A., Marzetta, K Fukuda, 1- Nievergell.
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"Business Items." [Note about Loyd's Blind Luck Puzzle]
The Manufacturer and Builder, February 1891.
Crypton, Dr. [Paul Hoffman] "The Boy Genius Who Fooled
Millions." Science Digest, January 1984.
D. "The Gem Puzzle," Fitchburg Daily Sentinel, February
28, 1880.
Davies, A.L "Rotating the 15 Puzzle," Mathematical
Gazette. October 1970,
"Decatur's Sam Loyd." Manitoba Free Press, August 15,
1896.
Dian, Lee Yee. "The First Sliding Block Puzzle." Cubism For
Fun, Dutch Cube Club (NKC), February 1996, p. 23-24.
Dudeney, Henry E. "Great Puzzle Crazes:- London
Magazine, November 1904.
Dudeney, Henry E. "The Psychology of Puzzle Crazes," The
Nineteenth Century, December 1926.
Dudeney, Henry E. "The Spanish Dungeon, Problem 65."
Tit-Bits, January L, 1896.
Eaton, Walter P. "My Fifty Years in Puzzle Land." The
Delineator, April L 91 L
Eaton, Walter P. "Sam Loyd." American Magazine, May
191L
ES. "People Still Puzzled," New York Herald, March 3,
1880.
"The Famous 15 Block Puzzle," The Illustrated American,
January 4, 1896.
"The Famous 15 Block Puzzle-Solutions." The Illustrated
American, February 22, 1896.
"Famous Inventor of Puzzles," Syracuse Herald ,June LO,
1911.
"The Fifteen Puzzle song, Capitally Sung by Mr, Dallas, is
Deservedly Encored'-' Punch January 8,1881.
Frazer Jr, Persifor, "Scientific Analysis of the Gem Puzzle."
Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, February 26, 1880,
Frazer Jr, Persifor. "Three Methods and Forty-Eight
Solutions of the Fifteen Puzzle." American Philosoph)
Society Proceedings XVIII 18, March 5, 1880.
"The Game of Fifteen." Boston Daily Advertiser, March 1,
lSS0,
"The Game of Fifteen." The Sun (New York), Fehruary 27,
1880.
Gardner, Martin, "Mathematical Games: The life and work
138
of Sam Loyd, a mighty inventor of puzzles," Scientific
American, August 1957.
Gardner, Martin. "Sam Loyd." Houdinis Magic Magazine,
December 1977,
Gasser, Ralph U. "Harnessing Computational Resources for
Efficient Exhaustive Search," Dissertation, Swiss Federal
Institute of Technology, Zurich, 1995,
Henney, Alan G, & Dagmar R. "Systematic Solutions of the
Famous 15-14 Puzzles." Pi Mu EpsilonJournal, 1976.
"Henry, Ch. Lettre a M. Georges d'Heylli sur Ie taquin."
Gazette Anecdotique, 1880.
Hess, Stephen & Sandy Northrop. "Drawn & Quartered."
Puck, 1996.
Johnson, W.W "Notes on the "IS" Puzzle L" American
Journal of Mathematics, 1879.
Kirkman, Rev, T,P' "Mathematical Questions and Solutions:
6489." Educational Times Replints,1880.
Kirkman, Rev, T,P' "Mathematical Questions and Solutions:
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Educational Times Reprints, 1881.
KorL Richard E, "Depth-First Iterative-Deepening: An
Optimal Admissible Tree Search," Artificial Intelligence, 1985,
LEX. "The Game of Fifteen." Rochester Evening Democrat
and Chronicle. Fehruary 25, 1880,
Liebeck. Hans. "Some Generalizations of the 14-15 Puzzle"
Mathematics Magazine, September 197L
"Loyd and His Puzzles." Chicago Daily Tribune, May 31,
1896,
"Loyd the Puzzler." Oshkosh Daily Northwestern, June IS,
lS96.
Loyd, Sam, "The Fifteen Block Puzzle." Tit-Bits, October
24, 1896.
Loyd, Sam. "The 14-15 Puzzle in Puzzleland," Our Puzzle
Magazine, July 1908,
Loyd, Sam, "Is it Brains or Luck?" Our Puzzle Challenge,
1892,
Loyd, Sam. "The Journal's Easter Game; The Famous 14-15
Puzzle." New York EveningJournal, April 1, 1899.
Loyd, Sam. "Loyd Prize Puzzle." Tit-Bits, October 14. 1893.
Loyd, Sam. "A $1,000.00 Cash Prize Puzzle," Womans
Home Companion, January 1903.
Loyd, Sam, "Our Puzzle Corner." Our Illustrated Press, Jul)
1894.
Loyd, Sam, Our Puzzle Magazine [inside front cover], June
1907.
Loyd, Sam, "Sam Loyd's Puzzles." Brooklyn Daily Eagle,
March 21, 1897.
Loyd, Sam, "Sam Loyd's Puzzles." Womans Home
Companion, September 1902.
Loyd, SamJr. "Are you good at Solving Puzzles?" American
Magazine, September 1931.
Loyd, SamJr. "The Best Puzzle I Ever Made." Oakland
Tribune; Aunt Elsie Magazine, October 25, 1925.
Loyd, Sam, Jr. "Can You Solve the World's Greatest
Puzzles?" Popular Science Monthly, May
Loyd, Sam, Jr. "How Old is Ann?" Liberty, November 13,

1926.
"Loyd's Puzzles." Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 22, L896.
Lucas, Edouard. "Sixieme-sur Ie Jeu du Taquin ou du
Casse-tete Americain." La Review scientifiques de France et
de l'etranger. L88L
Mallinson, H,V. "An Array of Squares." Mathematical
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MAME. "Thinks He Has It." Rochester Evening Democrat
and Chronicle, February 26, 1880,
Meen, George. "The Fifteen Puzzle, (Sheet Music)" Charles
Sheard, London, 188L
Mondesir, Piarron de. "Le Dernier Mot du Taquin." La
Nature, September 25, 1880.
Naether, G.A. "Das Spiel der Fimfzehn." Frankischer Kurier,
April 16, 1880.
"Nebraska Chess." Nebraska State Journal, July 12, L907,
"New Loyd Puzzle with Prizes." Indiana County Gazette,
May II, 1893.
New York News. "He Invents Puzzles." Lima Daily Times,
January 13, L89L
New York News. "He Invents Puzzles." Stevens Point
Journal, January 31, L89L
"Noted Puzzler Dies." Mansfield News, April 12, 191L
"A Pasteboard Monument. [Blind Luck.]" Decatur
Daily Republican, February 10, 191L
Pevey, Dr. C.K "The Mystic Fifteen," Worcester Evening
Gazette, January 31, 1880.
"The Pigs in Clover Man." Stevens Point Journal, June 14,
191L
Proctor, Richard A. "Boss." Knowledge, November 11, 188L
Proctor, Richard A. "The Fifteen Puzzle," Gentleman's
Magazine, January 188L
Proctor, Richard A. "The Fifteen Puzzle," Knuwledge,
November 25, 188L
Proctor, Richard A, "The Fifteen Puzzle." Newcastle Weekly
Chronicle, March 27, L880.
Proctor, Richard A. "The Fifteen Puzzle Again." Washington
Post (From the London Truth), February 11, I88L
Proctor, Richard A. "Puzzles and Puzzledom." Morning
Oregonian, September 24, 1888.
Proctor. Richard A. "Yawnups Letter," Knowledge, December
30, L88L
"Prof. Barnard's Opinion Regarding the 13-15-14
Combination." New York Herald, March 6, 1880.
"The Puzzle King is Dead." Gettysburg Compiler; June 7,
191L
"Puzzle King Sam Loyd Dies:' ChIcago Tribune, April 12,
1911.
"The Puzzle Master." Indiana Evening Gazette, July 6, 191 L
Sala, George Augustus. "Echoes of the Week." ll/ustrated
London News, May 22, 1880.
"Sam Loyd." Mansfield News, April 14, 191L
"Sam Loyd Dead; Puzzle Creator." New York Times,
February 25, 1934.
"Sam Loyd Dies: Tantalized U,S By His Puzzles." New York
Herald, February 25, 1934,
"Sam Loyd, King of Puzzle Makers." The Novelty News, May
1905.
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND SOURCES
"Sam Loyd, Puzzle Man Dies." New York Times, April 12,
191L
"Sam Loyd, the Puzzle King." Science and Invention.
January 1930.
"Sam Loyd, The Puzzle Maker." Mansfield News, April 27,
191L
"Sam Loyd's Puzzles." Brooklyn Daily Eagle, February 28,
L897.
"Samuel Loyd." Scientific American, April 22, 191L
Schubert, H. "The Boss Puzzle." Hamburgischer
Correspondent, April 6, 1880,
Shavings, 'The 15 Puzzle," The London Figaro, May L,
L880.
Sherburne, E.c. "He'd Have Been a Whiz in a Quiz."
Christian Science Monitor, September 13, 194 L
Slocum, Jerry &: Dieter Gebhardt. "Sliding Block Puzzles
with Swap-Trick Pictures." Cubism For Fun, Dutch Cuhe
Club(NKC), March 2004, p. 8-1L
Slocum, Jerry &: Dieter Gebhardt. "Sliding Block Puzzles
with Letter Swap Tricks." Cubism For Fun, Dutch Cube
Club(NKC), November 2003, p.12-16.
Snowdon, Jasper W "The "Fifteen" Puzzle." Leisure Hour,
1880.
"The Solution of a Popular Puzzle:' New York Evening Pose,
February 25, 1880.
Spitznagel, Edward L "A New Look at the 15 Puzzle."
Mathematics Magazine, September 1967.
Spitznagel, Edward L "Selected Topics in Mathematics."
Mathematics Magazine, 197L
Story, W.E. "Notes on the IS-Puzzle U." AmericanJournal of
Mathematics, 1879.
Sylvester,].J., Editor. "Notes on the IS-Puzzle." American
Journal of Mathematics, 1879.
Tait, P.G, "Introductory Address to the Edinburgh
MathematIcal Society," Philosophical Magazine; Liseing's
Topologie, November 9,1883.
Tait, P.G, "Note on the Theory of the '15 Puzzle'." Royal
Society of Edinburgh Proceedings,I880.
Tissandier, Gaston. "Les Carres Magiques-A Propos du
Taquin'-Jeu Mathematique," La Nature, July 10, 1880.
Wales, ].A. (Artist) , "15-14-13- The Great Presidential
Puzzle," Puck, March 17, 1880.
Warner, James D. "Letter to the Editor." New York Herald,
February 29, 1880,
Warren, G.W "Clew to the Fifteen Puzzle." The Nation,
April 29, 1880,
Weyde, Vander. "Eureka! The Popular but Perplexing
Puzzle Solved at Last." New York Herald. February 28,
1880,
Weyde, Vander. "The Sliding Number Puzzle." The
Practical American, March 1880.
"What was the Puzzle That Swept the US?" Hammond
Times, March 5, 1943,
Wilson, R.M. "Graph Puzzles, Homotopy, and the Alterna-
ting Group." Journal of Combinatorial Theory, 1974.
Yawnups, "The Fifteen Puzzle," Knowledge, December 30,
188L
139

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND SOURCES
NEWSPAPER AND MAGAZINES
Most of the sources listed included ads, notes or articles about the Fifteen Puzzle during the puzzle craze in
the first few months of 1880, The listings with dates identify later articles and notes related to the Fifteen
Puzzle.
Abo Posten (Abo, Finland)
Abo Underrattelser (Abo, Finland)
Aftonbladet (Stockholm, Sweden)
Aftenposten (Oslo, Norway)
Albany Evening Journal (NY)
Albany Evening Times (NY)
Algemeine Zeitung (Augsburg, Germany)
Allen County Democrat, The (Lima, OH)
American Agriculturist (NY, NY)
Arizona Republican, The (1894, Phoenix, AZ)
Athens Messenger, The (OH)
Atlanta Constitution, The (1883, GA)
Augusta Chronicle, The (GA)
Baldwinsville Gazette, The (NY)
Baltimore Weekly Sun (MD)
Baltimore American &: Commercial Advertiser (MD)
Bangor Daily Whig and Courier (ME)
Bismarck Tribune, The (ND)
Bluefield Daily Telegraph (1902, WV)
Borga-Bladet (Borga, Finland)
Boston Daily Advertiser (MA)
Boston Daily Globe, The (MA)
Boston Evening journal (MA)
Boston Evening Transcript (MA)
Boston Herald, The (MA)
Boston Morning Journal (MA)
Boston Post (MA)
Boston Press &: Post (MA)
Boston Times (MA)
Boston Weekly Globe, The (MA)
Boulder News and Courier, The (CO)
Bridgeport Telegram, The (CT)
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, The (NY)
Brooklyn Daily Times, The (NY)
Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye (IA)
Bucks County Gazette, (Bristol, PA)
Butte Daily Miner (MT)
Cambridge Chronicle, The (Cambridgeport, MA)
Cambridge Jeffersonian, The (OH)
Camden Advance, The (NY)
Canastota Herald, The (NY)
Capital, The (1987, Annapolis, MD)
Cazenovia Republican (NY)
Chester Times (1882, PA)
Chester Daily Times (PA)
Chicago Daily News, The (IL)
Chicago Daily Tribune, The (IL)
Chicago Evening journal (IL)
Christian Science Monitor, The (1890, Boston, MA)
Chronicle-Telegram, The (1925, Elyria, OH)
Colorado Weekly Chieftain (Pueblo, CO)
140
Colorado Miner, The (Georgetown, CO)
Commerce Journal, The (1905, TX)
Connecticut Courant, The (Hartford, CT)
Coshocton Age, The (1885, OH)
Coshocton Morning Tribune (19] 1, OH)
Creede Candle, The (1907, CO)
Critic, The (1883, NY, NY)
Dagens Nyheter (Stockholm, Sweden)
Daily Advertiser, The (London, Canada)
Daily Alta Californian (San Francisco, CA)
Daily Bee, The (Sacramento, CA)
Daily Chronicle and Constitutionalist, The (Augusta, GA)
Daily Constitution, The (Atlanta, GA)
Daily Examiner, The (San Francisco, CA)
Daily Gazette, The (Colorado Springs, CO)
Daily Gazette and Bulletin (Williamsport. PA)
Daily Graphic, The (NY, NY)
Daily Herald, The (1897, Delphos, OH)
Daily Inter Ocean, The (Chicago .IL)
Daily Journal, The (1907, Telluride, CO)
Daily Kennebec Journal, (Augusta, ME)
Daily Nevada State journal, (Reno, NV)
Daily Quincy Herald (IL)
Davenport Daily Gazette (IA)
Davenport Daily Republican (1896, lA)
Davenport Morning Tribune (1889, IA)
De Amsterdammer (Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
Decatur Daily Despatch, The (1890, IL)
Decatur Daily Republican, (IL)
Decatur Daily Review, The (IL)
Decatur Weekly Republican, (IL)
Defiance Democrat, (OH)
Democrat, The (1881, Olean. OH)
Denton Journal (MD)
Der Hoh, (Vienna, Austria)
Detroit Free Press (MI)
Die Bombe (Vienna, Austria)
Dixon Evening Telegraph, (1950, IL)
Dover Weekly Argus, The (Canal Dover, OH)
Dryden Weekly Herald (NY)
Durango Democrat, The (1902, CO)
Elizabethtown Post, The (NY)
Elyria Chronicle, The (1907, OH)
Elyria Constitution, The (OH)
Elyria Republican, The (OH)
Evening Express, The (Los Angeles, CA)
Evening Gazette, The Oervis Post, NY)
Evening Mail, The (NY, NY)
Evening Observer, (1883, Dunkirk, NY)
Evening Star (Philadelphia. PA)
Evening Star, The (Washington, D.C)

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND SOURCES
Evening Telegram, The (1911, Elyria, OH)
Evening Telegram, The (NY, NY)
Evening Telegraph, The (Philadelphia, PA)
Fall River Daily Evening News (MA)
Finland (1889, Helsinki, Finland)
Fitchburg Daily Sentinel (MA)
Forest and Stream (NY, NY)
Fort Collins Courier (CO)
Fort Wayne News, The (1895, IN)
Fort Wayne Sentinel, The (1900, IN)
Frankischer Kurier (Nurnberg, Germany)
Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper (NY, NY)
Franklin Gazette, The (Malone, NY)
Freeborn County Standard (Albert Lea, MN)
Fresno Republican, The (CA)
Fulton Patriot, The (NY)
Fulton Times, The (NY)
Gazette, The (1896, Stevens Point, WI)
Gentleman's Magazine (London, UK)
Georgetown Courier (Georgetown, CO)
Gettysburg Compiler (PA)
Globe, The (Atchison, KS)
Globe, The (Toronto, Canada)
Godey's Magazme (1896, NY, NY)
Grand Traverse Herald (MI)
Hamburg Reporter, The (1958, IA)
Hammond Times, The (11)43, IN)
Harpers Weekly (NY, NY)
Hartford Daily Courant (CT)
Hartford Daily Times (CT)
Helena Independent, The (Montana)
Helsingfors Dagblad (Helsinki, Finland)
Herald and Torch Light (Hagerstown, MD)
Herald-Despatch, The (1891, Decatur, IL)
Hornellsville Weekly Tribune (1888, NY)
Hufvudstaclsbladet (Helsinki, Finland)
Idaho Tri-weekly Statesman, (Boise City,ID)
mustrated American, The (1896 NY, NY)
Illustreret Tidende (Copenhage, Denmark)
Independent, The (NY, NY)
Indiana County Gazette (PA)
Indiana Democrat, The(PA)
Indiana Evening Gazette (PA)
Indiana Progress, The (1881, PA)
Indiana Weekly Messenger, The (PA)
Indianapolis Star, The (1912, IN)
Iowa City Citizen, The (1911, IA)
Keystone Courier, The (Connellsville, PA)
Knowledge (1881, London, UK)
Kblnische Zeitung (Kbln, Germany)
Landmark, The (Statesville, NC)
Liberty Tribune (MO)
Lima Daily Times, The (1891, OH)
Lincoln Evening News (1892, NE)
Literary World, The (1882, Boston, MA)
Longmont Ledger (1897, CO)
Los Angeles Times, The (1887, CA)
Lowell Daily Courier, The (MA)
Lowell Sun, The (1945, MA)
Madison County Times (Chittenango, NY)
Madison Observer (Morrisville, NY)
Manchester Daily Union (VT)
Manitoba Daily Free Press (Winnipeg, Canada)
Mansfield News, The (1911, OH)
Marion Daily Star, The (OH)
Massillon Independent, The (1887, OH)
Morgonbladet (Helsinki, Finland)
Morganbladet (Oslo, Norway)
Morgenposten (Oslo, Norway)
Morning Herald, The (Baltimore, MD)
Morning Journal and Courier (New Haven, CT)
Morning Oregonian (Portland, OR)
Mountain Democrat, The (Placerville, CA)
Nation, The (NY, NY)
National Police Gazette (NY, NY)
Nebraska State Journal, The (1901, NE)
Neue Zeitung fur Stadt und Land (Riga, Latvia)
Newark Daily Advocate, (1883, OH)
New Era, The (1896, Humeston, IA)
New Haven Evening Register (CT)
News, The (1893, Frederick, MD)
New York Commercial Advertiser (NY)
New York Evening Express (NY)
New York EveningJournal (1899, NY)
New York Herald, The (NY)
New York Evening Post, The (NY)
New-York Times, The (NY)
Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant (Rotterdam, The
Netherlands)
Norfolk Reformer, The (Simcoe, Canada)
Nupepa Kuokoa (Honolulu, HI)
Ogden Junction, The (OH)
Ohio Democrat, The (OH)
Oneida Dispatch, The (NY)
Oneida Saturday Post (1889, NY)
Oneida Union (NY)
Ontario County Journal (Canandaigua, NY)
Oshkosh Northwestern, The (1883, WI)
Oshkosh Daily Northwestern, The (WI)
Osservatore Romano (Rome, Italy)
Ostra Finland (Finland)
Oswego Daily Times (NY)
Oswego Weekly Palladium, The (NY)
Otago Witness, The (Dunedin, New Zealand)
Ouray Times (CO)
Pennsylvania Grit (1888, Williamsport, PA)
Penny Illustrated Paper, The, (London, UK)
Perth Courier, The (Canada)
Philadelphia Evening Bulletin (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer (PA)
Philadelphia Record (PA)
Philadelphia Sunday Times (PA)
Philadelphia Weekly Times (PA)
Port Phillip Herald (Australia)
Portsmouth Herald (1900, NH)
Portsmouth Times, The (OH)
141

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND SOURCES
Post-Standard, The (1910, Syracuse, NY)
Potter's American Monthly, (Philadelphia, PA)
Press, The (Philadelphia, PA)
Progress, The (1915, Fillmore City, UT)
Providence Evening Press (RI)
Public Ledger (Philadelphia, PA)
Puck (NY, NY)
Quincy Daily Whig, The (tL)
Renfrew Mercury, The (Canada)
Reno Evening Gazette (Reno, NV)
Revalsche Zeitung (Reval [Tallinn], Estonia)
Rigasche Zeitung (Riga, Latvia)
Rochester Daily Union &: Advertiser (NY)
Rochester Democrat &: Chronicle (NY)
Rochester Evening Express (NY)
Rome Sentinel, The (NY)
Saguache Chronicle (CO)
Saint Joseph Herald (MI)
Salem Daily News, The (1893, OH)
Salt Lake Daily Tribune, The (UT)
Sandusky Daily Register, (1890, OH)
Sandusky Register, (1894, OH)
San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Saturday Evening Post (1881. Philadlphia, MA)
Saturday Herald, The (1889, Decatur, IL)
Scientific American (NY, NY)
Semi Weekly Age, (1886, Coshocton, OH)
Sentinel-Review, The (Woodstock, Canada)
Sheboygan Press, The (1911, WI)
South Boston Inquirer (MA)
51. Nicholas (NY, NY)
51. Petersburg Herold (Russia)
Star and Sentinel, The (Gettysburg, PA)
Stevens Point Journal, The (WI)
Stonnington Mirror (CT)
Sun, The (NY, NY)
Sunday Courier, The (Syracuse, NY)
Sunday Dispatch (Philadelphia, PA)
Sunday Republic (Philadelphia, PA)
Sunday Star-Ledger (Newark, NJ)
Syracuse Daily Journal (NY)
Syracuse Herald, The (1911, NY)
Syracuse Morning Standard, The (NY)
Syracuse Sunday Times (NY)
Tampereen Sanomat (Tampere, Finland)
Tapio (Kuopio, Finland)
Telegram, The (Baltimore, MD)
Times, The (London, England)
Times, The (Philadelphia, PA)
Trenton Evening Times (1922, NJ)
Trenton Times, The (1883, NJ)
Two Republics, The (Mexico D.F, Mexico)
Utica Morning Herald and Daily Gazette (NY)
Utica Weekly Herald and Gazette and Courier (NY)
Utica Sunday Tribune (NY)
Uusi Suometar (Helsinki, Finland)
Wall Streetjoumal, The (1881, Princeton, NJ)
Wasatch Wave, The (1911, Heber City, UT)
Washington Post, The (D.C.)
Waterloo Daily Courier (1944, IA)
Waukesha Freeman (WI)
Weekly Gazette, The (Colorado Springs, CO)
Weekly Gazette and Stockman, The (189!-\, Reno, NV)
Weekly Nevada State Journal, (1883, Reno, NV)
Weekly News, (1884, Frederick, MD)
Weekly Recorder, The (Fayetteville, NY)
Weekly Reno Gazette (NV)
Wellsboro Agitator, The (PA)
Wellsboro Gazette, The (PA)
Westerly Narragansett Weekly (RI)
Winnipeg Daily Times (Canada)
Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune (1934, WI)
Woman's Home Companion (Springfield, OH)
Worcester Evening Gazette (MA)
Worcester Daily Spy (MA)
Woodland Daily Democrat (1892, CA)
Youth's Companion, The (Boston, MA)
Zanesville Signal, The (1934, OH)
Deaf Publications
Brooklyn Deaf Mute Leader, The (Brooklyn, NY)
Deaf = Mutes' Journal, The (Mexico, NY)
Deaf-Mute Mirror (Flint, MI)
Goodson Gazette, The (Staunton, VA)
Kansas Star (Olathe, KS)
Mute's Chronicle, The (Columbus, OH)
Mute's Companion (Faribault, MN)
Silent World, The (Toronto, Canada)
Tablet, The (Romney, WV)
A
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142

INDEX
$100. Puzzle- ] 12
13-15-14Puzzle-48,49, 74,127
14 - 15 Puzzle- 24, 76-79, 83-86,
90-92
14 - 15 Puzzle in Puzzleland by Sam
Loyd-2,86,89
15 - 14 Puzzle - 83
15 and 14 Great Amencan Game- b,
63
15 Block Puzzle- 78, 79, 81, 82, 84,
85,87,88,124
15 Gem Puzzle- 29
15 Puzzle- 22, 28, 51, 119
15-14-13 Puck's Great Presidential
Puzzle Cartoon- 51
16-4-52-34 Puzzle - 57
6 and 9 to 9 and 6 Tnck- 80
6 to 9 solution- 18
AR C Puzzle- 132
AS. Payne Inc.- 26
Abel Klinger- 132
Academy of Sciences- 32, 38, 116,
124
Admmistration Puzzle- 130
Admiral Byrd- 102
Ahrens, Wilham A- 71, 88
Allen & HIcks- 49, 124
Amenca Revisited- 68
Amencan Asylum for the Deaf and
Dumb- 12, 124
American Chess Journal- 75
American Cities Timeline- 58
Amencan Fifteen Puzzle- 69
American Game, The 15 and 34- 78
American Journal of Mathematics-
67, 117
Amencan Magazine- 88, 90, 94
Amencan Novelty Stores- 22
Amencan PhilosophICal Soclety- 39
American School for the Deaf- 12,
95, 96, 108, 109
Another Puzzle- 26
Archer, AE - 117, 120
Atlanta ConstItution- 32, 72, 78,
124, 12b
Australia- 65
Austria- 62
Bacon, William - 45
Bam, George G.- 71, 85, 88, 89, 91
Ball, WW Rouse- 69, 79, 116, 119
Banfield, Forristall & Co.- lJ
Barnum, PT- 89
Belden, Anna- 103-105, 107, 109
Belden,James).- 103, 104, 106, 107,
109
8erkeley and TR Rowland- 69
8Ilboquet- 24
Black & Bryant- 119
Blaine, Jim - 51
Blauewunder, Das- 6
8lind Luck- 76, 77
8lind, 15 Puzzle for the- 6, 129
810ck Puzzle, The- 124, 132
810ck Solitatre Puzzle - 10 I
8l0xbox Puzzle- 134, 135
80ss Puzzle- 6, 9, 13-15,20,42,62,
63,73,91,92, 110
Boss Puzzle Cartoon, Puck- 2, 51
Boston Evening Transcnpt- 13-16,
21,28
Boston Globe- 42, 45
8oston Herald- ll, 40, 95, lJ9, LOO,
105, 109
Boston puzzle- 24, 35
Botermans, Jack- 91, 92, 135
Brilliant Melancholia- 6], 73
Brooklyn Daily Eagle- 34, 79, 83,
128, 129
Brown, Dwight- 106, 107
Bruce Print, San Francisco- 15
Buffalo Bill Cody- 10
Buttonhole Puzzle- 70
Calculator Puzzles- 25, 35, 96
Campaign Puzzle- 130
Can You Solvit- 131
Canada- 15, 60, 61
Canastota Herald- 100
Cary, FullOn & Co.- II
Catlm, Julius- 107-109
Catlin, Mary- 108, 109
Celebrated Block Puzzle- 26
Cern Puzzle of Crack Brain and
Thirty-Four- 48
CeramIC 15 & 34 Puzzle- 44
Champion Puzzle- 24, III
Chapman, Frank B - 103, 104
Chapman, Henry A- 12, 98
Chapman, Noyes Palmer- 24, 98-
104, 109
Chapman's Patent Apphcation- 99-
102
Chess Monthly- 78, 79
Chess Strategy- 75
Chicago Tribune- 25, 34, 48, 49, 51,
77,80,86,87
Columbia Manuf. Co.- 132
Columbus, A Puzzle- 132
CombinatIon Puzzle, Eureka - 35-37
Compamon Puzzle- 35
Congress in Relms, France- 68, t>9
Conroy, Daniel- 126-129
Crandall, Charles- 76
Crazy Puzzle- 44
Cremer, Jr.- 61, 73
Crypton, Dr. - 91
Cubism For Fun- 72, 133
Cup and Ball- 24
Curtis, David A - 32, 33, 116
Cyclopedia of Puzzles- 70, 86. 89,
92, 1l0, 114
Daily Chronicle and
Constltutlonallist, Atlanta, GA- 17,
23,26
Daily Graphic- 43, 93
Davie, Jlm- 100, 101
De La Rue & Co., london- 35
Deaf Mute- ll, 24, 68, 69, 71, 94-
97, 108, 109
Deaf Mute's Journal- 95, 96
Deaf Persons in the Arts and
Sciences- 97
Delft, Pleter van- 91
Delineator, The- 79, 87
Delsmg, Ton - 34, 142
Denmark- 65
Dian, Lee Yee- 72
Dickens, Charles- 65
DictIonary of Amencan Biography-
91
Die Fatalen 15 - II 7
Dobyns, Ken- 100
Dodge, Roy- 103
Donkey puzzle- 70, 85, 87-89
Double Block Puzzle- 119
Double Puzz]e- 34
Double Puzzle of Crack Brain and
ThIrty-four- 40
Downhill moves- 57
Dr. Miles Medical Co.- 132
Dudeney, Henry E- 75, 76, 82, 85,
GO, 91,113, 114
Dudeney's Spanish Dungeon
Problem- 113, 114
Durer, Albrecht, Melanchoha- 61, 71,
73
Dutch Cube Club- 133
E.G. Selchow- ]5, ]9
ES Lowe Co.- 103
Eaton, Walter- 78, 87, 88
Edison, Tomas- 10, 74, 97
Eighth Book of Tan- 70, 71
Embossing Co.- 92, 93, 105
Encyclopedia Britannica- 93
England- 61
Estonia- 61
Eureka Combmatlon Puzzle- 35, 37
EHE (london)- 80
Familiar Science Studies- 66
Fancy Fifteen puzzles- 42
Fatalen Funfzehn - Neues
Geduldspiel- 62
Favorite Puzzle- 22
Fifteen 810ck Puzzle- 85
Fifteen Game Play- 44
Fifteen Puzzle- 8, 9, ll, 16, 17,21,
26,30,32,40,43-45,48-51,53,55,
56,58,66,67,69,70,74-76,84,
86, 88, 89, 121
Fifleen Puzzle Craze- 24. 28, 41-43,
51,57-59,66,79,94,95,97,130
Fifteen Puzzle for the Blind- 129
Fifleen Puzzle, Alphabetic VerSlOn-
89
Fifteen! The Great American
Mystery- 63
Fifteen! The Mystenous American
puzz]e- 85
Finland- 63
FItchburg Daily Sentinel- 20, 21, 39
Foot Ball Puzzle- 131
France- 60
Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper-
20
Frazer, Jr., Persifor - 39, 40, 115, 116
Funfzehn Neues Gedu]dspiel- 62
Fusion Puzz]e- 15
G.W Case- 131
Gallaudet Umversity- 96
INDEX
Galloping Donkey- 84
Game of 15- 19,23,27
Game of 15 and 16- 24
Game of 16- 48
Game of 34- 48
Game of Fifteen- 15, 19.21,23,28,
35,41,44,62,63,71,122,123,
124
Games of 15 and 34- 12, 35, 49
Gardner, Martin- 70, 75,91
Gebhardt, Dieter- 118, 133
Gem Puzzle- 3,10-16,18-21. 24-26,
29,34,39,41,42,45,49,54, - - 56,
63,71,94, 114
Gem Puzzle Music- 47
General Grant- 51
Gentleman's Magazine- 66
Geo. 8. Doan & Co.- 130
Germany- 15, 61
Get My Goat Puzz]e- 134
Get Off the Earth Puzzle- 70, 81, 85,
87,88
Gilbert and Sullivan, H.MS
Pinafore- 8, 10
Gitt, J-W- 112
Glass Fifteen Puzzles- 42
Globe (Atchison, Kansas)- 49, 50
Go]d and Silver Puzzle Co.- 131
"Gooly", The Puzzle that Will Chase
the Blues- 27
Gordon. Len- 134
Gould, RE- 20
Great Amencan Puzzle- 39, 113
H.MS Pinafore Operetta- 8,10
Hamburgischer Correspondent- b6
Hannah, David- 28, 35
Hardest 15 Problem- 57
Harman, N.H - 33, 34
Harper's Weekly- 20, 56, 59, 84, 112
Harrington, Tom- 96, 97
Hartford Courant- 42, 124
Hartford DaIly Times- 72, G5, 108
Hayes & Ricard- 20
Hein, Piet- 134, 135
Henry III of France- 24
Hess, Dick- 115
HIll & Co.- 22
Hordern, Edward- 45, 93, 130
Houdini's MagIc Magazine- 91
How Old is Ann?- 88, 90
Hungary- 64, 135
Illustrated Amencan- 78, 110
Illustrated London News- 67
Imp Puzzle- 102
Impossible to Solve- 18, 25-29, 66,
115-120
Independent, The- 20
Insane Behavior- 121-129
International 15 Puzzle Craze- 60-65
InternatlOnal Card Co - }O
Ita]y- 65
Ives, Blakeslee & Co - 130
Ivory Fifteen Puzzles- 42
). Howard & Co.- 24
J.E Ingalls- 24
).W Spear & Son - 119
143

INDEX
Jackson & Co.-57
Jackson, James - 57
Japan. 65
Japanese 15 Puzzle. 120
Jeu du Taqum- 68
Johns Hopkins University' 67, 69, 71
Johnson, ww- 67, 68, 117, 118,
119
Judge Magazine- 76
Kapture the Kron Prinz - 134
Kinsey Patent - 102
Kinsey, Ernest U- 10l-103
Kinsey's Block Puzzle- 103
Klee- 117
Klondyike Brain Tester- 132
Knight's Move Problem- 56, 57
Knuth, Don- 56, 57, 114, 115
KI'- 121
Lang, Harry- 97
LEX- 37, 38
Liberty Magazme- 90
Library of Congress- 67, 71, 117
Licks, HE- 95
LIttle 8uttercup Puzzle- 20, 35-37.
49, 133
London Magazme- 85
LoveJoy's Gem Puzzle- 14. 19
Lowe's 15 Puzzle- 103
Loyd Letter to Mr. Raynor- 81, 82
Loyd Letterhead- 81, 82
Loyd ObItuaries- 87, 88
Loyd Problems- 83
Loyd, Isaac- 79
Loyd, Jr., Sam (Walther)- 76, 88-90,
94
loyd, Sam- 24, 70, 71, 75-86, 89,
92-94, 112, 114, 115
Loyd, Thomas- 79
Loyd's 14-15 Puzzle m Puzzleland- 2,
86,89
Loyd's Magic Square- 115
Lucas, Edouard- 69, 71
LunatIc Asylums- 121-129
Magic Fifteen Puzzle- 91
Magic Square - 56, 80, 83, 98-100,
I 12-115
Maguire, D.E - 13, 14,95, 110
Mallinson, H.V.- 120
MAME- 38, 116
Mark Twain- 43
Mathematical Games- 91
Melancholia- 71. 73
Metallic Puzzle- 39
Mexico- 65
Milton Bradley Co.- 28, 132
Mosaic Box 15 Puzzle- 90
Music and Songs- 43, 45-47
Mute's Chronicle- 97
MystIC fifteen- 17, 26
Mystic Square Book- 12, 98
N.H. Harman- 33, 34
N.K. Atlas (paris)- 68
Nation, The- 67
National Institute for the Blind- 129
NatIonal PeriodlCals- 59
Nebraska State Journal- 87
Netherlands, The- 64
Neues Splel- 63
Neuestes Solo-Spiel: Funfzehn- 6
144
New 15 Puzzle- 131
New FuslOn Puzzle- 15
New Game Puzzle- [30
New Puzzle- 15
New Solitaire- 14, 19, 20, 22, 23
New Vacant Square Solution- 38
New York & Eastern News Co.- 24,
III
New York Academy of Snences- 38,
116, 124
New York Dally Graphic- 43, 93
New York Evening Mail- 18, 32, 74
New York Evening Post- 30, 32, 68
New York Herald- 32,38,48,67,91,
112, lib
New York Journal- 83, 84, 86, 114
New York News- 76
New York Puzzles- 50, 80
New York Sun- 13,24,55,68,80,
95, 96, Ill, 123
New York Times- 9,24,25,44,53,
87, 135
New Zealand- 64
Nineteenth Century Magazme- 90
Norway- 62
Notes on the 15 Puzzle- 67
Number Puzzle- 13, 14, 6]
Nupepa Kuokoa- 59
O'Brien Novelty Co.- 26
Ocean House- 106, 108
Omo Deaf and Dumb InstItutIon- 97
Oneida Dispatch- 100
Oneida Umon- 72
Ontano County Journa]- 24, 27, 98,
103
Original 15 Puzzle- 120
Our '91 Challenge: A Mystery- 77
Our Illustrated Press- 78
Our Puzzle Magazine- 85, 86, 89
Panama Canal Puzzle- 133
Parcheesi- 77, 82, 85, 88, 91, 93, 94
Patent Office, US- 14, 100, 101
Patent Senal Register Book- 10l
Patience 15 & 34 Puzzle- 35
Petit Taquin, Le- 61
Pevey. Dr. Charles K.- 16-18,26,28,
36,38,80, 1l0, Ill, 116
Phelps, Hannah Catlin- 107
Philadelphia Evening Bulletin- 8, 39
Philadelphia Press- 41,72,100,123,
126
Philadelphia Record- 8, 72, 125
Philadelpma Tlmes- 50, 124, 126,
128
Pickard, Sid- 93
Pigs m Clover- 76, 77, 80-82. 84-89.
91,93,94
Pmafore Operetta- 8, 10, 20, 21
Plas-Trix CO.- 134
Plays and Theatre- 43-45
Politechnika, Trial- 135
Pond and Child Books & News- 12
Popular 15 Puzzle- 30, 125
Popular Science- 89
Postmaster- 94, 98
Practical American- lib
Prelutskiy, Igor- 136
Premier, The- 130
Prestdent Hayes- 53-56
Presidential Election of 1880- 51, 53
Presidential Puzzle- 131
Prinnpalens Fortvlvlelse (Denmark)-
65
Prize, $1,000- 80, 84, L10-112
Prohlem 1- 32
Problem 2- 37
Problem 3- 38
Prohlem 4- 19
Problems 5-7- 56
Problems 8-12- 57
Proctor, Richard E- 66, 79
Professor James Sylvester- 67
Proof oflmpossibility- 66, 115-120
Puck's 15 Puzzle Cartoons- 2, 52, 53
Puck's Great Presidential Puzzle
Cartoon- 51
Puck's Puzzle Cartoons- 2, 52, 53
Puzzle of 15 and 16- 38
Puzzle of Flfteen- 74, 92, 93
Puzzle of Magic 15 and 16- 105
Puzzles and Cunous Problems- 9],
114
Quarter-Turn So]ution- 30, 32, 67
Race-War Puzzle- 131
Rate Your Mind Pia puzzle- L33, 134
Rattler Puzzle- 33
Raynor, Mr.- 81
Red, White and Blue Puzzle Game-
81
Rewards, Pnzes and Wagers for
Solutions- 80, 84. 110 - ] 12, 114
Rice, Charles- 134, 135
RIce. Mattmas J- 3, 11. 14, 71. 95,
99, 103, 109
Rice's Gem Puzzle- 3, ll-15
Right to Left Solution- 39
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle-
19,22,26-29,33-35,37,38,98
Round Block So]ution- 35
Royal Crescent, Margate- 25
Royal Society of Edmburgh
Proceedmgs- 68
Rubik, Erno- 135
Rubik's Cube- 130, 135
Russia- 63
Rust Craft Publishers- 134
S.N. Turner- 20
Sala, George A. - 67
Sam Loyd and His Puzzles- 90
Sam Loyd's Cyclopedia of Puzzles- 70
San FrancIsco Chromcle- 50
Saturday Evening PoSt- 91
Schubert, Hermann- 66,68, 6lJ, 71,
88, 117-120
SCIence and Invenuon- 90
Science Digest - 91
Scientific Amencan- 20,57,59,75,
85,88,91
Selchow & Rlghter- 77
Selchow, EG. & Co.- 15, 19
Shepherd, Charles C- 103
Sherburne, E.C- 9]
Shortz, Will- 75
Shding Number Puzzle- 17
Sliding Piece Puzzles- 93, 130
Slocum, Jerry- 92, 133, 135
Solltaire- 14, 15
SolutIon, First Published- L 7
Solutions 10 Problems- 136
Solutions, Five - 30-40
SolutIons, Scam- 40
Songs and Music- 43, 45-47
Souvemr d'Egypt Puzzle- 97
Spamsh Dungeon Problem- 113, 114
Sphinx (See Dudeney)- 82
Spitznagel, EL - L17, 119
Story. WE- 67, 117
Strand Magazine- 71, 85, 87, 88, 91
Sullivan & Co.- 48
Super Challenge- 57
Swap-Trick Puzzles- 133, 134
Sweden- 63
Sylvester, Professor James - 66-69, 71
Syracuse Couner- 73, 103, 105, 107,
109
Syracuse Herald- 88
Syracuse Sunday Couner- 98, 103,
112
Syracuse Sunday Times- 15, 37,97
TT & Co.- 44
Tan, Peter- 68, 134
Takashima, Naoaki- 134
Tangram- 70
Taqum, Le- 61, 68, 92
That little Provokmg Puzzle- 14
Three in One Puzzles- 67
Tigers and the Men- 88
Tilden, Samuel- 51, 53
Tlmeline of the 15 Craze- 58-60
Tit-Bits- 78, 83, 113
Trade Card 13 - 15 - 14- 127
Tnck Mules- 70, 85, 87
Trilemma Puzzle- 132
Uncle Josh's Panama Canal Puzzle-
133
Umon Manu£. Co.- 25
Upside-Down Solution- 17
US Cilles Timelme- 58
Utica Morning Herald- 9, 98. 103.
107, 109
Vassar College- 54
W Scott Crawford- 27
Watt, Gary- 96, 108
Warner, James D. - 38, 116
Warren. G.W - 67
Washington Post- 19, 100, 12b
Watch Hill- 105-109
Wehner, William HE- 131
Westerly Hlstoncal Sonety- 106
Weyde, Dr. Peter H. Van der - 32, 33,
116
Whtte House- 53, 55, 56
White, Alain C - 71, 75, 79, 87, 88,
91
White, Gwen- 92
Wilson, R M. - 117, 120
Woman's Home Compamon- 84, 86,
88,114
Wonderful Puzzle Flfteen- 120
Woodworking Shop, ASD- 109
Worcester Daily Spy- 16, 21, 1l0,
III
Worcester Evemng Gazette- L5-17,
26,38,80, 110, Ill, 116
Yoshigahara, Nob- 134
Youth's Compamon- 20, 35, 59

THE GEM PUZZLE."..
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THE 1 5 PUZZLE
Ever heard about the IS-Puzzle?
From now on it will be part of the rest of your life!
The New York Times: "No pestilence has ever visited this or
any other country which has spread with the awful celerity of
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ons, inasmuch as from every town and hamlet there is coming
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The Philadelphia Evening Bulletin: "The puzzle is setting the
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This book contains the definitive, illustrated history of one of
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It can be argued that the Fifteen Puzzle had the greatest impact
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the world has ever known.
Books by famous mathematicians tell that a deaf mute invented
the 15 puzzle, but encyclopedias, other books and web sites
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for 95 years after his death?
The true story of the puzzle is told here for the first time.
· The real inventor was found.
· The story of how the puzzle came to be manufactured.
· The 15 puzzle is mathematically impossible to solve.
· How a young New Yorker solved it.
· The worldwide puzzle craze that it created.
Can you solve any or all of the twenty-one tough 15 puzzle
problems in the book?
Foreword by Will Shortz, New York Times crossword editor
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"This is a book that everyone interested in puzzles will enjoy:"
"... this surprising, entertaining, and painstakingly researched
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THE SLOCUM PUZZLE FOUNDATION, BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA
www.SlocumPuzzles.com
$30.-
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