Topsy Turvy Puzzles of Carthage

Early Topsy Turvy Puzzle

Created during the Depression while in between jobs, Perry Riley and his wife Lorraine, made custom jigsaw puzzles at their home on South Main Street and later on Grant Street. Sold under the name of Topsy Turvy, puzzles could be customized with names, initials, holiday dates and special figural shapes based on a customer's interests or hobbies.

Jigsaw puzzles experienced a second wave of popularity at the start of the 1930s (the first fad period for jigsaw puzzles was 1908-09) and were given away as advertising premiums, too, as the Peoples Oil ad attests below. For those who could not afford to buy puzzles, Ramsay's Department Store at 311 S. Main even had a rental library of the Topsy Turvy products.

Peoples Oil advertisement, c1930, offering free jigsaw puzzles with purchase of gasoline

In an 1988 interview, although Mrs. Riley did not recall how much it cost to rent puzzles, she did remember that their products sold for a penny a piece. So, if a puzzle had 298 pieces, it sold for $2.98.

The Powers family were avid puzzle fans and gave the Riley's some of their 1910s and 1920s Parker Brothers "Pastime Puzzles" that were made in Salem, Massachusetts. These puzzles served as inspiration and examples for the Rileys when first learning the trade.

According to Riley and Powers family traditions, potential puzzle buyers went to the Riley home and selected their art prints which would be mounted on basswood, cut and sanded. Eventually, the Rileys began to mark their work with a letter "R" usually found in the lower right-hand corner. Boxes were green or mottled gray and labeled "Topsy Turvy."

1933 Christmas card puzzle

Assorted Topsy Turvy puzzle pieces including signature R piece

Topsy Turvy Puzzles display case as displayed in 1990.

The arrival of a new Riley-made puzzle to the Powers home was a big event. A February 1933 letter to daughter Marian Louisa from her mother Marian Wright Powers remarked,

"Mrs. Riley came over bringing a puzzle they had just cut for me to try out. It was a beautiful picture, beautifully cut. The cutest pieces you ever saw, some brand new to me, and I think it stands next to the Parker Bros., and in fact was just as good. I saved it for Aunt Nyne [Nira Wright] and me to do Sunday afternoon, and we both were enthusiastic. Was sorry you did not get to try it."

Join Us at the Museum
August 5, 12, 19, 26 (Tuesdays)
Dog Days of Summer Puzzle Challenge
On these days, come try your hand at a puzzle from history including locally-made "Topsy Turvy" jig-saw puzzles from the Depression years or even earlier examples made by the Parker Brothers Company. All puzzles are from the Powers Museum collections. This is an informal, come and go activity for any age. If you can not join us on Tuesdays, we may be able to set out an unfinished puzzle when you visit on another day if you will just ask!

Puzzle Lending Library
Now Open!
In the tradition of Carthage's 1930s lending puzzle library housed at Ramsay's Department Store, the Powers Museum is opening another puzzle lending library with donated contemporary puzzles. Fifty puzzles ranging from 300 to 1,000 pieces are available for loan to school groups, families and senior centers for a period of three weeks. Call or e-mail museum for further details. Sorry, puzzles can only be loaned out to the local area. No loans through the mail service.

Puzzle Resources
The museum's library has a few books on the subject matter if you would like to consult them. Also recommended are the following links.

Association of Game and Puzzle Collectors

Another Text by Anne Williams with Illustrations

Copyright © 2008 Powers Museum
1617 West Oak • P.O. Box 593 • Carthage, MO 64836
e-mail:infonow@powersmuseum.com  |  phone: 417-358-2667
All Web site design, content and solutions are property of Powers Museum