The Scannavini Puzzle Chest

One of the puzzles that is a part of the Hordern-Dalegty-Miller collection is the Scannavini Puzzle Chest. 

A video of this chest first showed up  Sun 15^th Dec 1996, 19:15 on BBC One London.  

Series 19 

Episode 8: Michelham Priory. If anyone knows how to get a copy of this video, I'd love to get a hold of one. I contacted the BBC and it cannot be downloaded or sold for non-commercial purposes. 

On to the chest.  I spent a long time looking at it and doing nothing.  Since the puzzles arrived at the museum, we simply had it sitting in the great room with a cardboard box on top and a wooden tray on top of the base (impromptu table to hold puzzles). It spent a good 2 months sitting near the great wall away from all of the activity going around in the house.  This week it finally got moved into it's permanent position in the chest room.  

When it got placed, I was very excited. It's a beautiful piece to look at.  I was tempted to open it, but there was so many other things that needed doing so I controlled myself.  Well, the day came when I just couldn't do it anymore.  The workmen were in the house finishing off mounting more of the display cabinets and painting the garbage can shed so I was just in the way.  I couldn't do anything that day so why not.  

I began working on the chest, and before I knew it I had removed 16 different drawers. The first one I opened with one of the workers standing next to me and it was a set-up. James has a childish sense of humor.  The drawer was slightly ajar and inside was a squeaky, worm that jumped out at us.  It worked, we both shrieked and jumped back!

I thought I was finished, but alas, I wasn't. George came down to do a bit of repair to some damage done during shipping and he found 4 more drawers. The best part for me was behind the main arched door.  Inside is a safe that has a "puzzle" lock to open.  To be honest, it wasn't a hard one to solve, but it is fun none-the-less.  I felt like Indiana Jones finding the arc.  

It was almost a religious experience. Next up: the apothecary chest. 

A video of me returning it to a solved state can be found here. 

On to the museum news.  Once again we have bought out all of the Ikea glass Kallax shelves in South Florida. We are now installing another batch of shelves.  This time we recieved 252.  George has a lot of work to do, but the master bedroom will be completed and he can move on to the hallway.  The last phase is the garage.  We had a work crew out last week to finish up a few jobs: painting the garbage shed, building a massive table, 

mounting a few more shadow boxes 

and hanging a few records.

Soon we will just be photographing and cataloguing.  We are almost ready to open for business.  Invitations have been sent to a select few for a puzzle party next month, and after that, our doors are open for any serious puzzlers who request a visit.  

George has begun the process of developing the webpage.  Read this as he is refreshing his memory on the code.  This is great!  He's moving on this now.  I'm looking forward to our next cruise because it will give him time to finish the program.  I am eager for the collection to go online.

We acquired a piece of art from the most recent Gathering4Gardner auction and have installed it in Puzzle Palace.  The space that it is in has been waiting for 37 years for just such a piece.  When we brought it home and put it in place, it was like putting on a glove.  It's a perfect fit.  This is a physical manifestation of a hyperbolic plane.  Wait until we change the lights to match the sculpture! 

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Finally, one of my oldest friends has made us a banner for the museum.  We have known each other since kindergarten and although we live in two different states, that hasn't stopped our friendship.  I've been in awe of all of her afghans and other blankets that she has been making so I begged her to make this piece for us.  George designed the letters and Diane did all the hard work.  I can't begin to thank her enough for the gift she has given us.

Until next week, Happy Puzzling.

Vase Wall

This past weekend we got a rather large chest in the mail.  I was looking on line at Karakuri boxes and came across trick chest made by Tsuchiya woodworking factory for Izumiya.  I saw this chest when I was in Japan in 2010 and wanted to purchase it then.  Well, that didn't work out and I'm glad it didn't. I'm sure I wouldn't have it today. So when I saw it, I bought it. When George woke up the following morning I said, "while you were sleeping I went shopping in Japan."  I did buy quite a few other items that night.  Insomnia is not good for the pocketbook.  

And now on to the real puzzle this week.  Well, not really a puzzle, but a large number of puzzles.  We have completed the vase wall and have removed the scaffolding.  It is time to show it off.  James' helper Mandy has dubbed it the Great Wall of china.  I like it.  I've named it the vase wall because the light system needed a unique name for that set of lights.  The name stuck.  It is truly a sight to behold.  A video of it can be seen on my YouTube channel. 

And now on to the news of the museum.  This week we found someone to take photographs for us that is more reliable than the high school kid we had previously hired. (Two weeks of no-show and no calls.) Meet Morgan and Tevin. Yes, you've heard the names before. They came to our small puzzle party, and we enjoyed their company so much that we hired them on a part time basis to photograph the puzzles for us.  We are starting here in the mirror room, and moving over to the museum when they finish this room.  I am impressed.  In two days, they learned our system and have done 2 of 12 columns.  I think we will keep these two.  Add to that that Tevin is a puzzler and I'm even happier.  He understands how to handle these things.  

George and I like having a variety of puzzles this week we are making a road trip to Atlanta to get one very strange puzzle.

On a recent Gathering4Gardner auction I won a couple of items.  A George Hart sculpture which is now hanging in place in the museum in front of the vases wall, and a massive 2x2x2 meter^3 hyperbolic plane. Today we are on our way to pick it up.  I'm still fearful of flying and George's brothers have a massive pickup truck that will hold this beast so why not take a trip up for a day, pick it up and bring it back home. 

We've got two built in planters around the void.  One has been filled with some strange looking artificial plants complete  with butterfly and ladybug puzzles.  The other has been waiting for the right filler.  This will be it.  By this time next week it will be installed where it belongs.  This item will add a nice splash of color and a bit (more?) of craziness to the Puzzle Palace.  

Until next week, happy puzzling!

A small puzzle party

 This past weekend we had a small (7 people) puzzle party at the house.  Covid restrictions are in place and all were respectful of our vaccination mandate. One can't be too careful these days.  Especially in Florida with its high number of hospitalizations and daily new cases.

This group of people are from South Florida and one lone temporarily transported from Kansas. All met on the Mechanical Puzzles Discord.  Given the close proximity of puzzlers, we thought it would be good to get together for a bit of puzzling fun. We all met at Puzzle Palace around 10 am and after a tour and George's post golf shower we headed to the museum.  The folks come from all walks of life and that is what I love about puzzlers. You have nothing in common, yet everything. I'm afraid I must apologize to our guests, I get long winded.  I believe the tour or Puzzle Palace was around 2 hours.  I just love this place and all the puzzles inside but even more so the stories that go with them and once I start with the stories, there is no telling how long something will take.

Needless to say, the chaps were impressed with what was on display and loved George's trip through the dormitory and storage attic. All 5 of our guess attempted the trick door, and surprisingly, the NPSO verbally told them how to open it.  Of course they didn't listen to her and it was hard not to laugh at them when George did his usual opening 'trick move'.  I'm not telling because it is just so much fun to watch people do everything except the solution. Bill said he bets playing hide and seek in this house would be super fun.  I hadn't thought about that, but the few children who have been up there sure go crazy crawling through the mouse door.  

Tevin brought over a box of puzzles that we took a look at and I finally got a chance to see ResQ.  I missed it when it was on sale, and I decided the last CubicDissection auction prices are just too high for me.  I'm glad I got a chance to play with it a bit, I don't feel as though I'm missing that much now.  Although there is always the joy of just being able to play again.  But I digress. I also got a chance to play with the Revomaze Mercury. It of course stumped me but that is expected.  

Each of the lads donated a puzzle or two to the Museum which is greatly appreciated.  I immediately added their names and donation date to the puzzle so they are now immortalized here. Bill and Scarlet donated 3 gravitese water mazes, Tevin gave a free the euro 4 and a puzzle box 4 by Constantin.  Chris gave up his newly purchased mighty pin which thrilled me as I keep missing out on those puzzles when they hit the stores.  I'm not as fast on the keyboard as these young people or maybe our internet speed is too slow.  All 6 puzzles can be seen and played with in the Puzzle Palace Museum. (Shameful plug: we will gladly take any of your castoffs.  Donations are not required to visit, but are greatly appreciated.)

After George finished his shower, we packed up and went to the museum for lunch and another tour.  This time it was George's turn to do the talking while I threw together some lunch. I kept saying play. Play. PLAY! And eventually they took me up on that.  Lunch was a simple affair, brats, grilled corn, shepherds pie, and a macaroni and shrimp salad (did I mention that I love to cook?) Bill brought a bottle of Prosecco and and some beer and all enjoyed the food. After a bit of chit-chat they settled down to playing with a few puzzles.  All were given a post-it placement and took off to look. Scarlet wasn't shy and dove right in to the boxes.  Chris commented that he was just so overwhelmed and was just taking it all in.  

Everyone signed the guestbook and after a few hours we returned to Puzzle Palace where they continued to puzzle.  It tickled me that by this time they all felt comfortable enough to grab a puzzle, plop on the floor or in a chair and just play.  I guess I can understand the early hesitation, I mean where do you start with so many puzzles around.  

Bill solved Tornado, Tevin worked on some packing puzzles and Chris got a kick out of a Rose dovetail.  Scarlet was like a butterfly hopping from one puzzle to the next.   They never stopped smiling and there was laughter all around.  Overall, I'd say it was a good day. 

I ordered dinner from the club and while Bill and I went to get it someone upstairs discovered the pool table.  We all enjoyed some simple overlarge sandwiches and thankfully I didn't need to twist their arms to have them take the leftovers home. When everyone left, we lead them to the treasure chest to get a puzzle of their choice.  When at the Museum the girls got theirs after working out how to open it first. No digging until you unlock it :)

(I have gratefully and shamelessly taken some of the photos Chris sent me for this post)

On to the weekly update.  This week our young man did not come over for the weekend photographs, and I'll be honest, I didn't get many taken yesterday myself.  George is plugging along with the installation of shelves, I finally 'finished' the jigsaw room and Alcoholics Anonymous (don't get any ideas, it's the Museum bar that has keychains around the walls.) We moved all of the perplexus puzzles to the museum and I've almost finished the transfer of wood from my office to the great room.  We have plans to go on a 6 month world cruise in December but is looking increasingly less likely to happen with each passing day.  Because of this, I've slowed down a bit and am starting to enjoy the process rather than rush through it like a dervish.  

I'm pleased to report that we are now only missing 204 of the 2320 official IPP exchanges.  Who knows how many exchanges were made before IPP 10 when it became a real thing. Our ultimate goal is to have a complete set.  There is a massive amount of puzzling history on that wall and it would be a shame to be missing any of it. Once I finish going through the disentanglement puzzles, I will post a list of the missing pieces in the hopes that someone will have them.

Because we are almost at a full set of IPP puzzles, I finally decided to shift the puzzles on the wall.  It is a disastrous mess right now.  This means labeling all the puzzles with an identifier, photographing them, and finally putting them in their new place on the wall. While it sounds like an easy task, I can only label 3 years worth of puzzles in a day. It takes me another day to photograph the same puzzles, A very slow process.  I've really shifted my attention to this task now.  If all the stars align and people start getting vaccinated, we will be hosting a puzzle party here in the next few months so I'd like to have at least this done. With the fools in Florida though, I'm not holding my breath.  

Which leaves me with a bit of advice: For heavens sake, go get vaccinated. End this Pandemic, it's time to go back to living and seeing our friends again.  We all miss our puzzle parties and while Allard and the guys at MPP do a great job with the zoom VMPP's, it's just not the same thing.  We want to invite everyone to come visit this wonderful resource, but have come to the decision that if I don't see a vaccination card you will not be invited.  While the museum is available for all to see and use, it is ultimately a private home and if you don't have the vaccine, don't bother asking for an invitation.  

Until next week, Happy puzzling all!