JF Ptak Science Books Quick Post
This is an odd entry for the History of Blank, Empty and Missing Things category as it relates both to making things missing and finding them again. In this instance the topic is maps and puzzles, where both actions of making things blank and restoring them are intentional. The first item on display--a sample from a "dissected" map patent from 1873, shows both an unusual "blank map" (a template simply waiting for a face) and the ability to remove part of the whole or the entire thing itself--and then of course replace/return the pieces. But I must admit the original image (below) had that appeal of being mostly an unintentionally absurd item, a blank jigsaw in a frame.
Source: Google Patents http://www.google.com/patents/US142338?dq=puzzle
Another sort of dissection is beautifully done at the Massachusetts History site, where individual sections of the first engraving an of American historical event are sharply presented. The map, The Battle of Lake George, a line engraving by Thomas Johnston after the design by Samuel Blodget (who evidently was an eye-witness to the event) was published in 1755 (The map also appeared in the Museum of Graphic Art American Printmaking, the First 150 Years (1969)), and is an excellent example of dissecting a map and evaluating its components.
And of course there were dissected toys with educational intent, such as this clock puzzle, which seems not much of a puzzle at all, though it does force concentration on some simple principal elements:
The circular design though would probably function in a more puzzle-like manner with the following application:
Source: Google Patents, http://www.google.com/patents/US590060
And as long as we're on dissections, the earlier, human anatomy dissected puzzles seem not to make that much sense, as the divisions are more geometrical than taxonomic:
Source: Google Patents http://www.google.com/patents/US175519
Here's another good example of a dissected puzzle map:
Source: Google Patent http://www.google.com/patents/US650320
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