Oh Milton Bradley! If you know, you know.
When I find a Milton Bradley puzzle from 1965, I have to buy it, even if the image doesn’t speak to me. I buy it, because I know that this will be such an incredible puzzling time, and this was!
A while ago, my friend Matt actually picked up a vintage Buffalo Games 2000 piece puzzle of the Last Supper for me. He also thrift shops fairly often and when we lived in the same city he would keep an eye on the puzzle collections for me. He thought that I would enjoy the challenge and that I do like to assemble a classic art puzzle. Well, spoilers, I never got too far with that puzzle. The fit of the pieces was so ambiguous that I just couldn’t imagine myself fighting my way through 2000 ill fitting dark brown pieces. So I called it and re-donated it for another brave puzzler to try out.
I have said before on this blog, that I’m not religious so I didn’t feel all that enthusiastic about the image, but when I came across the Last Supper from Milton Bradley in 1965, I scooped it up! Now the first point you may notice is that this doesn’t appear to be daVinci’s version but it’s credited to Leonardo on the box? I’m by no means an expert but I found a Reddit post that someone said this is a version by an artist named Hans Zatzka commonly known as Zabarti. Again, I really don’t know, but if you do please chime in below in the comments!
The quality of a vintage MB is so amazing! The pieces are thick and have a soft waxy finish (which sounds a little over-sensory, but it’s not, I promise) They fit in place so nicely, there’s never any question that you found the right spot. I love the cut of their older puzzles too, the wavy edges that just rest against each other, the whole experience is similar to a vintage Tuco puzzle. Tuco is another brand that I’ll always grab for the experience alone, they are that good.
Now, if you’ve been here a while, you may even recall that I have completed another vintage Milton Bradly puzzle of Jesus, I assembled that over the Easter long weekend back in 2020, so in keeping with tradition, I decided to assemble this one over the long weekend.
I was really surprised to learn that this is a complete puzzle! There was a hole in the box top, it kind of looks like some previous owner tried to remove a price tag but ended up digging a full hole in the cover. The box had come apart at one the corners and the pieces were loose inside, so it was a long shot but this puzzle is in near perfect condition and has all of it’s pieces! It’s amazing!
So, I finally assembled the image. I love the table scene with the food and dishes, I also really like the carpet details, though I will say from an interior decoration point of view, this rug is a bit small for such a large table and room.
I did think all the hand details are a bit excessive. It looks to me like the painter (Hans? Leonardo?) really wanted to practice his hand detailing so he made everyone a huge hand talker in this scene.
This puzzle is 61 years old and the experience of the pieces just fitting into place was so nice.
thepuzzlesivedone 