Accession No
2266
Brief Description
mathematical (geometric) shapes that make a tangram square puzzle in a small box, by W & S Jones, English, late 18th Century
Origin
England; London; Holborn
Maker
W. and S. Jones
Class
mathematics; demonstration
Earliest Date
1775
Latest Date
1800
Inscription Date
Material
wood; metal (brass)
Dimensions
box length 46mm; breadth 48mm; height 12mm
Special Collection
Provenance
Purchased from P. Delehar, London, 09/1976.
Inscription
‘W & S JONES
HOLBORN
LONDON’ (inside of lid)
Description Notes
Wooden box with sliding lid containing flat brass geometric shapes in two layers; one layer composed of two triangles, second layer composed of square, one large and two small triangles and parallelogram (creating a ‘tangram’ square when set in one layer).
Condition fair (box chipped and coming apart, brass slightly pitted); complete.
References
Events
Description
The London firm W & S Jones primarily a bookseller and optical-instrument maker during the early nineteenth century. The firm was founded by brothers William (1763-1831) and Samuel (1769-1859), as successors to the firm of their father John Jones. This wooden box contains two layers of flat brass geometric shapes that create a tangram square. In the early nineteenth century, the tangram square arrived in England via America. Captain M. Donaldson acquired the game when his ship was docked in Canton, China. From England the ‘tangram craze’ spread to other European countries.
11/03/2014
Created by: Allison Ksiazkiewicz on 11/03/2014
FM:40187
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