Featured McLoughlin Bros Block Puzzle - Old Mother Hubbard and Her Dog

Hello, I recently acquired an old McLoughlin Bros. puzzle. It's called "Old Mother Hubbard and Her Dog." I can't find another one like it, and would like to know more about it. Can anyone help?

 

Jeff Renshaw, just curious but . . . what does it say on the door in the first image (the dog with the artist's brush)?

 

Please enlarge your photos.
Thank you.

 

It says "McLoughlin Bros. New York."

 

Thanks! I'll try. The original photos I tried to upload wouldn't take because they were too large.

 

Jeff - it's not a case of the pictures themselves, but choosing "Full Size Image" rather than "thumbnail" when you attach the pictures to your reply.

 

Thank you, bakersgma! (I'm new!)

 

Jeff Renshaw, thank you for the information about the "McLaughlin Bros." etc. wording.

Now I can read it very clearly. Thank you, Jeff Renshaw. They are nice puzzles to my way of thinking.

 

I think it's a fireplace!

 

Great photos now, Jeff Renshaw.

Thanks for responding re it's a fireplace. I see now that it is a fireplace with a nicely depicted fireplace fender.

 

A couple things I found while learning about the publisher - they called this type of puzzle a "cube" puzzle and although the cover graphic is different, they also published a book titled "Mother Hubbard and her (wonderful) Dog." They might have put out both the book and the puzzle at the same time.

 

Thank you! I hadn't seen anything that refers to this as a "cube puzzle." I'll follow up on that.

 

Now here's what may be the motherlode! The American Antiquarian Society's page of downloadable pdf format catalogs for McLoughlin Brothers products. I would start with the 1880's.

http://www.americanantiquarian.org/mcloughlin-bros-catalogs-price-lists-and-order-forms

 

You are awesome! Thanks a lot.

 

You're welcome, Jeff. I hope you can find it there.

 

Lithographed puzzle, I would think late 1880s - early 1890s

 

Here is somebody selling the book that went with the puzzle. The illustrations match the puzzle. There was more than one edition or version of the book, apparently.

http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=12785718603&searchurl=tn=mother+hubbard+and+her+dog&sortby=17&pn=mcloughlin