I have always been fascinated in the Coles Funny Picture Book. It was
first published in 1879, and has had a number of further reprints. It is packed
with line illustrations for children, plus stories, poetry and out-of-the-box
humour reflecting life those days. It spoke to a young audience that all knew
their nursery rhymes. The book presents the good and the bad in children, the thoughtful
and the thoughtless. It includes many well-known animals with humorous
personalities. Various toys and popular dolls are also found in their related sections.
At the annual break up of Whittlesea State School, Victoria, on 20
December 1918, the Rev Douglas
Bruce, Chairman of the School Committee, spoke about E.W. Cole and his Book
Arcade to inspire the pupils in ‘How to make the most of life’ reflecting on Cole’s
success from humble beginnings through ‘hard work’.
The part of the book that has always intrigued me was the picture
puzzle collection. I was first introduced to them when my elderly great-aunt
took out her own copy and showed me how to “see” in a way I had not before. I
was captivated by the magic of the “negative space”, as most of these puzzles
relied on it to “hide” the object to be found. I poured over the puzzle pictures
for hours whenever I visited my Great-Aunt Ruby. Sometimes the answer was not
hidden in a negative space but built into the positive shapes and revealed on
another angle. I am posting a small number from the publication. Remember to
look for the negative spaces, those are the “gaps” that are made mostly by the
trees. But there is one of the four pictures below where you can’t do that. Enjoy
the challenge at finding them all and learn about “negative space”.
For this additional puzzle (below) I’ll give you some help to get started.
It goes like this:
Mr Cole’s Book Arcade
coals book arcade.
It is in Melbourne town,
of all the book houses in this land
it has the most renown,
(Now it’s your turn – it’s a promotional jingle)
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