Apothecary Chest
The Apothecary Chest collaboration brought twelve artists and friends together from around the world to create a legendary part of puzzle history.
The internal mechanism is a brilliantly executed marvel to behold, but the action all plays out on the top of the box, enacted by the main characters, the Knight and the Dragon.
Without giving too much away I’ll just say that you’ll need to do a little magic to make this box reveal its secrets. It really lives up to its name.
Hiroshi Iwahara is one of the well-known and highly respected artisans from the Karakuri Creation Group who has designed and produced well over fifty individual puzzle boxes with the group.
This is A Twist of Fate, a very special, bittersweet puzzle box, from the incredibly talented Aussie Dave Cooper.
Stephen Chin puzzles often carry a few of his hallmarks, including tiny electronic lights and sounds which are triggered when the puzzle has been solved. He is also quite fond of whistles and spinning tops. And his puzzles are often wrapped up in a cute sock. Odd?
The drawer slides out and you are holding Peter Hajek’s “Now What?” box. Peter’s puzzles instantly taunt you with their name, suggesting there is more than meets the eye in store. What do you mean, now what?
The end of Prohibition in 1933 was a highly celebrated reversal of fortune for many in the United States. Here we have another, the Reversal of Fortune puzzle box by our friend Jeffrey Aurand, a collector and hobbyist woodworker who hails from upstate New York
Kel’s philosophy has always been to reuse, renew and recycle for the benefit of our planet, and much of his work reflects that philosophy.
“Blocks Away” was designed and created by Ron Locke, a friend to the puzzle box world who is no longer with us. Ron’s boxes are fanciful affairs full of mystery, legend and romance.
Moving along the bottom row of the Apothecary Chest (introduced in Part I) we come next to one of the more distinct and recognizable “drawers” in the chest, Peter Wiltshire’s “Ferris Box”.
The box which holds the garnet is called “Dad’s Two Cents” and contains its own secret, with a rather unique feature not seen on any other puzzle box that I have encountered.
Getting down to puzzling business is hard work, at times – North Carolina puzzlesmith Eric Fuller might even suggest you take your shirt off. At least, his Topless Box would suggest it.
Robert Yarger is a modern day puzzle box apothecary, producing the equivalent of such enrichment in wood.