Alex Palmer first created a series of die-cut cardboard cluster puzzles in 1964 and self-marketed them under the name "Jumble-Fits." Similar to jigsaw puzzles, their novelty is that each piece bears its own picture of an animal or original cartoon character. The pieces all fit together in a creative and interesting way. Later manufactured and sold by the Cadaco Company of Chicago, the Jumble-Fits puzzles were popular among both children and adults throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Kelvin recently discovered that fans were trading the puzzles on eBay. "It was a revelation to see that people were finding collector value in them," Kelvin said. One puzzler described the retro-style Jumble-Fits as "the most unusual puzzles I've ever seen".

Alex Palmer had a passion for art since his early childhood. After World War II, he trained at the Chicago Art Institute. He observed that he could draw a character inside any randomly shaped object, and hit upon the idea of combining shapes into whimsical character puzzles.

His first Jumble-Fits puzzle was all animal characters, some very life-like looking and others very cartoonish. A second puzzle titled "Figments," released in 1965, introduced puzzlers to Alex’s alter-ego, Alec Zandimer Plerp, and several other recurring characters.

The puzzles had no pattern or border so they were particularly challenging to put together. Alex created hint cards for each puzzle: comical quotes about each character that gave a clue as to near what other characters the piece would fit. He took this idea one step further by creating an "Unlikely Story" puzzle with a hint card in the form of a narrative.

Late in 1965, the Cadaco Company of Chicago acquired the rights to the first two puzzles and commissioned the creation of five more over the next two years. In 1973, Cadaco began dropping titles from their cluster puzzle lineup and after 1977 only three of the original seven were produced. Kelvin recently decided to surprise his dad and revive the puzzles, only this time using high-quality wood form.

"The puzzles are a challenge to cut in wood because unlike typical jigsaw puzzles, where you can cut shapes at will, these shapes are fixed and have to be cut in a precise way," explained Kelvin. "I tried hand cutting, but it’s too time-consuming. Jim's proprietary, computerized water-jet cutting technique seemed like just the thing to solve unique problems of manufacturing a puzzle with every piece a picture."

To create the puzzles, Kelvin digitized the outlines of each piece and created a data file that Jim could use to program his cutting machine. Jim worked out the precise positioning of the puzzle board in the machine and sequenced the cutting routes through the puzzle. "The result was as good as I could have hoped for," Kelvin said. "Each piece of the wooden puzzle has a wonderful, robust feel and the pieces fit together beautifully."

Kelvin gave the first J.C. Ayer replica of the "Unlikely Story" puzzle to his parents. "They’re quite excited! They’re very impressed with what Jim has done," Kelvin said. He hopes to soon be marketing the puzzles on the web. Decades after they were first introduced, Jumble-Fits will soon be delighting new puzzlers and vintage collectors alike.
For more information, contact Kelvin Palmer at info@azplerp.com.