Need some Advice on Putting Together Vintage Jigsaw Puzzles

The Game Room
1

I like doing small jigsaw puzzles with 250 or 350 pieces. Something that can be started & finished in a weekend.

I bought some vintage Tuco puzzles from the 1930’s. They are kicking my butt.
Here’s one like I bought

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Tuco-Picture-Puzzle-Chase-3800-Thick-Piece-/370192880519?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5631371387

I can’t figure out how to get started. I’ve always done the outside frame first and worked my way in. The 4 corners and edge pieces are easy to pick out.

There’s no clearly defined corners or edge pieces with these Tuco puzzles. I wasted an entire afternoon trying to to put together the outside frame.
Also since the pieces don’t interlock, I never know for sure if any two pieces fit together. Some pieces have a straight edge but they aren’t outside edge pieces.

I guess our grandparents are smarter than us. These old puzzles are tough.

Any suggestions on how to get started?

2

I would start with smaller specific bits - maybe not the horses (if that’s what I’m seeing), but with the house on he left, then the trees. Winnow through the easy stuff first.

3

I’ve done a couple of these. I generally put together individual elements of the puzzle together first and work from those. The outside frame is the last thing I do.

My grandmother did give me one to try that I never managed to finish. There was no image provided of what the puzzle was supposed to look like which made everything even harder.

4

Ok. I’ll try matching up things on the inside. Fortunately I have the box cover with the picture. These are so much different than the interlocking ones I’m used too. After I get one or two done maybe it’ll get a bit easier.