The Lilly Library and Indiana University’s Digital Library Program are thrilled to announce the debut of the new online presence for the Jerry Slocum Mechanical Puzzle Collection: http://www.dlib.indiana.edu/collections/slocum/ The collection is one of several featured in the Indiana University’s new Image Collections Online site.
The Jerry Slocum Collection of mechanical puzzles embodies a lifetime pursuit of the intriguing and the perplexing. The collection is one of the largest of its kind in the world, with over 34,000 puzzles. Unlike word or jigsaw puzzles, mechanical puzzles are hand-held objects that must be manipulated to achieve a specific goal. Popular examples include the Rubik’s cube and tangrams. The puzzles in the collection represent centuries of mathematical, social, and recreational history from across five continents.
The online database currently allows researchers and puzzle enthusiasts to search and browse over 23,000 items from the Slocum collection, and soon it will include the entire puzzle collection. Users will also be able to request delivery of some items to the Lilly Library’s Reading Room for hands-on use and research.
The images in the database may be used for non-commercial educational or research purposes. If you use or reproduce our materials in any format, we ask that the Lilly Library always be cited as the source of the material with the credit line: Courtesy, The Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana. For commercial uses, please contact the Lilly Library at 1200 East Seventh Street, Bloomington, Indiana, 47405-5500 or at https://blogs.libraries.indiana.edu/lilly//. For more information about the Slocum puzzle collection, please visit the Lilly Library web page: https://blogs.libraries.indiana.edu/lilly//collections/overview/puzzles.shtml