Our Village

This 400-piece non-interlocking plywood jigsaw puzzles proved to be one of the most enjoyable yet in my experience of puzzles cut by Dolly McDougall. Carrying a date of 1958, the application of colour line-cutting left me guessing at almost every point, convincing me of missing pieces here, there and everywhere! Suffice it to say, there were no such absentees, just widespread trickery.

The colourful print was unsigned but the magnificent painting has since been to discovered to be by the British artist Ronald Lampitt (1906-1988). Predominantly a watercolour artist, his work also featured in several promotional posters of the 1930s and as illustrations in the 1940s-1950s weekly "John Bull" magazine and in nine "Ladybird" books between 1965 and 1972.

This print has appeared far more recently in use on a Wentworth laser-cut puzzle under the title of "A Village Cricket Game", available in several size formats including 250 and 500 piece.

From a purely jigsaw perspective, his most notable painting is surely that of the Chad Valley GWR series puzzle Cornwall-Preparing for a Catch.


Artist: Lampitt, Roland
Date: 1958
Brand: East Anglian Jig-Saw Club
Material: Plywood
Nationality: British-England
Number: 326
Pieces: 400
Size: 17 1/2" x 14 1/2"
Theme: Landscape
Title: Our Village