Hood’s Four-in-One Puzzle

A clever ‘four-in-one’ puzzle design by a quack medicine manufacturer.

Charles Ira Hood founded C.I. Hood & Company in Lowell, Massachusetts in 1875 as a manufacturer of patent medicines, health cures, and its flagship product, Hood’s Sarsaparilla. The company quickly became a leader in leveraging the latest printing and production techniques to advertise its products via calendars, trade cards, cookbooks, and other ephemeral items. It even offered tours of its laboratory and production facility, billed as one of the largest in the world.

This double-sided puzzle is an excellent example of C.I. Hood & Co.’s promotional efforts; combining education, fun, patriotism, and advertising. One configuration – Hood’s “Our Country” puzzle – shows an outline of the United States with portraits of prominent distributors (notably men and women) shown throughout. The verso presents a view of the factory, while the hexagonal and square forms both spell out a bold advertisement for the firm.

Manufactured and produced in 1896 in Lowell, Massachusetts by C.I. Hood & Company. Obtainable by the company on receipt of fifty cents and three proof of purchases of Hood’s Sarsparilla.

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