Tuco: Suspense

I 'yoinked' this puzzle off the thrift store shelf as soon I noticed that the pieces were made of 'thick, easy-to-handle wood-like pieces made of upson laminated wood fibre board' because one of the few things I know about vintage puzzles is that really old puzzle's pieces were commonly made of wood - and for $1.49 how could I go wrong?

This puzzle has 'over 350 Triple-Thick Interlocking Pieces' and is made by Tuco Deluxe. The subject is "Suspense - Painting by Clair V. Fry". 

A bit of research suggests that this puzzle was made after 1957 as that is when the painting was completed according to this site. Tuco has an interesting history according to this site... 

"Tuco was a subsidiary of The Upson Company which originally produced 3/16” wallboard for home construction. During the Depression when the home construction industry plummeted, The Upson Co. came up with the idea of producing cheap picture puzzles using the unused pieces of wallboard. The newly formed Tuco brand sold its puzzles for 69 cents at a time when its competitors were selling their products for over $3. Tuco’s extra thick picture puzzles proved extremely popular and by 1933 the company was shipping over 50,000 puzzles every day. It is said that the company survived the Depression period by cutting and marketing picture puzzles."

The owner of this site is super helpful, in case you have troubles identifying your Tuco puzzle!

This puzzle was a pure joy to put together. Even at 350 pieces, this puzzle was engaging and challenging to put together - as not all of the pieces are classical interlocking. The photo is beautiful as well. I also really loved how thick the pieces were. I will definatly be snatching up any other Tuco puzzles I find.