Historical information

The Kew Historical Society’s collection includes a wide range of leisure objects. Many of the items are European-made, generally of British origin, however there are a number that were made for the Australian market by Australian manufacturers. There were clearly a huge range of toys produced for the Australian and International children’s market in the Nineteenth and Twentieth centuries. The examples of toys in the collection include examples of alphabet toys, arcade toys, baby toys, construction toys, dolls, doll accessories, educational toys, soft toys, tin toys, toy animals, toy blocks, toy machines, toy typewriters, etc.

Physical description

IMP is a fifteen puzzle. The metal base and the numbers are housed in a red leather purse with press-stud. The wallet contains a booklet of promotional material and 'problems'. Puzzle consisting of 15 squares, numbered 1 through 15, which can be slid horizontally or vertically within a four-by-four grid that has one empty space among its 16 locations. The object of the puzzle is to arrange the squares in numerical sequence using only the extra space in the grid to slide the numbered titles.

Inscriptions & markings

Exterior: "IMP / known the world over as Diablotin"