About this object

This item is a plastic-encased puzzle that shows a drawing of a waterfall, presumably Niagara Falls (a popular tourist destination as early as the 18th century). Users are asked to get all of the little balls off of a “bank” (a small wooden piece set flat inside the puzzle at the top of the falls) into a “whirlpool”, a hole at the top right corner of the box.

Similar puzzles by the same manufacturer, R. Journet, were sent to British solders imprisoned in Germany during WWI with a hacksaw, a compass and a map hidden inside to facilitate their escape.