The Bruin Boys

An interchangeable jigsaw, one of the three novelty titles in Salmon’s Interchangeable Range for children. The shaped characters are stack-cut so that portions of each character can be swapped. In this set are Mrs Bruin, Tiger Tim, Pokyboy Pig - all of whom can ride on Jacko Monkey’s cart. (The characters can also be mixed with those from other titles in the series, and parts can be swapped between them all, to comic effect.)

The "Bruin Boys," were famous group of anthropomorphic comic characters from Mrs Bruin’s School/ Orphanage, led by Tiger Tim. The characters originally debuted in 1904 in the Daily Mirror (as the Hippo Boys, at Mrs Hippo’s Nursery) before starring in The Playbox and Tiger Tim's Weekly. Other characters in the series were Jumbo Elephant, Joey Parrot, Willie Ostrich, Georgie Giraffe, Fido Pup, and Bobby Bruin the bear. The original characters were created by Julius Stafford Baker. After 1914 the comic strip was continued by Herbert Sydney Foxwell in the Rainbow comic until 1933. The Rainbow ran until April 1956, with the characters drawn by other comic artists.

The characters featured in a rare pull-along toy set made by Peacock & Co in the 1910s, called ‘The Bruin Boys Parade’ (the box pack says the trademark name was owned by the Rainbow). The design of the pull-along toy’s box lid was also made into a jigsaw by AVN Jones or Chad Valley (it's not clear which).

Artist: Unsigned
Date: Mid-late 1930's
Brand: J. Salmon Ltd
Material: 3-ply wood
Nationality: British
Pieces: approx. c140
Range: Interchangeable Jig-Saw puzzles
Size: variable according to combinations created
Theme: Comic
Title: The Bruin Boys.