About
At the centre of The Sam Loyd Company are the archives. These are made up of over 60,000 physical and digital items and represent the work of both Sam Loyd and Sam Loyd Junior.
Publications
Our collection is made up of original publications produced by the Loyd’s. Two of our most treasured items are “Sam Loyd’s Picture Puzzles” and “Sam Loyd and his Puzzles”. These publications were once owned by Sam Loyd Junior, and were donated to the archives by his granddaughter.
Cards
Sam Loyd published his first puzzle card, The Pony Puzzle, in 1868, followed by the Trick Mules in 1871, Uncle Sam’s Spelling Match in 1873 and the Puzzled Neighbors in 1874 – to name a few. The archives have a large collection of original puzzle cards, produced from 1868 to 1909.
Magazines
The Loyd’s produced their puzzles in a number of popular magazines. The archives have a large collection of these, beginning in 1894 and going right up to the last one ever published by Junior, two years after his death.
Newspapers
Starting in 1896 when Sam Loyd produced his first puzzle column in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, the name Sam Loyd remained in all the major newspapers until Junior’s death in 1934. The archives have the largest collection of Loyd newspaper columns in the world.
Photos
The archives have a collection of photos of both Sam Loyd and Sam Loyd Junior from early childhood to adulthood.
Documents
There are a number of documents in the archives which include original letters, legal items and patents. We also have deeds once owned by Sam Loyd’s father, Isaac Smith Loyd, who was one of the largest property developers in Pennsylvania.
Reward
If you have an original and authentic Sam Loyd item, The Sam Loyd Company will buy it from you for our archives. Please send us the details via our contact form and we will get back to you.
