Inner Sanctum Picture Puzzles by Peter Arno, Tony Sarg, Otto Soglow, and William Steig

In 1933, Simon & Schuster published four Inner Sanctum Picture Puzzles. These were jigsaw puzzles with interlocking pieces "happily matched" in some unusual but relevant shapes. The black and white images displayed on the box covers teasingly hint at the full color pictures to be seen once the 300-piece puzzles are completed. The comic artists involved in the project were Peter Arno, Tony Sarg, Otto Soglow, and William Steig.

First up is none other than Arno, whose work in The New Yorker was extremely popular. His puzzle is titled Peek-a-Boo! Arno suggestively builds on his reputation as a ribald cartoonist. "This is the story of the Bounder and the Bothered Beauties," the promotional copy on the box cover reads, suggesting something naughty within. 

"Note:  This is a very small section of the picture you will find in the box."

Peter Arno
eBay listing ended November 30, 2024

https://www.ebay.com/itm/375812493660?_skw=Peter+Arno+Press+Photo&itmmeta=01JE01XZH3JFDMNHA6DXBB1YC6&hash=item57802b915c:g:encAAOSwAW9nL61H&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA0HoV3kP08IDx%2BKZ9MfhVJKmI%2BLE7Xasrm0ZL%2BB3Rn2qqWl3G%2BtaHw

eOyxK%2Fg6ZMR3oAEaNt9fmz1NXhudffgdna1gM1H1dEDWjQ%2FHtXPk6HAZAJ6cztSjU7AkbpfEjQuca9j2XfDsR7D6Di%2BhIz8ubTqoLdLI%2F05LiENpsCA15gX6C9A3xgYyBFC0yOH7555qEsWN3Rxwo1%2FJtghaQonZ9UQIGL8D1koWf9xxmpjk7qg%2FOCi2s7pKu97MjOUmWueVkp8

NRKkb%2BD3CT34xPiwehA%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR87494HwZA

Peter Arno
eBay item description

[End of eBay listing]

It has since been relisted at a discount.

There is a much better image of the completed puzzle in an old eBay listing archived on Worthpoint:

"Peek-a-boo!"
Peter Arno

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-1933-inner-sanctum-picture-470003245

"Peek-a-boo!"
Peter Arno

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-1933-inner-sanctum-picture-470003245

Picture Puzzle no. 2, is called Animals in a Speakeasy. The image is by Tony Sarg who was well known as an illustrator and puppeteer.

Tony Sarg's signature indicates a 1932 date of creation.

Animals in a Speakeasy
Tony Sarg

Animals in a Speakeasy
Tony Sarg

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/tony-sarg-1933-inner-sanctum-picture-510059375

An example is currently available on Facebook Marketplace for $29 plus shipping:

Animals in a Speakeasy
Tony Sarg

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/427154176254687/

Otto Soglow's Little King is featured on the last of the Picture Puzzles, no. 3. It is called King on Roller Skates. Happily, Shay's Puzzle Workshop has great images of the box and the completed puzzle here.

King on Roller Skates
Otto Soglow

No. 4, then, is Oompah! by William Steig. Images of this puzzle are on the flickr account of dajavous. I had to rotate them for your viewing pleasure.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/50241745@N05/30342806614/in/photostream/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/50241745@N05/31020713822/in/photostream/

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John Held, Jr.: Peacock Inn Speakeasy Murals

A little more than a decade ago the Peacock Inn of Princeton, New Jersey, underwent an extensive renovation. Down in the basement, long forgotten murals were discovered hidden under wallpaper. They proved to be decorations from an abandoned speakeasy. The artist was John Held, Jr., the hugely popular American illustrator of the 1920s. The rediscovered murals, lost treasures of the jazz age, were preserved by cutting them out of the the walls and mounting them in frames. They now hang on the main level in the Perch restaurant. The mural images are all in black and white. I found myself sitting under this one upon my first visit to the restaurant and unable to take my eyes off it:

Still life:

That darts player is a lefty:

A dancing flapper:



Is this an exhausted couple, or are they just so bored with it all?

The brilliant mathematician John von Neumann was apparently known locally for motoring around Princeton somewhat heedlessly while reading a book. As my waiter explained, this was the rough equivalent of texting while driving today. Fair enough. Von Neumann's appearance in this most impressive mural would date it to fairly late in Prohibition, as he wasn't invited to Princeton until 1929 and Prohibition was repealed in 1933.

The Perch restaurant's menu is outstanding and I would recommend dining at the Peacock Inn even if the Held murals weren't there. That's pretty much my highest recommendation. How about that! Check out the menu online and see if it's for you.

Note:  Original art by John Held, Jr., is just the sort of thing I like to show here on Attempted Bloggery. For our purposes, Held's block prints may be regarded as original cartoons, as there certainly aren't very many of them for any given image. Please email images of prized Held art to a friendly blog near you.

I would love to see more photographs of murals by New Yorker cartoonists, especially those of the lost-and-found variety like these. See what you can come up with.

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Peter Arno for Barney Gallant

Peter Arno's caricature of Barney Gallant can be seen in a print advertisement for Barney's, presumably a lower Manhattan speakeasy. The ad reportedly dates from 1930 which would place it in the Prohibition Era. Barney Gallant's claim to fame was that he was the first New Yorker to be arrested under the Volstead Act. The advertising copy stating "that dinner service has now been resumed" may well be a reference to some much later legal matters. The caricature shows Gallant's dark complexion, bushy eyebrows, receding hairline and a five-o'clock shadow. Arno can hardly be accused of flattery, but based on a contemporary photograph by Nickolas Muray it may be a fair likeness. The smile seems genuine.

Peter Arno, Barney's

http://lileks.tumblr.com/post/663849099/peter-arno-drawing-of-restauranteur-barney

Nickolas Muray, Jon Murray Anderson and Barney Gallant

http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/265260

An eBay listing has a variant of this ad announcing entertainment by Walter O'Keefe and Bobby Dolan. This listing gives the date as 1955, which is extremely unlikely because New York City phone numbers were expanded to two letters plus five digits in December of 1930.

Peter Arno, Barney's

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1955-Barney-Gallant-New-York-City-Village-restaurant-Peter-Arno-vintage-print-ad-/311519656592?hash=item488804ba90%3Ag%3AahAAAOSwv0tVQFrx&nma=true&si=YQGb25QThn5Fxe78BW8tTy6VzZY%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Barney Gallant was associated with a number of establishments during the Prohibition years. Information about this image from the National Gallery of Art and from the Museum of the City of New York do not agree.

Golonkin, Joseph Webster, Speako Deluxe, lithograph c. 1928 [according to the National Gallery of art]

Yet another location:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-BARNEY-GALLANT-MANHATTAN-NEW-YORK-NY-MIDGET-MATCHBOOK-COVER-MB319-/161254023591?hash=item258b7d21a7

"Walter O'Keefe has returned. New Songs served with the sauce of new nonsense." Now what do you suppose that means?

"Gee!  I'm Marvelous in the Bath-Room" (1928)
Walter O'Keefe

Note:  These links should also keep you entertained:

Attempted Bloggery's posts about Peter Arno.

Ink Spill's posts about Peter Arno.

Attempted Bloggery's notes on advertising.

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