In the mid-1970's we found Charles Russell in Auburn, MA, right next door to Worcester, who had been cutting puzzles since the 1930's. Russell's puzzles featured lots of color line cutting with occasional knobs along the color lines to maintain interlock, and figure pieces which he cut freehand by looking at a pad filled with dozens of designs he had sketched over the years. This pad was well worn as he used it in cutting every puzzle. He also cut false edges and corners to confuse the assembler. As with Roland Chesley, we supplied most of the prints for the many puzzles he cut for us charging only 2.5 cents/piece, By the late 1970's when he was well into his 80's Russell stopped cutting and died shortly thereafter. The puzzles cut, first by Roland Chesley and then by Charles Russell, along with the original Armstrong family puzzles provided an inventory of over 100 jigsaw puzzles, enough for our family needs during that period.
