Tower Press
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
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Tower Press was a British jigsaw puzzle and games manufacturer, most active from the 1930s until 1969 when they were bought by Waddingtons. By the early 1960s, they were the largest jigsaw puzzle maker in the world.
History
The company had its origins in the Isle of Man.{{cite web|url=http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamepublisher/8424/tower-press|title=Tower Press|publisher=Boardgamegeek.com|accessdate=3 April 2013}} They began making cardboard wearings in the 1930s but were best known for their jigsaw puzzles and later children's games. They made a jigsaw puzzle range named "Riders of the Range",{{cite book|title=World's Press News and Advertisers' Review|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w209AQAAIAAJ|accessdate=3 April 2013|date=February 1951|publisher=World's Press News Publishing Company, Limited|page=4}} and also made games such as Ask Pickles (1948),{{cite web|url=http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/96769/ask-pickles|title=Ask Pickles|publisher=Boardgamegeek.com|accessdate=3 April 2013}} Inspector Brown,{{cite book|last1=Williams|first1=Anne Douglas|last2=Shortz|first2=Will|title=The jigsaw puzzle: piecing together a history|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-uXglfPvx9QC|accessdate=3 April 2013|date=1 November 2004|publisher=Berkley Books|isbn=978-0-425-19820-9|page=245}} and many others. By the early 1960s they were the world's largest maker of jigsaw puzzles.{{cite book|title=Achievement|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SMkNAQAAMAAJ|accessdate=3 April 2013|year=1962|publisher=World Trade Magazines Ltd.|page=31}} They purchased Budgie Toys, which was said to also be a serious competitor to the Dinky and Corgi lines in the 1960s. In 1969, shortly before the acquisition by Waddingtons, Tower Press were cited as "the most impressive example of the QE2's selling power" when they sold over 150,000 jigsaw puzzles of Queen Elizabeth II and were expected to sell a further 50,000.{{cite book|title=British Industry Week|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jiIdAQAAMAAJ|accessdate=3 April 2013|date=January 1969|publisher=CBI/INI|page=39}}