I've never seen these before, and they're my new favorites--each of their six sides as good as the next: two sides like diagonal pattern color cubes; two sides black on red letters and numbers; and two sides black on white graphics, images (mostly animals) on one and shapes (stars, diamonds, etc) on the other. Among the last, four blocks together form a maker's mark--a bit hard to read but including the name "James Harold" (which has led me nowhere) and showing a patent date of 1865. Fantastic looking I think, and amazingly, nearly 150 years letter with no box holding them together, this is clearly a complete set, with all letters of the alphabet represented at least once, and numbers 1 through 9 plus &, too. A very early set indeed, pre-dating Hills alphabet blocks (earliest set 1867), which I've always understood to be among the first of these cube sets. Rare and beautifully worn--and clearly precursors (by 50+ years) of the US Embossing Co Color Cubes I love so much too. Yum.
Blocks 1 1/2" squared (larger than color cubes, for ex, which are just over 1 inch.) Set of 36, complete. Surface and paint wear as evident, pretty evenly across all of them, and beautiful for it I think. No chips to the wood, cracks, splits, etc.