Mike Wilks: The Ultimate Alphabet: The Letter S 1000-piece Jigsaw Puzzle

Mike Wilks (British, b. 1947) The Letter S, 1985 From The Ultimate Alphabet Surely you can see the saluki, but can you spot the shuttlecock, the stein, or the sifaka? Mike Wilks writes, “There is a sketch of a squinch, a selection of shells (not all from the sea), a siamang settled on a seat, a sponge to be studied, and sundry stuff suspended from strings. In all I included 1,234 S’s for you to see.” From the best-selling book The Ultimate Alphabet, The Letter S is one of Wilks’s most challenging and intricate compositions. Can you find all of the S words depicted here in this 1,000-piece puzzle? If not, check out the list and key included inside.

Mike Wilks

The art of Mike Wilks (British, b. 1947) is characterized by intensely realistic (sometimes surrealistic) detail—think art appreciation and a game of discovery, all in one. Wilks began his artistic career at 13 when he won a scholarship to art school. He ran a successful graphic design business for five years before he sold it and began writing and illustrating books in 1975. He rocketed to fame following publication of The Ultimate Alphabet in 1986; the puzzle book was a global bestseller. Each image contains dozens, if not hundreds, of items, all beginning with the same letter of the alphabet. After eight illustrated books, he established himself as a novelist with The Mirrorscape Trilogy, a fantasy adventure series. Wilks, who was the subject of an award-winning British documentary, lives in London. His drawings and paintings now reside in museums, galleries, and private collections around the world.