Re: "Sinclair's Chains"

[Niven Sinclair <niven@niven.co.uk>]

At 10:40 09/12/01 -0500, you wrote:
>According to "The Saint-Clairs of the Isles" a small lock puzzle,
>called the "bojor," was ascribed in one or another to Malcolm
>Sinclair, the murdered ambassador.  Over a century ago, this toy was
>popular with children in Norway, Sweden and Denmark.  Some say
>Sinclair invented that lock as a form of amusement while in captivity.
>It is also thought that it was used on his prison door and he was
>promised to be set free if he could open it. Another theory is that it
>was used on Sinclair's dispatch box while in route to Constantinople.
>It consists of a bolt that has to be disconnected from seven rings.
>An ingenious device to say the least.
>     My question--has anyone seen one of these bojors.  It would be a
>neat device to exhibit at a Clan Sinclair tent.  I am sure that it

[ Excess quotations omitted. ]

I have often thought that we should market it.  It would be an excellent
alternative to some of the gadgets on sale today.

I will ask some of my Norwegian friends if they can trace one and, if
so, we might be able to interest a toy manufacturer in its production
although, in this day of  computer games, the young may not find the
bojor exciting enough.

Niven




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