Wildlife artist launches twoyear treasure hunt to find. Kit williams masquerade, the childrens treasure hunt book that. The crazy story of a real life treasure hunt youtube. An armchair treasure hunt is one that you can solve at home and then go out and find the prize, says jenny kile, an amateur treasure hunter and creator of the armchair treasure hunting site. Book articles that will need to be rewritten or improved. The book chronicles the life of the kidd sibings, who find themselves in the biggest treasure hunt of their lives after their parents disappear. This hare could be located by deciphering clues in the published book, which itself sold hundreds of thousands of copies. For three years, treasure seekers from both sides of the atlantic sought a fabulous golden hare buried by artist kit williams. In 1979, this book sparked a national craze for armchair treasure hunting. Treasure island is packed with vivid characters, but its long john silver who. How a reallife treasure hunt obsessed a nation bbc.
Join scoobydoo and shaggy for a day at the beach that becomes a treasure hunt filled with spooky houses and ghostly pirates. It also gradually reveals hints to how the main puzzle works, before giving away the full solution. The treasure hunt was very interesting but from my perspective the book could have a little more for the treasure hunter to do. It captivated britain an epic treasure hunt for a beautiful jewel buried in a cow field. The quest to find 12 hidden treasures from a 1982 treasure. Aug 20, 2009 author kit williams reunited with 18carat gold hare which his book masquerade sparked the nations biggest treasure hunt for 30 years ago. The golden hare independent bookshop edinburgh located in stockbridge, offers. A dimwitted and southerntongued freed slave, jupitar provides comic relief with his thick accent and tendency to disappoint his master. Treasure in search of the golden horse ced web page. Masquerade is a picture book, written and illustrated by kit williams, published in august 1979, that sparked a treasure hunt by concealing clues to the location of a jewelled golden hare, created and hidden somewhere in britain by williams. In search of the golden horse and perplex city from my previous two columns, the golden apple tale is an armchair treasure hunt that has not been solved, and the location of the treasure remains a mystery to this day. Treasure hunt is an adventure designed for zerolevel characters. The book provides clues to the location of a buried statuette of an owl, created by becker.
Books like the butterfly ball and the grasshoppers feast had done very. In paperback, the book that touched off the treasure hunt of the centurywith a full explanation of the masquerade riddle. Although legrand gets frustrated and angry with jupitar on the hunt for treasure, it is understood that they maintain a peaceful, quasifriendship. Unearthed again the golden hare that obsessed a nation. Public interest in the hunt for kit williams golden hare led to the sale of 2 million books, but left the author a virtual recluse. Til the 1970s childrens book masquerade held a reallife treasure hunt for a golden rabbit that ended when somebody cheated to find it. Masquerade, a story book and puzzle by kit williams, masquerades paintings also by kit williams had clues to the location of a golden hare, buried treasure hidden somewhere in britain. Among these socalled armchair treasure hunts, treasure in search of the golden horse tisotgh was unique in having the wellproduced video to accompany the book. Masquerade by kit williams 1979 treasurehunting puzzle book. Many of the books hold the clues to real treasures gems, jewels, and cash. Apr 19, 2001 as the 1970s became the 1980s, a childrens book hit the headlines and sold over a million copies. Most of the real treasures have been found already, but the books are still endless fun to explore and find. Author kit williams reunited with 18carat gold hare which his book masquerade sparked the nations biggest treasure hunt for 30 years ago. The golden apple tale armchair treasure hunt mysterious.
I know cadburys also did a hunt book, for golden eggs. The previous year, author and publisher byron preiss had traveled to 12 locations in the continental u. A series of events is being staged to mark the 40th anniversary of the publishing sensation that was. A bbc radio show and a series of newspaper articles have reignited demand on abebooks for an outofprint treasure hunting book that sold a million copies thirty years ago before fading into obscurity. A golden hare, a multistep pictorial code, and a country on the hunt. One of six to eight is one of the biggest clues in the book, indicating catherine of aragon, the first of six wives of king henry viii, near whose monument the jewel was hidden. There are many characters in this book too many for me to list and discuss in the space allowed. The 1982 treasure hunt book, the secret, has clues to 12 hidden gems. Masquerade by kit williams is an illustrated children. Bugs bunnys treasure hunt a golden story book, book 10.
Golden hare should be put on display, says treasure hunt. The crazy story of a real life treasure hunt nerdwriter1. In pursuit of the golden key treasure hunt home facebook. A bbc radio show and a series of newspaper articles have reignited demand on abebooks for an outofprint treasurehunting book that sold a million copies thirty years ago before fading into obscurity. Image caption artist kit williams with the golden hare that was the treasure hunt s prize. Within these pages you will find three main areas of interest. Treasure hunt is both a nailbiting thriller and a comingofage story, filled with lescroarts trademark san francisco. Kit williams a british artist produced masquerade, a beautiful picture book that was more than just a book of paintings or childrens book. Noesis readers may be familiar with the spate of treasure hunt books that have been published in recent years, i believe the seminal work in this fad was the beautifully illustrated childrens bookcumtreasure map masquerade, by kit williams. Mar 25, 2015 in 1979, this book sparked a national craze for armchair treasure hunting. Bugs bunnys treasure hunt a golden story book, book 10 warner bros. By doing a little amateur astronomy, the exact spot pointed to by the statues long finger can be determined without waiting for the equinox.
Masquerades central character was jack hare, whod unfortunately lost a precious. Contemporary wildlife artist joanna may has launched a treasure hunt book for a unique golden hare painting worth thousands. James renner is on a quest to discover the others, and he invites you to join the hunt. Quest4treasure is a community created for treasure hunters and puzzlers. Hauservalentin died in 2009, and the solutions are now held by his lawyer. Wyatt hunt has been sleeping in his car and cutting as many corners as he can to keep the hunt club afloat. The location of the treasure is narrowed down to mount desert island in maine, and it must be found before thanksgiving day, 2020, when the hunt ends. Fandom may earn an affiliate commission on sales made from links on this page. In search of the golden horse inspired by masquerade, in 1984, intravision and filmmaker sheldon renan created a puzzle that was both published in a book and directtovideo movie. Armchair treasure hunting began in 1979 when kit williams wrote a book called masquerade. Arguably the defining book of the genre of armchair treasure hunts. The hareshaped golden amulet he buried three decades ago by kit williams.
Mysterious golden hare still casting its spell 30 years on. Masquerade was the inspiration for perplex city, and we did a lot of research on how it ran. The tortoise and the hare a little golden book margo lundell, john nez on. Jack hare is tasked to deliver a love token a jewelled golden hare from the moon to the sun, but loses it. What i found interesting was that several treasure hunts came soon after masquerade, often offering much larger prizes up to a. Jan 01, 1983 while the titular golden hare, crafted by williams, has long since been found, masquerade still remains a combination childrens story and art book, featuring anagrams, magic squares, and it is, of course, the companion to kit williams phenomenal masquerade, the puzzle book treasure hunt that captivated britain and the preinternet world from. But the wheels of bankruptcy do grind, slowly yet relentlessly. Its got wonderful pictures and an interesting rhyme theme to it.
Many a treasure hunter would thus conclude that the hare must be. Masquerade is the quintessential armchair treasure hunt book. How the clues within the picture book masquerade turned the uk into a. These characters are known to travel the land or the galaxy in search of riches beyond their wildest dreams, no matter the authority figures or laws that stand in the way.
Written as a childrens story in large picture book format the addition of a treasure hunt was designed to encourage the reader to examine every picture in fine detail in order to locate the hidden clues to the burial place of a golden hare. Oct 21, 2014 bbc culture looks at a childrens book that went viral long before 140character treasure hunts. Mysterious golden hare still casting its spell 30 years on the. Wildlife artist launches twoyear treasure hunt to find three golden hares. Written and richly illustrated by illustrator and craftsman kit williams and published in september 1979 by jonathan cape, it has itself spawned a number of articles and books on the masquerade phenomenon. The announcement marked the beginning of a new hunt for the hare.
Jim hawkins twelve or thirteenyearold boy, an innkeepers son. The book also contains a number of confirming clues. Scoobydoo and the pirate treasure scoobydoo by golden. Armchair treasure hunting typified be the book masquerade created by kit willams in 1979, masquerade unleashed a mind. You can take on new quests, and there are 267 new monsters for your defeated monster list, if filling that is one of your goals. Bbc culture looks at a childrens book that went viral long before 140 character treasure hunts. The top 10 treasure hunts in fiction books the guardian. In 1982, while everyone in britain was still madly digging up hedgerows and pastures in search of the golden hare, the secret. Golden hare should be put on display, says treasure hunt author kit williams the golden hare that kit williams buried in a park 30 years ago should be put on public display, the author of the. Public hunts come in many shapes and sizes and are published for a number of reasons. These books are all examples of armchair treasure hunts books that provide clues to a mystery. The book became the inspiration for a genre of books known today as armchair treasure hunts. I remember reading it when i was pretty young and the whole thing making not much sense.
The story line continues even after you complete the main game. Its set in san francisco at a flailing detective agency. In december of 1988, a month of bombshell revelations about masquerade, the golden hare, and ken thomas, kit williamss treasure resurfaced for auction at sothebys. The scenario allows the characters to evolve into their roles as adventurers, instead of starting them out on that career. Kit williams with the golden hare that was the treasure hunts prize. I found a lot of similarities between the accounts in that book and what kit and i are seeing with the tribute. Masquerade promised a jewelencrusted golden hare to the first person to unravel the riddle that williams cleverly hid in his art. Written and richly illustrated by illustrator and craftsman kit williams and published in september 1979 by jonathan cape, it has itself spawned a number of articles and books. It appeared on channel 4 between 28 december 1982 and 18 may 1989 and was revived by bbc two between 16 december 2002 and 2 august 2003. As mickey and hunt are pulled into the case, they soon learn that the citys golden fundraiser was involved in some highly suspect deals.
On the 7th august 1979 kit williams and bamber gascoigne buried the hare jewel in ampthill great park. Frances 25year treasure hunt for a golden owl bbc news. Til the 1970s childrens book masquerade held a real. David livesey local physician and district magistrate. Williams buried a golden hare in a bedfordshire hillside. Within masquerades covers were clues that pointed the way to an actual buried treasure. In the earth am i confirms that the treasure is, in fact, buried in the ground somewhere, and not inside a building, vehicle, or other man. By the time the golden hare had been unearthed, it had led to an astonishing. It is the first book in the treasure hunters series. Many armchair treasure hunt books have been published over the years, most notably masquerade 1979 by british artist kit williams. Like a good whodunnit, a treasurehunt story can be the ultimate. Quest for the golden hare by bamber gascoigne goodreads. This book contains fifteen very detailed one or twopage paintings rendered in the fantastic style. The armchair treasure hunt club hunts for the general public.
Scoobydoo, shaggy, and the rest of the meddling kids return in a classic little golden book. The world of an armchair treasure hunter atlas obscura. Mike barker and john rousseau had arrived at the correct solution to williamss puzzle but they were beaten to the treasure by ken. Sep 22, 2015 what made the book so innovative, and ultimately so popular, was that it wasnt just a book. It told the story of how the moon, having fallen in love with the sun, enlisted the help of jack hare to take her a bejewelled treasure, and how on his journey jack lost the treasure. Masquerade is a picture book, written and illustrated by kit williams, published in august 1979, that sparked a treasure hunt by concealing clues to the location of a jewelled golden hare. Mar 26, 20 if youre like me and grew up reading robert louis stevenson and watching muppet treasure island on repeat, the idea of going on a reallife treasure hunt is pretty alluring. The armchair treasure hunt club publishes its own exclusive hunts for its members but also keeps track of current hunts available to the general public through the bimonthly newsletter and online bulletin board. A good reference for masquerade is bamber gascoignes book, the quest for the golden hare, which is a very readable account of the whole hunt, solution, and various intrigues. Jul 21, 2017 an armchair treasure hunt is one that you can solve at home and then go out and find the prize, says jenny kile, an amateur treasure hunter and creator of the armchair treasure hunting site. He finds a lamp with a magic genie inside and tries to capture the love of a princess by becoming a prince, and fights against an evil sorcerer.
And the lovely alicia knows more about thisand more about comothan shes letting on. Unearthed again golden hare that obsessed a nation books. A crazy person whos always having a tea party, with the march hare. Unearthed again golden hare that obsessed a nation.
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