(Yo m220m. You still at Roanoke…?)

That’s not me…but I did post about someone who worked there once…
About the tree etc… Maybe I’ll take a trip down that way this summer.
Anyway, I removed my post about The flowerbed & stairs across from Jackson Square because I realized that a few peoplw brought that up in the Verse 2 section.

jmyoung15

Found a little bit on parade routes in this older book while poking around online this afternoon. Might be worth a look.
https://books.google.com/books?id=wZmrX … &q&f=false

Thank you jmyoung15!

Kang

Thank you jmyoung15!

No problem! Will let you know if I come across anything else of interest.

tupperwerewolves p. 137, the checkered tablecloth and bowl of sugar and mustard, moon, window, golf balls
mugwumps p. 147  toothless face with marionette strings and balloons and posters and podium with politician
the tax burden  p. 215 the guy with the money bag tied to his back with a belt, and the music notes or 76, and money,paving stone or chalk board behind him?
that’s just a fast run thru, k?
always thought it was the stylus devil in the shadows on ponce’s horse.

The checkered design on Ponce’s shirt opposite seems to blend into this one.

Unknown

Unknown:
Most…if not all…horse races do not have a checkered flag at the beginning or end of the race.

Yes, I know. But RACING does. A checkerboard pattern is just one of those symbols that says “race”. It’s also symbolic of a chess board, and we all know that one of the chess pieces is a horse.  However, you don’t have to go far to associate the checkerboard pattern with horse-racing.
Secretariat,
famous triple-crown winner, wore blue and white checkerboard patterned regalia and his jockey wore the pattern on his silks.  This would have been something known quite well in the late 70’s, since Secretariat won the Triple Crown in 1973–and arguably, Secretariat is maybe one of the top 5 best-known horses in the universe.  Next to Mr. Ed, of course.

shecrab

Yes, I know. But RACING does. A checkerboard pattern is just one of those symbols that says “race”. It’s also symbolic of a chess board, and we all know that one of the chess pieces is a horse.

Yes…that makes a lot of sense.

(Slappy, do you know if JJP did any other field guide illustrations except the Stylus Devil…? He also signed some at the front, but it’s the only one at the back that I’ve noticed. It falls on pages 90/91, which correspond to two of the numbers on the clock. The trident resembles the clock hand.)

Don’t know if this is any help, but the famous peter pan statue in london has replica statues around the world. They are located in the following places:
Newfoundland, New Jersey (USA), Perth (Western Australia), Toronto (Canada) and Brussels (Belgium).

Toronto huh?  There is a casque somewhere in Canada, could this be the one?

Even better, it is in Glenn Gould Park in Toronto, Canada!  🙂

Since N.O. seems to be the focus here, I found City Park:
http://www.neworleanscitypark.com/Parks
seem to be a great place to bury a casque.  The reason I thought City Park was a possible match is because located in the park is Storyland where there is Captain Hooks ship that kids can play on.  Cpt Hook is of course from Peter Pan and I thought the person on the clock face in the P resembled Peter Pan.
Just some random ramblings……..

BrandonH

NOLA68,
There were 21 large (approx 6′ X 6′) wooden planters along the Moonwalk in 81. They had large metal Xs on the sides.

the one in the middle was also dug in before they were removed. so it wasn’t there.
Also remembering the moonwalk was on a levee, digging on a levee just seems bad all around.

“15 rows down” (steps at Artillery park). “In the middle of 21, end to end” (If you count the columns on the Cabildo bldg, Presbytere bldg, and count the St. Louis Cathedral as 1 column). “3 stand watch” (3 spires on Cathedral).
This may lend itself to Jackson square. Also the the socks theory (DIG, JAX). I know, nothing earth shattering here, jus throwing it out there. Still no pin point dig spot in Jackson Square.

NOLA68,
There were 21 large (approx 6′ X 6′) wooden planters along the Moonwalk in 81. They had large metal Xs on the sides.

animatedgeoff I will send you a PM

Disclaimer: This is in no way connected to any of the other “play with the verses a little bit” discussion that I’ve been advancing in the other threads. I just wanted to ask.
Did any of the cloak and dagger/threatened shunning have to do with this idea?
Take twice as many east steps as the hour
Or more
From the middle of one branch
Of the v
It’s an hour hand going through an hour on the clock through the middle of (one branch, though?) of the V and pointing directly at the jewel.

decibalnyc

Well we know it’s not St. Louis MO for several reasons other than Byron saying it’s not. Also the way he leaked that there was “one in St. Louis, but not the one you’re thinking of” is a total BP way of giving a clue.

I am also in this camp and believe it is likely to be in reference to Montreal. I always try to keep in mind what things Preiss was seemingly willing to discuss compared to what he was not in the correspondences that I am aware of from that time (all second hand, so someone correct me please). It just seems that what he “leaked”, around the same time was “Yes there is treasure in Canada” and the “St. Louid [sic]” email. Other items he kept more closely guarded. I still cannot discount New Orleans which is why I have been posting what I have.

The 1977 plaque on the wall of the St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 titled “Oven Vaults” has a lot of fitting characteristics. For starters the prototypical shape for oven vaults are shaped exactly like the half circle shape of the turqoise. The words “PRESERVATION”, and “IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TWENTIETH” on it seem like good indicators. A vault is the sort of thing “jewels” would be kept in right?
Sarmiento is South American. The Gardens of the Americas adjacent to the plaque are specifically a tribute to South and Central America.
Didnt four21thrasher already point this plaque out?

The 1977 plaque on the wall of the St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 titled “Oven Vaults” has a lot of fitting characteristics. For starters the prototypical shape for oven vaults are shaped exactly like the half
circle
shape of the turqoise. The words “PRESERVATION”, and “IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TWENTIETH” on it seem like good indicators. A vault is the sort of thing “jewels” would be kept in right?
Sarmiento is South American. The Gardens of the Americas adjacent to the plaque are specifically a tribute to South and Central America.
Didnt four21thrasher already point this plaque out?

Happy holidays to the New Orleans group,
My family and i will be spending a week in New Orleans Dec 27th – January 2nd to visit friends and
ring in the new year. We plan to doing some site seeing, checking out some great food/music and doing a little bit of exploring on the The Secret (image 7/verse 2).
Wishing all the quest4treasure folks a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year!

I wonder if the clock arm pointing to a spot just before III is a hint for a time just before 1500. Vespucci aka “America’s Namesake” began his first voyages in the late 1490’s.

It could also just be that it was painted by hand and is subject to minor flaws. I think that connections like the one you just made would be a bit far-fetched for people to make in 1982 without this much information at their fingertips…and considering the fact that BP thought they would be solved quickly would suggest that the Vespucci theory is highly implausible.
What I’m interested in is the area that looks like something is carved into the wood under the clock…under the 90 to the left, but even with the mask’s cheek. It looks like the number 25 is etched in there.

Mark X

It looks like the number 25 is etched in there.

Looking at the original in the book, in direct sunlight, I do not see ’25’ there. I see maybe a swirly 2 (looks more like a backwards S or a swan) and either a Y or an upside-down five-pointed starfish, to my eyes. It’s supposed to be a flaw in the wood, i guess, like the gouges to the left of the mask. I do wonder if there is a specific grandfather clock out there with scratches to match.

I have a feeling that it really is just an insignificant pattern in the wood to make it more natural looking, but every anomaly is worth considering when dealing with visual clues.

No, I do not believe that this is the location. There’s no way we’re going to be able to go in and dig up the courtyard. I think this is only a clue to lead us on the right path.
The restaurant is on a busy street. Not far from Grant park, not far from the Mississippi.
We HAVE to figure out what the right verse is.
wilhouse

erexere

How about “similar”, like these columns for Cleveland? Other than the fluting on the columns, they’re basically a perfect match.

Or the similarity of the words from Treasure Island. Erexere… holy shit, I am siding with you. Well done, homie.

I’m in!

Im thinking about setting the small crescent shape between the lips of the white mask as an anchor for connecting to the gryffon head as a way of orienting the painting north. The scale of the Superdome may be correct, but the jewel location doesnt fit the result I expected. The crescent in the mask seems to fit my prospective spot when comparsed to the map.

erexere

I think an important aspect of this puzzle as it regards Verse 2 is to figure out why the Sarmiento quote fits this image.

The Sarmiento quote is only pointing towards the people of New Orleans. It says very plainly “Here is a sovereign people”, attaching the people mentioned in the quote to this particular verse. In 1982, you couldn’t Google that phrase and find out instantly where it came from, so if you managed to discover it then THAT WAS THE CLUE. You’re thinking too hard about the significance of Sarmiento. Think like a kid in 1982 that had no internet, since that is who the book was written for.

Perhaps I wasn’t being clear. My point was to say what if we didn’t know the quote came from sarmiento? Then we just have a few simple things to go on. Shelter sleeping sovereignty. I’m saying it’s as simple as that and we don’t need to know where the quote came from.

As someone who was a high school kid in 1982, I would have started with Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations, worked my way through another few reference books, asked my local reference librarian, and then called the New York Public Library Reference Desk as a last resort. The NYPL Reference Desk took calls from all over the country and was/is legendery for their ability to find information such as who was the author of an obscure quote.

Perhaps more Mardi Gras references —
The “Peter Pan” image on the clock looks to me like a Harlequin image (one checkered pant leg longer than the other).
The mask is also considered a Harlequin mask.

erexere

this is my favorite post of the thread.

The statue appears in a few places. It’s on a building in Rochester, New York and on Winnipeg town hall. I even found one that looks of the plaza d’ armes. But in Cuba.
Krewe of Hermes use this image. It’s printed/minted/stamped onto coins for the Mardi Gras parade. This is the only link to New Orleans I can find for this image, and I fear it may be too seasonal.
Could it be too lead us to HMS Hermes which was grounded and sunk in Louisiana. The more modern named aircraft carrier version was docked in New Orleans in 1980, but that would be the worst clue ever as it wasn’t permantley there.

I think the flying figure is complicated. It may be symbolic of Hermes for an important reason, but its disguised like a horse jockey and it looks like it has something else hidden in its figure. Frisco’s idea that it hides a “2” is interesting. It might also hide a “1” depending on how liberal we should interpret.
Jockeys tend to be small. They ride on a horse. This might be BP/JJPs way of suggesting we look for a small figure mounted on something. Hermes was in charge of guiding people to the afterlife, so I like the idea of finding a tomb topper.

I have just been researching the man in the clock face and his peculiar butt! Actually, there is a wrought iron feature in New Orleans called a Romeo catcher.
I made an imgur album to take you through my thought process.
In a nutshell: our guy is Romeo, he’s performing the act of catching (his right hand is wearing a mitt) and he’s incorporated into an arch.
I think it’s a clue directing us to a certain Romeo catcher arch, and the clock hand may just contain the pattern of wrought iron we need to look for.
Album is 4 pictures.
http://imgur.com/a/Ska8h

The Pelicans? Founded in 2002.

erexere

Note: this is to compare the crescent space between circle and inscribed triangle. The plaque is located on the base of the PRES of Central America statue in the Gardens of the Americas along Basin street where only three standing statues are found. This follows the namesakes meeting being interpreted as North and South Americas (Amerigo V.) meeting in the middle, Central America.

erexere

Note: this is to compare the crescent space between
circle
and inscribed triangle. The plaque is located on the base of the PRES of Central America statue in the Gardens of the Americas along Basin street where only three standing statues are found. This follows the namesakes meeting being interpreted as North and South Americas (Amerigo V.) meeting in the middle, Central America.

Choice

It’s an old man holding a cane! I’ll explain:

This seems a little convoluted IMHO. As soon as you say “imagine if the fingers are extended” you lost me. No one would change the shape of a hand in a puzzle like this and expect people to go “well if you just change the shape of the hand, it matches that hand”. It just doesn’t make sense to me.

roughdraft274

Does anyone here know sign language? Is there any chance that the hand holding the stick stand for something in sign language? I know the alphabet, and that doesn’t match anything, but the hand shape, sign it doesn’t look to me like it’s what I would draw to draw just a hand holding a stick, looks like sign language. I just don’t know enough to confirm or deny if it is or isn’t.

It’s an old man holding a cane! I’ll explain:
If you imagine the top 2 fingers unclenched and opened you get a V sign.
Back to my new and improved map. Notice the second hand is at 14 seconds, a bit north of III. From Lafayette Square this will point to the street just north of Lafayette St.
If you continue East on Poydras St. you get to British Plaza where the statue of Churchill (1977) is holding a cane and showing V sign. Note the layout of the circle and the similarity with the clock face.
https://tinyurl.com/y7ykc7zw

erexere

I’m leaning towards coincidence, but watch me make it fit.

Mercury vapor lamp
.
Interesting how Image 1 and Image 7 are connected not just by the dragon head, but also by Mercury (Hg)…which makes perfect sense, since the SF casque is beside a Mercury vapor lamp as well.  ;D

the columns match exactly,
however they are not the two columns mentioned in the verse.
they are the columns on the back side of the wall from the casque.

I never understood why this is considered exact rather than just similar.

Here we go, in 1931 the oldest krewe, Comus, held a theme that year named “Jewels from Byron”.  No kidding!
They disbanded in 1992 for refusal to sign a petition on anti-segregatory practices.  I havent discovered what their route was in 1980, but chances are good that it remained true to its historic run starting somewhere between Dauphine and the Levee, perhaps Royal, then St. Charles to Lafayette Square and over to Camp St., then west on Julia and north on Carondalet through to Canal.
It really seems fitting to go with a Comus inspiration.  The image surely works around the city.  The moon is the Superdome on Julia.  The Clock hand looks a match to the Margaret Haughery area on Camp.  The clockboy fits Lafayette Square on St. Charles.  Comus ends on Canal where jewels abound as a dense double array of triple-lit street lights and intersects with Basin where the first of three stands watch.  The third stands watch at the other end of the Basin jaunt at the St. Louis street intersection with the St. Louis Cemetery No.1 (namesakes of Saint Louis meet).  I’m rather excited about the 15 count of tombs constrained between the alley and Basin street wall just inside and northeast of the gate entrance of the cemetery.  Tomb #21 peaks/peeks over the wall and so It can be seen from outside the cemetery standing in the middle of Basin St.  I think we are to stand at a spot almost orthoganal between this tomb and a line connecting the statues on Basin.  The Morazan statue isnt centered on Basin like the others.  Its just a bit north of the centerline and interestingly it fits the slightly early to the III position the thin little hand makes on the clockface.

Unknown

Unknown:
Yeah, but isn’t the big problem with that park, that it would be very hard to dig in without being noticed?

No, the park is bigger than you think. And the outer edges on all four sides are tree-covered. That’s actually the bigger problem. Where there are large trees (as there were in 1980) there are large ROOTS. it’s not easy to dig through those. Also, there isn’t any OTHER confirmer in that park besides the McDonogh statue and the “three stand watch” (three statues only.) There’s no “middle of 21, from end to end”. There’s no 15 rows down to the ground. There is (was?) a brick wall–but that is an unlikely place to hide the casque–it is rather out in the open. There’s a maintenance shed in one corner, but it’s not clear whether there are “rows” or anything that would count 21. And the casque is not buried in one of the flower beds–all of which have been dug up and replanted since Katrina (as have some of the trees.)
In Lafayette park, the walks and the bollards along the walks have all been redone and replaced. Several art installations have been added.  New flowers and plants have been put in and benches installed. This park was severely impacted by the hurricane and has been almost entirely redone. You can see what has been done, what there is yet to do and peruse the map of the park here:
http://www.lafayette-square.org/uploads/MasterPlanrevised1208.pdf

fox

How is that for our “namesake”?  BP put his own name in the V.  ;D

Oh, i didnt think of that, i suppose that works.  Too bad we dont know more about the Comus route path in ’80-’81.  I got my information from a couple 19th century clippings at NOLA.org and read that the oldest krewes maintained the same basic routes.  Comus took some years off in the 1890’s and lost their preferred slot to another krewe but they still maintained their status as a major elite krewe when they returned.
I certainly think its worth noting or looking into further that Preiss had a penchant for using firsts, oldests, greatest, tallests, or otherwise significant but obscure references.  How big was Melville?  What first chapter is verse 9 about?  Comus was the first Krewe in the new dawn of parading in 1856 New Orleans.  I think there are some strong links to be discovered in his process.
The “19” on the clock continues to cause me wonder.  I want to think its Feb.  19th Fat Tuesday, which occured only on that day of the month in 1901 and 1980 as far as 20th century years go (excluding 1985).
Finished going over the John Milton’s Comus poem.  I’ll say nothing identified with the verse.  Only there was mention in in an article of a quote of Milton calling the work “a Mask”.
When it comes to considerations about what looks like a good site, I really don’t think it matters.  Preiss used whatever stealth or discretionary means available to bury these boxes.  We’ll have to muster similar means if necessary to recover them.

This is how I think of the clock arms helping us find the spot,
Or the idea that clockboy is facing away from the jewel center of the clock and the line about “three stand watch” meaning “three stands watch”.  I noticed Benito Juarez’ statue faces away from my proposed casque location.  Maybe that’s the reason clockboy is in that spot with is head lining up opposite the arm pointing to the III.

erexere

Here we go, in 1931 the oldest krewe, Comus, held a theme that year named “Jewels from Byron”.  No kidding!

How is that for our “namesake”?  BP put his own name in the V.

Lets not underestimate obvious
The chicago picture contains not only The Chicago water tower plain as day but also  a cubs logo….

oh and just curious has anybody ever seen a grandfatlher clock with a second hand,
doesn’t the cloock actually say 15 seconds after 12?

Hi all… this is my first post here and I’d like to present a (very) contrarian theory on this pic.
First of all, I got this book over 20 years ago. It took me all of about ten minutes to be sure, as you are, that this pic represented New Orleans. As this thread has discussed, the reasons are clear and numerous.
And that in itself is enough to make me, now older and wiser, think that this pic *can’t* be N.O.: if everything else in the book is so difficult and deceitful, why would this one be so obvious?
So I’ve been pondering a new theory that is flawed but I think worth a thought or two. I began by counting the stars (30, including the partials). Guessing that this may tie back to states’ entry order into the union, I found that the 30th state is Wisconsin. Wisconsin also sits on 90 degrees longitude, a number from the pic. For the latitude, I simply added the two upper numbers to get 48. (Yes, I know that’s arbitrary.) Anyway, 48 degrees latitude goes just north of Wisconsin, through an island in Lake Superior: Isle Royale.
Isle Royale (notice the French name) is a National Park, though the least-visited one in the country. It was protected under the National Wilderness PRESERVATION System in 1976. It is famous for being home to a good number of wild wolves (a possible tie-in to the figure on the wallpaper). And when I pulled up a map of the island and found a “Twelve O’Clock Point” on the north shore – the same times as in the picture – I started getting a little excited.
Also, Isle Royale was selected in 1981 for the BioSphere project and remains a center for scientific study. Stretching for a connection, I wondered if Preiss possibly heard about Isle Royale the Biosphere when planning the book and thought it might make a challenging puzzle ground. Anyway, as I said, I was stretching.
As I dug deeper, though, the theory unraveled. First of all, while Isle Royale isn’t far from Wisconsin, it’s actually part of Michigan. (Michigan is the 26th state, and even if you exclude the partial stars you still have 27.) Also, the island is closer to 89 longitude than 90. Finally, after a lot of research and looking through hundreds of pictures of the island, I simply couldn’t find a prominent landmark that I could tie back in any way to the image or even the verses. (The back of the light within one of the island’s lighthouses has 12 supports configured like the hours around a clockface, but it in no way resembles the one in the pic.)
So I welcome comments from any of you who may be more familiar with the island than I am, or anyone who can make some other connection that I missed.
But I mostly wanted to extend to you my belief that there’s more to this picture than the New Orleans references that are way too overtly obvious for my blood.
Thanks for your time,
Matt

In my opinion, the Cubs logo is by no means obvious, and I wouldn’t know the Chicago water tower unless I lived there.
On the other hand, I feel that the clues pointing to N.O. in pic 7 are entirely more obvious. The mask, the word “preservation” for Preservation Hall, and — most blatantly — the lat/long numbers which he makes no effort to conceal.
I’m convinced that Preiss either wanted to throw in an easy one or is intentionally yanking our collective chains. Given that only two have been found in 22 years, I’m willing to give him the benefit of that doubt that he knows how to fool people.
Matt

I am just catching the end of a show on PBS about the history of New Orleans.  Monday Feb. 11 @ 9-11pm EST.  Wish I caught it all.  What struck me is something the narrator said.  “No one is buried underground in New Orleans.  Heavy rain causes caskets to pop out of the ground.” hmmmm
Maybe the casque is buried…..above ground?
edit:  Think I saw that someone mentioned this before.  It’s still logical to focus on this image in this way though.

It would be pretty cool if someone dug up the casque in NOLA today on Fat Tuesday.

gManTexas

It would be pretty cool if someone dug up the casque in NOLA today on Fat Tuesday.

Yes it would.

Unknown

Unknown:
I thought that James Renner solved NOLA years ago.

Yeah, no. For all his access, I never got the sense that Renner has even the slightest idea how these puzzles work. His performance with Josh Gates on the recent episode of Expedition Unknown did nothing to move me off that position.
“Hey look, a lion. That’s new…”
Sigh.

The claim that the clockboy is exact is to the McDonogh boy is inaccurate.  Four things are going on here.  1. He’s dressed like a jockey  2. His right hand above his head has no definition and looked initially like a foot or a loaf of bread…i ealize now its a Bingle paw  3. His bottom has an ambitious curviture, lovingly referred to as a bubble butt in Zumba class… and 4.  The partial shading of his torso and one thigh along with the small line that might be mistaken for a finger extending to the other thigh.
Son of Bingle?

Unknown

Unknown:
“White House” …i forget the French for that

la maison blanc

WhiteRabbit

Interesting how Image 1 and Image 7 are connected not just by the dragon head, but also by Mercury (Hg)…which makes perfect sense, since the SF casque is beside a Mercury vapor lamp as well.  ;D

I never thought of hG(mirrored) being Hg.  Surely a snug fit with SF’s Ghirradelli sign, but there is no harm in thinking it is a nudging hint that one of the other puzzles will have a Chemical theme.  Perhaps it wont specifically have to do with Mercury but I’ll be damned if the Son of Bingles doesnt serve as an archetypal Hermes reference.  Perhaps the triangle in the sphere of image 4 is that nudge that a triangulation will be used in one of the puzzles.  Perhaps also a sphere or dome (half sphere) is essential to another.  The arch of image 4 looks like an exact match to Sam Huston’s statue base.  Image 4 is like a Rosetta Stone, despite how easy the solution to Cleveland has been presented.

Enjoyed reading this about Comus and Proteus having a special moment on Canal St.
http://tinyurl.com/77y9aqw

In Storyland, see if there are 3 gnomes or 3 mushrooms/toadstools that “stand watch”.

wilhouse

I will be in NO for a few days middle of March. If someone has a request for photos I’d be glad to take some.
wilhouse

pictures of Spanish Plaza would be great.
thanks

More pics in and around Storyland at City Park would be great.

see if there is a white rabbit and cinderella’s  pumpkin (palace for a night!)
and her fairy godmother  (grandmother clock) or hickory dickory clock
or maybe a mirror and mantle where alice walks thru and meets fairyland and humpty dumpty
or the old woman and the shoe could be a castle
and if there is a place to dig behind the mermaid’s clock
and all the fairies and trolls and dwarves and tinkerbelles (namesakes)
or the entrance to storyland.
is rapunzel or rumpelstiltskin there? ’cause the clock does sort of look like a lock, and she was locked in a tower, right?
the three pigs and three bears,
which made me think of goldilocks…..goldi—locks
any grandfathers in fairy tales? (grandfather clock)
or any “black arrows) , robert louis stevenson, the clock hands could be arrows, or robin hood
or maybe something about “the brothers Grimm”, namesakes?
boogieman’s bridge
anything with “fantasy”
do fairies meet in gardens?
could you find out how long that archer has been there in the sculpture garden?
just some pictures of everything, lol,
thanks wilhouse!!
and knights, ok?

I met Travis today at his dig site …which I will not reveal under penalty of death
While I don’t agree with him on the site, I appreciate his path and how he got there. Also, he’s actually digging so that’s a good thing.
One thing someone said on another one of the puzzles that I completely agree with is that I think many people are making these puzzles out to be much more elaborate and cryptic than Preiss himself designed them to be. I’m not saying I think they’re easy but I think people get carried away and think they have to use the pythagorean theorem mixed with some witchcraft to solve these things. I personally don’t think they were meant to be that convoluted….but then again I don’t have a casque, do I?
I hope Travis is right, or someone local is right, I am admittedly biased towards a New Orleanian solving the puzzle. Of course I think I’m right but I’m struggling with the actual excavation part. Those who actually are digging have my mad respect because I have learned quickly that it ain’t as easy as you think.
Hats off to Travis, he was working his ass off today.

maltedfalcon

Best I can do – 1998 – the wolf/ horse head, You mean the map of Louisiana?

This is an interesting theory regarding Duncan being the clock hands because the hands are pointing directly at Storyville (and Armstrong Park) which I believe is one of the major themes of the puzzle along with Jazz, itself.
In fact, the Jazz clubs of the era extended all the way up to that area, the most famous being the Eagle Saloon on the 400 block of South Rampart. It was built in 1851. That area was called “Back of Town” because it was an African-American village that nustled up to Storyville….where the Jazz musicians would work every night.
I still 100% believe the site destination is Armstrong Park but I totally dig that the clock hand could be Duncan Plaza…pointing to Storyville/Armstrong.

JoshCornell1

poydras is 2 one way streets that angle into a single circle, with a statue of someone…i forget who it is…
there is a garden there.

Are you sure the circle on poydras was there in 82.

Hey guys, sorry for the late update, I’ve been digging all day and am exhausted! If my friends and family hadn’t come out there to support me, I would have never made any progress. The ground here is really heavy and sticks to your shovel. Plus it was about 77 degrees and humid while I was digging. I’m a middle aged cat who works on a computer so I sort of deeply underestimated the effort required to dig. We dug a 2′ wide, 4′ long, 2’8″ deep trench today which I will complete probing first thing tomorrow.
I am concerned that this casque may have sunk deeper than the 3 feet due to subsidence and the clay is very very dense. I started with hammering fiberglass rods down in the ground. Don’t do that. My hands are filled with shards of fiberglass (yes I used heavy gloves) from pulling those back out. The water table is only a few feet down here, so it creates suction. It takes a great deal of force to pull the probes back out, and hammering them down makes them splinter. I broke several aluminum rods and those were also super difficult to remove. My pop gave me the brilliant idea today to use a power drill with a long threaded metal rod on it to probe very slowly. it will scream when it hits something solid and will defeat the suction! We went to Home Depot and got the hookup. I can say definitively that the area I excavated had impacted clay and hadn’t been touched in several years. Good news is, the Casque is extremely likely to have remained in its original spot and wouldn’t have been damaged whether or not Katrina water (which was like garbage poop soup) was standing on it. I’m actually slightly afraid of whatever creepy biomes may be growing in the box. I have had a MRSA before from Katrina funk and it is no joke.
As far as the namesake’s meeting, of course I have to be vague in order to protect The Secret (the book ain’t called The Tell Everybody!
), which I must do until the casque is in my hands. I can only say the clue I used to solve it was nothing like a ST vs Blvd or Avenue. Some people relate one of your clues to Fay’s Delight. Verse 2 is correct and I have proved it beyond a doubt. Every clue is vital when you solve it, they all relate. Every puzzle makes total logical sense, and I discovered today that the puzzle begins and ends with the same element (either Verse or Image) and it co-ordinates with and exact unmistakable mapped location. It honestly almost broke me how defeated I felt before I discovered the flaw in my logic (which was freaking arcane) it’s rare that he gives more than one clue in a solve. I am aching and have loads more work tomorrow! He did not make this easy! An extraordinary coincidence (so many are necessary for this to work!) and an idle remark from a friend actually gave me the final key!
There is nothing insignificant in the verse or image. Everything matters and has a relation somewhere along the line. There’s a distinct narrative and each clue leads to the other, sometimes a dead end forcing you to change perspective. There are some funny jokes along the way, several intentional red herrings and even kind of a final boss at the end! This whole thing is so crazy! I am dying to tell you guys and I swear I will release my info if I somehow screw up the dig. I’ve been giving it some thought and have decided to do a youtube series walking everyone through the puzzle. I think that’s the best way to get the info across. You really have to have boots on the ground and hours to spend at each site to get there.
I don’t know if it’s been noted yet, but one thing I can give away since it’s already common knowledge that it’s a quote is that the exclamation point is what denotes a quote. (so probably also There’s a Spout!) Also I can say that the clock is vital and used several times. Probably won’t have an update until later tomorrow. I can’t answer any more clue questions until the casque is in my hands.
Wish me luck!

fantastic, I am cheering for you!
Can’t wait to hear your theories.
Good luck!

Unknown

Unknown:
Wish me luck!

Great good luck. I sincerely hope you find it. But on the off chance you don’t, perhaps you and Dambala could get together and hash out your individual solves. I’m assuming they are fundamentally different, and that he has not been successful either (apologies if either of those things are inaccurate). That, IMO, would make an interesting YouTube video.

Duncan plaza is a pretty good match for the upper clock hands. Might be useful to find an aerial view from the correct time. Looks like there may have been a renovation of the park right before the hiding would’ve happened. There are also berms/hills there but nothing but trees on them, nothing like the wolf/horse head.

fox

I’m sorry but I just have to laugh. A tv show does a story on a treasure hunt that’s been around for 30+ years and all of a sudden we are flooded with experts who all sound alike: I am 100% positive I have the correct solution. The way this puzzle was created blows my mind. This puzzle and BP were brilliant. I will let you know after I dig but won’t share any info for the sake of keeping this Secret. blah blah blah.
Really? You’ve been working on this for 6 days and you’ve completely cracked to code? SMH Try not to make too big of a mess when you dig….cities are already getting pissed. It will be sad when we actually get the solve for one of these and the city won’t let us dig because of all the expert knuckleheads who tore up their cities with their Perfect Solves.

It’s taught me a lot about how many people haven’t yet developed enough capacity to be okay with doubting themselves, so they have to treat their theory with ultra-sensitivity and secrecy and just double down rather than engage in productive discussion. Also, Dunning-Kreuger and all that.
Part of the fun of this for me is everyone picking apart each others theories. I love coming up with a theory, and having someone say “that horrific clown statue wasn’t there in 1982.” It’s led to me scouring historical photos looking for proof/disproof of a landmark, and I’ve learned so much about the history and culture of various cities by doing so.

travistshuler

Hey guys, sorry for the late update, I’ve been digging all day and am exhausted! If my friends and family hadn’t come out there to support me, I would have never made any progress. The ground here is really heavy and sticks to your shovel. Plus it was about 77 degrees and humid while I was digging. I’m a middle aged cat who works on a computer so I sort of deeply underestimated the effort required to dig. We dug a 2′ wide, 4′ long, 2’8″ deep trench today which I will complete probing first thing tomorrow.
I am concerned that this casque may have sunk deeper than the 3 feet due to subsidence and the clay is very very dense. I started with hammering fiberglass rods down in the ground. Don’t do that. My hands are filled with shards of fiberglass (yes I used heavy gloves) from pulling those back out. The water table is only a few feet down here, so it creates suction. It takes a great deal of force to pull the probes back out, and hammering them down makes them splinter. I broke several aluminum rods and those were also super difficult to remove. My pop gave me the brilliant idea today to use a power drill with a long threaded metal rod on it to probe very slowly. it will scream when it hits something solid and will defeat the suction! We went to Home Depot and got the hookup. I can say definitively that the area I excavated had impacted clay and hadn’t been touched in several years. Good news is, the Casque is extremely likely to have remained in its original spot and wouldn’t have been damaged whether or not Katrina water (which was like garbage poop soup) was standing on it. I’m actually slightly afraid of whatever creepy biomes may be growing in the box. I have had a MRSA before from Katrina funk and it is no joke.
As far as the namesake’s meeting, of course I have to be vague in order to protect The Secret (the book ain’t called The Tell Everybody!
), which I must do until the casque is in my hands. I can only say the clue I used to solve it was nothing like a ST vs Blvd or Avenue. Some people relate one of your clues to Fay’s Delight. Verse 2 is correct and I have proved it beyond a doubt. Every clue is vital when you solve it, they all relate. Every puzzle makes total logical sense, and I discovered today that the puzzle begins and ends with the same element (either Verse or Image) and it co-ordinates with and exact unmistakable mapped location. It honestly almost broke me how defeated I felt before I discovered the flaw in my logic (which was freaking arcane) it’s rare that he gives more than one clue in a solve. I am aching and have loads more work tomorrow! He did not make this easy! An extraordinary coincidence (so many are necessary for this to work!) and an idle remark from a friend actually gave me the final key!
There is nothing insignificant in the verse or image. Everything matters and has a relation somewhere along the line. There’s a distinct narrative and each clue leads to the other, sometimes a dead end forcing you to change perspective. There are some funny jokes along the way, several intentional red herrings and even kind of a final boss at the end! This whole thing is so crazy! I am dying to tell you guys and I swear I will release my info if I somehow screw up the dig. I’ve been giving it some thought and have decided to do a youtube series walking everyone through the puzzle. I think that’s the best way to get the info across. You really have to have boots on the ground and hours to spend at each site to get there.
I don’t know if it’s been noted yet, but one thing I can give away since it’s already common knowledge that it’s a quote is that the exclamation point is what denotes a quote. (so probably also There’s a Spout!) Also I can say that the clock is vital and used several times. Probably won’t have an update until later tomorrow. I can’t answer any more clue questions until the casque is in my hands.
Wish me luck!

Hey, good luck! But I am curious where exactly you were able to dig a 2′ wide, 4′ long, 2’8″ deep trench without catching flack from someone. At some point, especially if you think you are on top of it and in the spirit of this forum, it would be great for you to reveal the spot.

clarkrock7

Duncan plaza is a pretty good match for the upper clock hands. Might be useful to find an aerial view from the correct time. Looks like there may have been a renovation of the park right before the hiding would’ve happened. There are also berms/hills there but nothing but trees on them, nothing like the wolf/horse head.

Best I can do – 1998 – the wolf/ horse head, You mean the map of Louisiana?

clarkrock7

Duncan plaza is a pretty good match for the upper clock hands. Might be useful to find an aerial view from the correct time. Looks like there may have been a renovation of the park right before the hiding would’ve happened. There are also berms/hills there but nothing but trees on them, nothing like the wolf/horse head.

It’s completely in the realm of possibility for certain features to be used as visual cues and inspiration. Duncan Plaza does look a lot like the hands of the clock, but so do other things. In addition to Duncan, I can see the clock hands in the Coliseum Square Park area.

JoshCornell1

tell me what you did with the lois armstrong mask…surely that wouldnt hurt you…right? obvs i can corroborate cause ive completed this one.

Did I miss the post where Josh dug up the casque?

mindydaile

Did I miss the post where Josh dug up the casque?

It’s like a foreign language, I guess in Canadian , “completed” must mean f***ed up beyond all hope.

I’m sorry but I just have to laugh. A tv show does a story on a treasure hunt that’s been around for 30+ years and all of a sudden we are flooded with experts who all sound alike: I am 100% positive I have the correct solution. The way this puzzle was created blows my mind. This puzzle and BP were brilliant. I will let you know after I dig but won’t share any info for the sake of keeping this Secret. blah blah blah.
Really? You’ve been working on this for 6 days and you’ve completely cracked to code? SMH Try not to make too big of a mess when you dig….cities are already getting pissed. It will be sad when we actually get the solve for one of these and the city won’t let us dig because of all the expert knuckleheads who tore up their cities with their Perfect Solves.

maltedfalcon

It’s like a foreign language, I guess in Canadian , “completed” must mean f***ed up beyond all hope.

Foo-bah: a Canadian sheep that comes with a 100% guarantee.

Three numbers fill the corners of the clockface:
19              29
90
Given the lat/long of NOLA is 29/90, it seems that we’re just left with understanding what the 19 is about.  Since lat and long are basically (X,Y) grid coordinates, I thought it might be neat to think the 19 is a Z coordinate of some sort, like 19 steps up or 19 steps down.
My preferred take on the 19 is that it’s a 180 degree rotated number in disguise and the lat/long numbers are being repurposed to form the three angles of a right-triangle: 61 + 29 + 90 = 180, the sum of all angles in any triangle.  At such point it may be obvious that the short length and next longer length (not the hypotenuse) may be analogous to the short and long hands of the clock.  (I’ve already stated this bit of theory before, but thought it interesting to look at again, mainly for the purpose of noting how crafty Preiss might be when it comes to disguising information or rather building in hints on how he’s marked a location.)

We do not need a fence. What I am saying is that today Storyland is all fenced in and could not be gotten into without admission. If it was that way back in the early ’80’s it is not likely the casques location. Giant Squid did not see anything in Storyland that looked like it resembled the verse.
The Harlequin Park idea is worth looking at. I will try to find some maps and see what I come up with.
Giant Squid also mentioned some sort of a garden type setup at the federal building that resembled the verse but not the image. He also said he would not dig there. If this arangement has 15 rows down and 21 of something end to end it may be the place. To give this more confidence we need to think about the last part namesakes meeting near this site. If a statue or other likeness of whoever the federal building is named after is relatively close to this location this would make it more likely. The three stands wtch should not be as considered as other parts of the verse because they could have been trees or other items easily blowen or washed away by Katrina.
Getting permission to dig at the federal building would be involved.
Another thought we may be focusing too much on the words jewels abound. That may mean just one jewel the one you will get if you find the casque.

Katrina was the worst and most unpredictable thing that ever happened to that area– evidenced by the fact that the ACE didn’t properly repair or reinforce the dikes that could have alleviated the storm’s rampage.  They were hit by Dennis shortly after, which traveled as far as Tennessee.

WhiteRabbit

Washington? Might be pushing it.

LOL. You’re right, I’m an idiot. Let me try to edit that post and remove the photo once I’m back on the desktop…unless BP P really did hide the New Orleans casque in DC, just to throw us off???

Great photos James, shows just how mature those magnolias were before Kartrina.

JamesV

Here’s the Jackson statue, pretty sure it’s nearby?

Washington? Might be pushing it.

I sure like this spot. Here’s a rotated image to simulate the look of the clockface. It looks like a rectangle drawn into quarters leads to the dig spot.

This looks interesting. The number 21 appears on that plaque and the spot I’m looking at might be approximately 15 paces,

Unknown

Unknown:
On the opposite side of the square are three 18th‑century historic buildings which were the city’s heart in the colonial era. The center of the three is St. Louis Cathedral. The cathedral was designated a minor Basilica by Pope Paul VI. To its left is the Cabildo, the old city hall, now a museum, where the finalization of the Louisiana Purchase was signed. To the Cathedral’s right is the Presbytère, built to match the Cabildo. The Presbytère originally housed the city’s Roman Catholic priests and authorities; it was then turned into a
courthouse
at the start of the 19th century, and in the 20th century became a
museum
.

I’m sold on Image 7, Verse 7, President 7. There’s an avalanche of clues that tumbles into this square, but here’s my take on the main points, most of it familiar.
At stone wall’s door
Stonewall -> Jackson
The air smells sweet
Cafe du Monde
Not far away
High posts are three
(Cathedral spires)
Education and Justice
For all to see
Sounds from the sky
Artillery Park
Near ace is high
Aces high, fighter planes, ties in with artillery. Possibly also A. Jackson high on his horse.
Running north, but first across
In jewel’s direction
Is an object
Of Twain’s attention
Jewel’s direction is TURQUOI
SE
Dates permitting, reference to the steamboat jetty southeast of the square. Maybe the boat crossed the river before going North or something. (The cross might also be a reference to the one on the cathedral.)
Giant pole
Giant step
To the place
The casque is kept
Dates permitting, the giant pole is this aerial:
…and the giant step is the trip from there along the moonwalk to Jackson.
…the exact location in Jackson to be given by clues in the image and elsewhere. Eg, this Dame Blanche (
Rosmerta
) would be a fitting companion for Narcissus:
(Honeysuckle rose, 1929, covered by Armstrong, also springs to mind – lyrics about granulated sugar, being sweeter than flowers, etc.)
I believe there are several of these statues (Bacchus is another) but I haven’t figured out where they are on the overhead view yet…

jax brewery could fit “near ace is high” …………(someone else said that before, not me)
believe others have put this verse here too
i don’t understand the “666” you see in the image…….but #66 does cross the mississippi on the chain of rocks bridge in guess where..st. louis

Unknown

Unknown:
Andrew Jackson (1767-1845), 7th U.S. President, may have been a chess player.  One source (Gerald Leavitt and Tom Standage) states that Andrew Jackson played chess against the Turk chess automaton.  In The American Lion, by John Meacham, Jackson was described as an excellent chess player.  He would sometimes observe his houseguests play chess and frequently directed the moves for one side or the other.

slappybuns

hickory dickory dock, the mouse ran up the clock

I was wondering if Andrew Jackson was a chess player. Turns out he was, and not only that…he played the Mechanical Turk.
http://www.chessville.com/BillWall/Presidents.htm
Jackson’s nickname was “Old Hickory”. He was a member of the
Maryland Jockey Club
.
On the subject of chess automata, I’ve been puzzled by the somewhat diabolic appearance of the clock-hand, and the “666” which is apparent when viewing the clock-face upside-down. In my fixation on the Turk, I’d completely neglected two other very respectable machines – Ajeeb and
Mephisto
.
Read all about it.
http://www.offthewallchess.com/WKRJanFeb11.pdf

(The 666 is the three nines upside down. Just nonsense that reminded me of the devil figure with the anchor on his head.)
The four statues are apparently Hesus, Rosmerta, Bacchus and Semele, at the four corners of Jackson somewhere. It’s gotta be one of the girls for my Dame Blanche theory. Narcissus is reaching for a flower by a 19, “S” being the 19th letter. I think Semele is the one shown bottom-right, and below. (That leaning tree looks very distinctive.)
http://www.ufodigest.com/article/new-or … -lady-sion
Here’s a better one of Bacchus.
Just gotta line the square up with the the clock somehow…
I like this orientation because the three towers are on “III”, and the long hand is pointing at St Peter St., which is the right street for Preservation Hall…it’s just further along to the north. I’d like to try and figure out where Semele is. If it matched the 19, we’re in business.

hey rob, that line also always reminded me of good ole Georgie.  He was buried at Westchester Hills Cemetery, NY.
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cg … 20Gershwin
other parts of this verse has lead me elsewhere however.

someone’s roots are usually where they were born or grew up, not where they are buried.  Here’s a starting point for reading about his childhood:
http://www.afamilyquilt.com/meredith/gershwin.htm

It seems like this thread needs a kickstart.
Hey Karleen, have you worked on I7 any? The bottom right of this part of the image seems to be wiped off.
Another fleur de lis?

Or you could learn something from this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vatO3Zz … e=youtu.be

Yes, I’m aware of Gallier hall solution. I’m suggesting an alternative interpretation.
If you extend the purple line from boy’s foot you get to the circle between X and XI (middle of 21).
Also next to that line, boy is pointing to DIG.
His hand with shoe on it may mean look at my foot!
After 40 yrs most likely the area in engulfed with roots and impossible to dig.

Full disclosure: I’ve spent very little time on this puzzle and most of my findings are from Google map walk.
I realize that my methods are unconventional and even called arbitrary. However this may help a searcher.
• Lafayette Square is laid out like an hourglass (clock)
• Clock-boy’s hand and foot connected by a path points to 10 and 4 o’clock similar to the monuments orientation at the square
• His other foot points to the small circle at 4:30 position
• Similar to the image 5 warts that represented trees, round circles on the clock may do the same
• The stick in the character’s hand looks similar to an old conductor or maestro’s baton. Plural of maestro is maestri
• Lafayette square if flanked by N and S Maestri
• Yellow circles are the monuments. (IV) o’clock is the position of Ben Franklin memorial
• Green circles correspond with the position of old trees inside the park (not the sidewalk trees)
• Red circles are the position of the old street lamps with green patina
• Purple arrow points to the tree of interest
It works with my dowser line too!

Nice, Fenix. I think it was Montreal.

I’m reticent to post anything again as I have batshit crazy people screaming at me in my inbox…so bat-shit crazy, angry dude….please don’t read this post. Nothing I can do to help you besides suggest you find medical help.
For the sane and nice poepIe, I went out today for the 4th time and continued to prod in 3 areas I think it should be. There were other people out clearly walking around the same area looking for it so I assume the cat is out of the bag. There are numerous areas where people have started to actually dig. Probably not the best approach but that’s what’s happening.
I just want to say one thing because it occurred to me as I was sitting on a bench looking around. I feel confident I know what the hand represents. There was some speculation that it was loup garou, which is a cajun werewolf. I think that was assumed because the arm is hairy. Today it occurred to me exactly what that hand is. It’s a jester’s hand.
The jester is a common theme in Mardi Gras here in New Orleans. He always carries a “staff” with his own image, a reflection of his unmasked self. He is the masked fool trying to fool you.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PHYryHL80k4/U … -Float.jpg
This is critical to the puzzle because there is at least one clue, in particular, that is literal but not exactly accurate. I know what the clue actually is but I couldn’t understand why it was presented the way it was until today when it hit me that the hand is a jester’s hand. He’s just being silly and trying to fool you.
I am not braggging, so please don’t attack me….but I have figured out most of the image and pretty much all of the verse. The part of the image I can’t figure out is the number 19. I don’t know if it is meant to be 1929, which would absolutely coincide with the “theme” or if 19 is actually a specific designation. I am also not sure what the “paperboy” represents unless it’s just a reference to that time frame.
This is not necessarily pertinent to the exact location but I am having a great time going back through the clues and understanding what he meant.
I don’t know how much longer the physical searching will last because it appears the cat is out of the bag and people aren’t being very responsible in the area. They are just digging on hunches. The issue is this is an historical site and there are much more historically valuable things in that ground than this puzzle….at least in the eyes of historians and city officials. I’m not lecturing anyone but I’m just stating that the physical search may get shut down in short order. Until then, I am going to subtly and carefully continue the prodding without disturbing too much around me. As I stated before, the big problem is there are bricks and foundation remnants everywhere so it’s hard to find a spot to prod and get past them.
I really would like to share my experience here but the anger issues freak me out. If someone wants to collaborate, I would be happy to do that but not in this public forum because I don’t care for the verbal abuse I’m getting in the inbox. Just let me know and I will send you my email or phone number. Thanks all!

I just found out that the moonwalk is under construction. Someone close should go and talk to the construction crew. Ask them if anything strange has been uncovered and to keep an eye out. Has the area ever been checked. I know there was some talk about the planters along the walk.

It’s not the Moonwalk for two reasons….one is it isn’t the Moonwalk
. The other is the Moonwalk is on top of the federal levee system, you can’t dig in the levee without committing a felony.

Dambala

Just let me know and I will send you my email or phone number. Thanks all!

Def hit me up, bro. Send me a PM.

Dambala

It’s not the Moonwalk for two reasons….one is it isn’t the Moonwalk
. The other is the Moonwalk is on top of the federal levee system, you can’t dig in the levee without committing a felony.

Not suggesting to dig just to talk to the crew. If they would find the cask it would be hard for them to know what it was. I know you shouldn’t dig a levee but BP may not have.
I do have a solution based around the
Washington artillery. I’m 2 hrs from NOLA i will walk my solution hopefully this weekend. Has anyone probed or dug around the Washington artillery. The hidden green areas or parking lot behind.

I’m not being dismissive but it’s not there and you can’t dig there either. It’s not in Jackson Square although the puzzle absolutely begins in Jackson Square at the top of the amphitheater steps at Washington Artillery Park. That is the “fifteen steps down” but that is just the beginning. I don’t want to ruin the experience for you but keep in mind it’s a journey…he wants you to walk a specific path to the location.
I will tell you a couple of things to help you along the right path if you want because if you don’t know New Orleans and you’re just visiting it will be incredibly difficult to reach the destination.
Just let me know. It’s a ton of fun following the clues.

Unknown

Unknown:
I’m 2 hrs from NOLA

Quite a few people from the area it would seem. Someone should plan a meet-up, like they are doing in Houston. Compare notes to see if there are points of commonality. Might even save on some of the random digging that is going on.

I would love that. Let me know what you can. I would like to follow it with the kids. I have been to nola many times.

I’ll throw this out about the jocky / boy on the face of the clock. He is inside a thin line crescent / amphitheater . What if it represents the street performer in the amphitheater his pose reminds me of the performers that are always there.

Euhirudinea

Quite a few people from the area it would seem. Someone should plan a meet-up, like they are doing in Houston. Compare notes to see if there are points of commonality. Might even save on some of the random digging that is going on.

Yup, I think that’s a good idea. I am going back to the location tomorrow at around 1 pm. I will be the guy with the metal prod, can’t miss me. I would be happy to swap notes if you want.

Not sure how to share an image.
Look behind JP the mask is on the shelf.
https://www.dropbox.com/sc/s24x2e4fuduj … -fVaBidNWa

Wow! Wow..wow! I just figured out the 19! It is 1929…it is absolutely the year 1929.
This is amazing stuff these guys created.

Unknown

Unknown:
I would be happy to swap notes if you want.

Thanks for the invite, but I am nowhere near New Orleans. I will look you up if/when I get back there though. In the meantime, there are at least two other people on this board currently who are proximate, and should definately take you up on your offer IMO. And probably more than a few lurkers, some of whom might come out as well if the details of the meet are made public. Good luck.

Cool! I will keep you posted on the progress..I am really excited about tomorrow.
I just had a huge breakthrough. I kept thinking the 19 might be number of trees, steps, or a coordinate, it’s not. It has nothing to do with the actual location. It’s simply referencing the year 1929. That may also explain the paper boy appearance.
That revelation just helped me tremendously.
Oh and one thing…if there are lurkers on here and you know the general location…I beg of you please do not dig anywhere on the Western side of the general area. You should know what that is if you’re from here and I can’t think of a worse transgression you could make in this city than desecrating that area. The burial spot is nowhere near there, it’s on the Eastern side so if you insist on digging before you actually locate it please don’t go west. You will be a New Orleans pariah the rest of your life and most certainly end up in OPP. If you live here, I can’t image you would even dream of it but if you’re traveling in I just want to give you a heads up.
Just keep in mind all our cemeteries are above ground and we quite often have people desecrate them trying to take home souvenirs so we have incredibly strict laws about this stuff. And obviously it isn’t in a cemetery.

Hey Dambala, if you decide to stop posting on the public forum can you keep me updated through pms or email? I’m really interested to see what you uncover. I’m new to this myself, but I’m terrible at puzzles. However, I’m really excited to see if other people can find it and want to be a small part of it so please keep my updated. I hope you find it for your daughter.

Armstrong Park was subjected to botched renovation effort post-K. All those paving stones and concrete work were laid, then failed, then broken up, and relaid.
1929 – – could be a cornerstone to the puzzle.

Hi searchers, new here and brought to the site because of the Josh Gates show, although I vaguely remember when the book came out in the 80s.
So I have been looking at the book, the clues, the images, etc. The basic feeling I get is that Byron Preiss embraced nature and discouraged destruction of property. To me, it would seem counter intuitive for any of the casques to be buried in a location that is difficult to access, or is highly historical. Also, most of the locations, both solved and suspected, appear to be in large parks with certain attributes. This brings me to my point, there really doesn’t seem to be any suitable locations in the French Quarter area of NOLA. There is simply too much foot traffic, historical importance, laws against digging, etc. Even at the time in the early 80s, when things were more lax, I’m struggling with BP placing a casque where it would be so difficult to retrieve. Thoughts?
Having said this, I hope to solve this, even if the casque is no longer available. The whole book and concept is intriguing.

Howardjthomas

Not sure how to share an image.
Look behind JP the mask is on the shelf.
https://www.dropbox.com/sc/s24x2e4fuduj … -fVaBidNWa

here is a slightly better copy for you. It doesnt look like the same one, the shape is much rounder.
https://i.imgur.com/cvgoy2T.png

nolajeff

Armstrong Park was subjected to botched renovation effort post-K. All those paving stones and concrete work were laid, then failed, then broken up, and relaid.
1929 – – could be a cornerstone to the puzzle.

It’s not in the area that was renovated.

nolajeff

Armstrong Park was subjected to botched renovation effort post-K. All those paving stones and concrete work were laid, then failed, then broken up, and relaid.
1929 – – could be a cornerstone to the puzzle.

Well, it was the date of the Municipal Auditorium and Mahogany Hall, take your pick. I don’t know why peope aren’t satisified with it being a solid clue for the lat/long, which appear in adjacent pairs, and sometimes reversed, in most puzzles.
Eg, Image 4, you have 14, 42, 18, 81, which gets you to Cleveland. (14 reversed is 41, which gives you the 41,42 pair.)
In Image 7, you have 19, 29, 90, which get you to New Orleans. (19 reversed is 91, which gives you the 90, 91 pair.)
It’s possible that the numbers in this puzzle are doing double duty, but it doesn’t seem especially likely to me, and it’s not like their primary function is a mystery.

I didn’t elaborate my thought. It’s different than the painting. However he may have used it as inspiration when drawing the mask. The mask is positioned near the image 7 painting and its in a similarly position to the speaker on the wall as the mask is to the clock. The mask does not have the wide nose. If used that mask as inspiration and combined it with armstrong. Then an exact match for the mask will not be found since it only exist in JJP’s mind. Also he put image 9 where we could easily see the fleur de lis. There is also a suit armor in a picture frame behind Josh. Among other things that may be hints.

Dambala

It’s not in the area that was renovated.

So you think it’s in Armstrong Park…? I thought you were digging through brothel rubble in Iberville. I was going off on a tangent thinking about Lulu White and the dames blanches.

Howardjthomas

I didn’t elaborate my thought. It’s different than the painting. However he may have used it as inspiration when drawing the mask. The mask is positioned near the image 7 painting and its in a similarly position to the speaker on the wall as the mask is to the clock. The mask does not have the wide nose. If used that mask as inspiration and combined it with armstrong. Then an exact match for the mask will not be found since it only exist in JJP’s mind. Also he put image 9 where we could easily see the fleur de lis. There is also a suit armor in a picture frame behind Josh. Among other things that may be hints.

Since we are on the topic of the mask, does anyone else find it interesting that the mask is not typical of a Mardi Gras mask? Obviously that might be a dead giveaway to NOLA. To me it looks more like a death mask or statue.
I also agree that the mask in the video looks nothing like the illustration.

Dambala

If someone wants to collaborate, I would be happy to do that but not in this public forum because I don’t care for the verbal abuse

I’d be interested to know where you’re looking. (Tried to send a PM but couldn’t get it to work for some reason.)

I’ve regarded the verses mainly in terms of describing locations, but considering the theory of “the land by the window” for Roanoke, and the suggestions above, I’m thinking of staying with the picture here. Or could be referring to both. For instance, the flower goes with “The air smells sweet”. And after the three high posts and the ace is high…
Running north, but first across
In jewel’s direction
Is an object
Of Twain’s attention
We have the arrow (spade?) indicating “north but first across”. With Old Hickory in the middle of the maze, the idea of something running in this direction brings us inexorably back to:
Hickory, dickory, dock,
The mouse ran up the clock.
The clock struck one,
The mouse ran down,
Hickory, dickory, dock
That would make the object of Twain’s attention…a mouse. He covered that in
Is Shakespeare Dead?
“The mouse is missing: the question to be decided is, where is it?”
http://www.online-literature.com/twain/ … re-dead/5/
This being the French image, I keep seeing “Pres E”.
(I’m not mad on this mouse pic, but it’s the best I can do. Two ears, an eye, and the nose.)

At one time I liked this area for its gem-like shape, and proximity to Thalia, traditionally represented holding a comic mask. I see the Whitney bank clock is nearby, though it looks different from the one above…
MF has previously suggested the head as a map of Louisiana, and there’s a slight resemblance to this map as represented on N.O. plaques like this one in Audubon.
(Audubon was formerly a sugarcane plantation created by the first mayor, Jean Etienne de Bore. “The air smells sweet”…? JB initials in the clock…? The University mentioned above is opposite.)

Well, at the moment I think using verses other than #2 would need something to convince me. You know as well as I do that given a verse and GMaps you can match them pretty much anywhere. Sometimes they’re even better than the real/likely matches. (For example, I think “and on the 8th, a scene” referring to Booth is intensely and delightfully clever, but it’s probably not the solution since we know Edwin and Edwina to be of the Blyden quote, not the Booths)
I agree the clock is not perfect, but there are elements that are strikingly similar. The clocks are on every bank, but the one by Lafayette has been there for 70+ years now. I think I posted a picture of the right one, though I’ll try to check. I’m kicking myself for not making it over here in my trip, the city is just too great with a lot of fun stuff to do.
I’m definitely going back (one of my favorite vacations, plus a treasure to hunt for?!) so if I can’t find the pics I need that’s fine too. The lamps that line the street (and the park) share some elements with the clock hand, but I’m not sure if enough, or if they’re original.
The historical markers are everywhere, not just Audobon, so they really wouldn’t work as a clue. The shape isn’t exact either, so ‘eh’ i say to that. If it’s right, it’s not the key to solving it.
The horse, not perfect, but given its proximity if you’re going with the boy statue (which I think needs to be photographed from all angles before I’m finally convinced/not convinced), it’s a decent one. It’s not really enough to seal the deal anywhere, unless we’re all wrong and somewhere there’s a perfect, undoubted shot like that, which I doubt.
The trick to finding it is finding something unique to a location/park hidden in the painting. Something 100% unique, either a statue: Somewhere in NO there is a statue making the same gesture as the hand in #7, I guarantee it, or ironwork, etc. I have a book on order full of obscure statues in NO parks, I’m hoping that’ll be useful to flip through. I took a ton of pics of the Joan of Arc statue and I really don’t buy it as the hand, but I guess I see why some people like it.

I know you like your 15 row French Quarter, but the fragment…
At the place where jewels abound
Fifteen rows down to the ground
In the middle of twenty-one
From end to end
…is very reminiscent of…
Beneath the tenth stone
From right to left
Beneath the ninth row from the top
Of the wall
I really hope there’s a wall somewhere we just haven’t found yet, but I don’t think it’s in Lafayette. Counting 15 streets in the French Quarter and then presuming the existence of 21 of something else that apparently doesn’t exist any more, off in Lafayette, is pretty counterintuitive.
As for:
…on the eighth a scene
Where law defended
Between two arms extended
I have to admit I still find it difficult to think of anything that could fit better than an SF tennis court on 8th. BP may have worked pretty hard at his Ambiguities though.

Unknown

Unknown:
BP may have worked pretty hard at his Ambiguities though.

Not nearly as hard as we are. Somewhere in this forum is a solve that makes pretty good use of Verse 7 for the New Orleans casque.

Euhirudinea

Not nearly as hard as we are. Somewhere in this forum is a solve that makes pretty good use of Verse 7 for the New Orleans casque.

OMG when I first started suggesting V7 goes with SF everybody hated the idea because V7 was already “definitely paired with New Orleans….

The clock is interesting. Not convinced about the horse though; it’s one of those things where there is some slight resemblance, but also enough difference not to be able to rule it in or out, like that planter in the Kelleher rose garden. It could be just about any quadruped with its mouth open.
I was recently wondering if the head might tie in with the ‘loups garoux’ or French werewolves of the introduction, and the wolves on the University seal adopted in 1929, the date above the clock.

I have a couple questions to what I already mentioned about my solve on page 109
Here’s the key to what I see:
Fay means Lafayette. Lafayette Park and Lafayette street are the Namesakes meeting.
Gnomes admire. These are the 3 statues in Lafayette Park. All three of these men are gnomes. What many people don’t realize is that “gnomes” also refers to financial experts. McDonogh, Clay, and Franklin are all financial experts.
Another important piece I keep noticing in the Secret Images is the shape of a triangle or a triangle with a dot in the center. These US triangulation stations or markers are all over the country.
If you stand and face the Benjamin Franklin statue and look over to the grounds to the right you will notice a triangulation pyramid by that tree. And in the Image artwork you’ll notice a very light colored triangle at the bottom right of the grandfather clock.
My interpretation is that this represents a Forefather (Franklin statue) pointing in the direction of the triangulation pyramid where the casque is buried.
Have any searchers in New Orleans dug the areas mentioned in Lafayette Square? I can’t find any info on the boards about what spots have been poked or dug.
Also, does anyone realize that Lafayette Square is actually named Lafayette Square Conservatory? Preservation and Conservatory have the same meaning. That’s one of the many reasons I like Lafayette Square Conservatory for my solve. And does anyone know if someone has actually poked are dug inside the viewing circle of the Franklin statue. The stone which is in the center of the Forefather clock in Image 7, could be buried in there with Franklin and the bushes.

Lafayette sq is in a much quieter area then jackson.
Namesakes meet could also mean Jackson sq meeting Washington artillery.

What if the larger half circle created by the walkways in Coliseum Square Park create the “turquoise” on the image? Then the moon is placed pretty much right on Parkerson Place, where a lovely statue of Pikachu now sits above what looks like formerly may have been a planter of some sort (or tire storage, as found on Street View):
https://goo.gl/maps/fe2sVjE1GkP2
I’m awful at ‘shopping, but here’s a very quick and dirty map of the area placed over the image.
https://imgur.com/KmFNgy2

meatypuffs

What if the larger half circle created by the walkways in Coliseum Square Park create the “turquoise” on the image? Then the moon is placed pretty much right on Parkerson Place, where a lovely statue of Pikachu now sits above what looks like formerly may have been a planter of some sort (or tire storage, as found on Street View):
https://goo.gl/maps/fe2sVjE1GkP2
I’m awful at ‘shopping, but here’s a very quick and dirty map of the area placed over the image.
https://imgur.com/KmFNgy2

I believe that is a non functional fountain. But yeah!

I have not read through all 117 pages of post on this image, but has anyone noticed or mentioned that an aerial view of Jackson Square looks like a clock.
The circular dimensions are almost identical to the layout of the circles on the clock.
If someone photoshopped an overlay of Jackson square on that clock face it would be really close.

pokerfacegsh

I have not read through all 117 pages of post on this image, but has anyone noticed or mentioned that an aerial view of Jackson Square looks like a clock

Yes.
If you type “jackson square clock” into that “Search” box at the top you’ll get five pages of results.

Unknown

Unknown:
Considering how much weight gets piled on top of that spot regularly…

Not how it works, at all. If the casque and case were “pulverized”, it’s because they came in direct contact with a greater force. That would include seismic activity or freeze/thaw cycles, but New Orleans hasn’t been known to have either of those in the last 35ish years. So my bet would be human interference of some sort, again assuming these are pieces of the casque we are talking about.

I’m almost a believer that this casque is destroyed or lost. I’m into the Gallier Hall point of interest for the various matching motifs, but all could be explained away as non-unique, so I’m not too enthusiastic that the recovered fragments belong to a casque.

Unknown

Unknown:
Nuts. I had just centered on Lafayette Square and was considering that very spot.

Assuming this isn’t another attempt at humor, you should be happy about what George found. If that it is the casque and case (or what’s left of them), I’m sure there are more pieces just waiting to be dug up by anyone willing to spend the time and effort to do so.

Euhirudinea

Assuming this isn’t another attempt at humor, you should be happy about what George found. If that it is the casque and case (or what’s left of them), I’m sure there are more pieces just waiting to be dug up by anyone willing to spend the time and effort to do so.

Considering how much weight gets piled on top of that spot regularly, after all these years, it does seem within the realm of possibility that the casque and case could have been pulverized into the fragments like George found. I’m cautiously optimistic about his find!

Euhirudinea

I agree with the first part of the statement above. And I think it is as true today as it was when the puzzles were first conceived. IOW, and as I have said many times, I still think many (6-7) of these things are still recoverable for the person(s) who can solve the puzzle. As for the second part, the important thing to remember is that Preiss told us that if we solved a puzzle, but couldn’t dig up the casque for any reason, he would still award you the jewel, but not the casque. I can only assume that this option was included not only to give every reader a chance to claim a prize, no matter their proximity to a treasure site, but also to cut down somewhat on the random digging.

#pipedown… I am trying to formulate a line of logic and questioning with erexere. This is a very strategic conversation I am having. There may soon be a break in the constant push of solutions.

Unknown

Unknown:
I am trying to formulate a line of logic and questioning with erexere.

I see that. And I applaud your ability to play nice. This puzzle could use a little forward momentum IMO. Carry on.

Unknown

Unknown:
He provided enough material in each puzzle to support his case
and the unintended yet real consequence is that people may think up a reason for any interesting spot to dig.

I agree with the first part of the statement above. And I think it is as true today as it was when the puzzles were first conceived. IOW, and as I have said many times, I still think many (6-7) of these things are still recoverable for the person(s) who can solve the puzzle. As for the second part, the important thing to remember is that Preiss told us that if we solved a puzzle, but couldn’t dig up the casque for any reason, he would still award you the jewel, but not the casque. I can only assume that this option was included not only to give every reader a chance to claim a prize, no matter their proximity to a treasure site, but also to cut down somewhat on the random digging.

Am still here… just on lockdown until we can afford to start traveling again.
Who knew a baby would be so expensive.
Still glad to help research.

I’m feeling really strongly about City Park. I haven’t ruled out Lafayette Square yet, and haven’t looked into Armstrong. I poked around City Park a bit, rehashing areas people in this thread have already discounted, tried some ideas of my own and only discounted some places. However, I feel narrowing down possible areas is just as important.
I’m not 100% sold on V2 being the right verse, so we’ve been focusing on P7 primarily first, to find a few landmarks nearby and then plan to sue V2 or V7 (or any others) to zero in on a more specific location.
I’m a native, and the vast majority of my friends working on this are too (including my sister who’s got about 5 years on me, so will remember more 80s bits than I). We’ve been diving into local books and the Library and working with some local folks that catalog the history of the city to try and get a few ideas.

After a rather honest conversation with Mr. Seabass, I’m going to try to do a better job posting. Here’s a more complete summary of my NOLA theory that hopefully includes accurate research and logical principles (minus the Ilumnati conspiracy theories of course):
Image 7 Verse 2: New Orleans
At the place where jewels abound
Fifteen rows down to the ground
In the middle of twenty-one
From end to end
Only three stand watch
As the sound of friends
Fills the afternoon hours
Here is a sovereign people
Who build palaces to shelter
Their heads for a night!
Gnomes admire
Fays delight
The namesakes meeting
Near this site.
I underlined a key set of lines which has been discussed previously, but never settled as far as the conclusion for what motivated Preiss to make the selection. What is known is it can be found in the book Abroad in America (1976), in the form of a quotation from
Domingo Faustino
a former president of Argentina. During a visit in New Orleans he compares the dome of the St. Charles Hotel to that of St. Peter’s Basillica in Italy. Has Preiss only selected this obscure reference as a colorful way to talk about New Orleans, or a way to hint at a specific sovereignty? Perhaps it should be taken as a reference to the Superdome (1975). Actually, I don’t think it’s at all obvious, the most important point of this quotation is to discover how it relates to New Orleans, but to also consider it’s connection to South America and it’s reference to an Italian landmark. I say it’s important, though not really critical, since we’ve learned that loose approaches to the puzzle and some luck managed to unearth cask’s in Chicago and Cleveland.
With all do respect to the OP, I think the approach to these puzzles must be redefined or at least constantly reassessed. As it is in most cases, yes, our assumptions made over generic shapes are likely wrong, so a circle of the moon in image 7 doesn’t have to represent the Superdome from an aerial perspective. We know the internet/Google wasn’t a resource for Preiss, so we have to always exercise caution as we rely on such tools. I’ve had some success purchasing historic maps (made and printed in 1980) from eBay just to see if shapes or landmarks like the Superdome are actually presented in the same way as compared to our modern Googlemaps approach.
So we know to be careful about what assumptions we make. The worst assumption though, is to think these puzzles are poorly designed. We don’t have to like his methods, but Preiss really had his shit together. People who can’t comprehend their own stupidity or have to call their mommy for permission to borrow a shovel and the family car need to stop making excuses about how badly they think this hunt was designed. The conclusions I’ve made after taking a hard look at what I’ve been doing wrong have yielded some serious insight about how Preiss made connections. Ultimately he provides a “treasure map”, though his way of doing it requires our strict attention to the details.
In the New Orleans puzzle we see plainly the crescent shaped turqoise resting on the top of the clock face. We know the Litany of the Jewels preamble links the Fays of France to the turquoise and New Orleans is one of the best places to make a France connection, but that’s where the cultural context seems to end, because we know an Argentinian talked about a palace like dome in NOLA as it compared to St. Peter’s in Rome, Italy. We also have the face of Louis Armstrong, a great Dixieland Jazz musican.
Cultrually, this is all over the map. Compare this to the Cleveland puzzle which skirted many different cultural gardens, included a visual reference to the Italian fountain, and then to small plot inside the Grecian Gardens. In Chicago, we don’t see anything especially Celtic about the emerald’s location in Grant Park; someone once mentioned that the St. Patty’s Day parade goes through Grant Park, so maybe there’s that. I use to think the cultural connection for each gem was the main concern, I’ve since learned it’s somewhat important, but not necessarily the dominant or key component in the final piece of the puzzle.
I think image 7 is a lot like Chicago’s image where the giant wears a hat. The hat is a castle with a large windmill that looks very much like the Chicago’s Historic Water Tower. It’s then a main road straight to an intersection next to Grant Park. Image 7 has a hand holding up a face mask. The mask fits the face of a statue of Louis Armstrong in Louis Armstrong Park. Many attempts in the past have been made to find a spot in that park or adjoining Congo Square. Many significant changes to Louis Armstrong Park have rendered it pointless to search there any longer, but that doesn’t matter since I’m taken the hunt to adjoining Basin Street in the direction of the Superdome from Louis Armstrong Park where the city places three statues in 1957 in what was called the Gardens of the Americas, a tribute to Central and South American people and commerce. The line “Only three stand watch” fits perfectly if anything about this hunt involves finding statues and the quote from Sarmiento might tie in cultrually to this area as well.
The area near the statue of Francisco Morazan is key. It is across the street from a historic cemetery named after a King of France, St. Louis Cemetery No. 1. I’ve previously outlined some visual correlations comparing the hem of the armsleeve in the image to the pant hem on the Morazan statue. A large circle and triangle inscribed fits the shape of a clock face. A possible connection to a triangle may be communicated symbolically by taking the lat/long number pair and adding in a third number that would make the numbers of a triangle. 90 is well known as a corner of a right triangle. The rule that the other two angles must add up to 90 is also well known. 90 – 29 = 61. I believe the number 19 on the clock is flipped 180 degrees to disguise the fact that it is ambiguously a 61.
The word PRESERVATION is positioned with all both clock hands pointing at the V. I believe this relates to the namesakes riddle. Morazan represents Honduras in Central America. Being central, it is fair to argue that is where north meets south, therefore the namesakes, North and South America meet in the middle at Central America. The Americas are the namesakes of Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci. V is for Vespucci?
The clock points at the number XII. This is important when looking for a specific rooftop belonging to Tomb No. 12. Tomb No. 12 is the Bergamini family of Italy. This tomb can be easily seen from OUTSIDE the cemetery when standing near the Morazan statue.
The verse lines involving the number 15 and 21 leave it up to interpretation as to what they pertain. Many people have counted lamps, bricks, trees, benches, etc. I thought for the longest time they had to do with tombs. That was wrong. If you look at it most literally, since a row is just a number of things in a row and 15 of those things in a row in this case are paces. The same goes for 21. “In the middle” is the same as saying where two things meet, and so I discovered by using an aerial measure tool to approximate that the perpendicular distance from the wall of the cemetery to a spot in the neutral ground of Basin Street is 21 meters (or paces) and that’s also 15 meters away from the Morazan statue in the direction of 3 o’clock. Here’s the basic vectors put together,
I may not be explaining every single detail in this image, but I think I’ve got the verse nailed down. The last couple of things I might have an explaination for are the floating figure and a hidden shape in the clock hands design and what looks like a little contour shape match to the small statue that sits on top of the Bergamini Tomb No. 12. Compare a famous Italian statue of Hermes/Mercury and his caduceus. Note: Hermes is the psychopomp who leads the dead to the underworld.
We don’t have the wings of the caduceus to make the partial match a perfect fit, but notice how the top of the clock is cut off in the image. Many grandfather clocks share a design feature that’s known as a “swan’s neck” which includes the symbolic shape of a bird’s wings. This is a standard motif among pediment shapes in architecture. Many of the tomb’s in the St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 share these motifs,
Gnomes admire and fays delight because this area along Basin Street is the Gardens of the Americas. Wouldn’t we also be delighted if some goon’s near New Orleans gave this theory a try?

maltedfalcon

ok, here are the top steps, notice the vertical lines on step 9,10 11,12,13,14 and 15, but look at 16 – no vertical line
thats because the “step” runs straight back not across….
This demonstrates the danger of trying to do this without actually going and looking.

So our good friend Nola68 took a picture on-site and confirms that there are 16 steps. I don’t know if remodeling added a step or not.

I was told that top step was added during ADA retrofits
never been there so I really do not know.

OK, I’ll kick on my scanner (I just got the book).  Fox gave this link:
http://www.civilwaralbum.com/louisiana/neworleans.htm
But,
(I don’t see it mentioned here)
, if you scroll down to the bottom and see this little paragraph on the right:
“Inscription: cut in the base of the statue which was done under orders of Union general Ben Butler after the surrender of New Orleans”
here is that link:
http://www.civilwaralbum.com/louisiana/neworleans6.htm
Good work everyone!

wilhouse: Up two blocks and over:
johann: (1)
johann: (2)
johann: (3)
Fox:
And I noticed in the lower part of this scan (1200 dpi)
what seemed like a smiliey face.  Seeing things?
Fox: (noted several places on the map
arrows
)
and also… how the clock face is like the shape of the square (which is really a circle) (I changed the perspective of the picture to match the clock face)

Thats good!
I believe every pix has at least one mapview or ariel representation hidden in it.
I think someone mentioned it before but I was wondering if any of the wierd shaped blocks match outlines of any city blocks….

hehehe looks good!

heh, I typed that backwards. If it’s not between 10th and 11th post then try between 10th and 9th. I need some of that Fockink Dry Gin right now.

Oh we are talking about those “posts”!
I buy the 21 end to end but 15 to the ground? Sidewalk? Wall? Doesn’t make sense.

Choice

Oh we are talking about those “posts”!
I buy the 21 end to end but 15 to the ground? Sidewalk? Wall? Doesn’t make sense.

Yeah i didnt really buy the 15 steps up gallier hall either.
To be honest I dont know what to make of that line. The steps seem to fit (if JM was correct about there being only 15) But it’s not as…. elegant as the rest of the verse.
15 rows of bricks from street to sidewalk maybe… I was never able to find a clear enough picture of the sidewalk to count them though.
:/

Is it your honest opinion that Preiss and Palencar made a puzzle like that? If you just have to keep guessing what the thing is (let alone, where it is), isn’t that a scavenger hunt? Basically just keep picking things and places and digging until you hit the one Preiss is thinking of? Even if you are getting to Gallier Hall through some seemingly objective method (i.e., take a road from the building in the image or, if that doesn’t work, the most iconic thing in the image), once you get there, why do you stop? Cause things “fit”? It sounds like you’re just starting a scavenger hunt at a different place. No matter where you start one, there is an infinite number of interpretations and digspots, no?

This whole area doesn’t feel right.
The most solid clue is the quote:
Here is a sovereign people
Who build palaces to shelter
Their heads for a night!
Page 141 —
https://tinyurl.com/y3keucec
Describing St Charles hotel. But I don’t see any clues in the image to St. Charles except the “dome” or moon.
The text also compares St Charles’ dome to St. peter’s in Rome.
So St Peter is a good short area to consider.
How about the “iconic” part of the image? The flying boy? Peter Pan is another hint to St Peter.
This is a very small area to focus on.

Choice

Oh we are talking about those “posts”!
I buy the 21 end to end but 15 to the ground? Sidewalk? Wall? Doesn’t make sense.

I’m with you on the steps, they are a no go. There are 16 and people are trying to force it. What I meant regarding the post is there are 15 in a row and it is a vertical structure that goes down to the ground. Not what I hoped and dreamed for as a clue but it could fit the bill. I’m also still taking BP at face value with the published statement that the most valuable gems will be the hardest to find.
Imagine a world where there isn’t a super complex overarching theme to all 12 puzzles. You know, the one when you crack it, everything is revealed and you are still left with no answers. Picture a business man who has a thought out plan. A plan where an initial puzzle will be solved quickly to create a buzz. If they can solve it, so can I!!! I’m buying the book.
Circling back to that difficulty statement. I am going to assume the inverse is also true. Turquoise had to have been the least valuable gemstone at the time. So let’s pretend that you are a random history buff from NOLA who happened to buy the book. Hey, this image looks interesting. I like purple because of Mardi Gras. Wait, is that supposed to be the McDonogh Monument? Let me go check that out. Whoa, look across the street, there is a rectangular plot of grass with 21 fence posts and 15 of them on one side.
A couple of lines and one piece of imagery and you just solved NOLA back in 1983.

Remember this is supposed to be a French emigration connection. Some Irish guy changing his last name to sound French is not really a French migration story!
Top of the image, the clock’s canvas looking face with arch over the jewel look like a shopping bag and it’s handle. This may be a clue to French market.
Tea spoon on the sleeve points me to a cafe’; what’s more French than a side-walk cafe’?

Choice

But I don’t see any clues in the image to St. Charles except the “dome” or moon.

I don’t understand what you mean
why would you expect to see a clue in the image if the clue was in the verse?
ie Mozart and Beethoven are they referenced in the image?
is anything in the chicago verse in the image?
yes the columns are in the cleveland image, that seems to be the exception to the rule
what else from the clevland verse is?
so wouldn’t it make sense, that you would not see a St. Charles clue in the image?

I was comparing St Charles vs St Peter an St Peter wins since there’s image clue to it.

The St Charles hotel quote may just be a clue for St Charles street. It makes an obvious link to NOLA and BP loves to call out streets. I’m pretty sure that Lafayette is French but I live in a French Canadian city so I could be wrong.

But that location is not in Lafayette park. It’s Gallier that was changed from Irish name Gallagher.

It’s on the corner of Lafayette street though. Where the street meets Lafayette park.
And where both of those meet st Charles

OMG, namesakes meeting near the site!

lol, get the backhoe!
Didn’t George dig those spots? How wide ware the holes at the bottom?

Choice

lol, get the backhoe!
Didn’t George dig those spots? How wide ware the holes at the bottom?

Yeah that’s where I found the ceramic. Under the pipe.

If that’s the location then maybe you were off by a few feet.
From the perspective of Lafayette St., middle of 21, or middle of 10 and 11 is actually middle of 10 and 9.

Either way you look at it you have to be at the middle of 21 things.
Counting front to back, starting at one side or the other doesnt matter, you end up at the 11th post. I dug from the base of it to about 4 foot back. Also in the center of the area, the middle post on the long side, and the point where the middle on the short side and long side would meet.
I found crap 1.5 feet back from the middle post.

You are interpreting “middle of 21” as counting the posts from either end to the middle which is 11th post.
What I’m suggesting is look at the image clues. The foot hand is pointing to middle of X and XI which is middle of 21. However if you’re looking at the spot from the left side of the clock (Lafayette St.) then you’re looking at the spot between 10th and 9th post. I think the image is self-explanatory.
Maybe this help:

I get what you are saying. I’ll add it to me list of spots to check when I go back.

That is actually interesting from a twist perspective.

Go back to page 57 of this thread. I’ve suggested the Fair Grounds Race Course there and provided pictures and correlations.

Thanks for tossing around those ideas WR.  I wonder about the two arcing arrows pointing to Preservation.  Why point to that spot in clockwise AND counterclockwise direction?  That terrace work in the park has a “giant step” look to it.

Although I’ve focussed on V7 with this image, I think I’d have to go along with the V2 consensus for this part of town because of Camp St and the Sarmiento quote.
Grr, there’s a trash truck parked right in front of my turquoise.  😛
If you interpreted the blue semicircle of the clock as that concrete bed, you could use the moon to locate the gem.
Alternatively, you could take just the inner gem and use the clock hand pointing to the middle of it.
Heck, it’s only small. Just dig it all out.

Something tells me it could be in a mound in the tracks center or the tracks location is i
mportant geographically.  Does anyone have an idea what the “19” on the clock represents?
The clock has 3 hands and the jockey has 3 feet (unless one is a mitt).  What could that mean?

I do like the link to camp and sarmiento.  The more I read the verses the more they start to bleed ambigous.  Ovetones of theme are persistent yet Preiss is finding subtle ways to use them to specific purpose.
This is why I am attempting to pickout crossovers in verses, either an entire line or just a word or two that help frame the context to any of the other locations.  Some verses are more detailed in direction than a coresponding image and the reverse might be the case as well…I can’t imagine any verse isn’t primarily attached to a specific casque.  A line or word I can work with…more would inspire too much chaos.  Was just rethinking verse 5 and “arc of lights” where it chimes with Joan of Arc as an example of crossover.
I know that garbage truck well…
WR, is that raised plot or step of grass semicircular??  I thought it was square.

The top part looks oblong, but I thought the lower part looked semicircular…it has rounded corners, anyway…
Here’s an aerial shot of that path that surrounds it.
(Turquoise can be blue or green.)

erexere

Was just rethinking verse 5 and “arc of lights” where it chimes with Joan of Arc as an example of crossover.

(V2 Jewels abound, V10 Cars abound. I’d previously wondered about cars/arcs.)
And here’s another shot of those Coliseum arcs.

erexere

Does anyone have an idea what the “19” on the clock represents?

It’s part of the lat/lon quartet. Read backwards à la Image 4.

erexere

“Preservation” quickly becomes a label for the Jazz of New Orleans, but might also be a good way to say any “historical marker”, saved or preserved space.  Coliseum Square has such a past as it was planned to be made into a race track but instead preserved as a community park area.

I think of Preservation Hall as a visual thing like The Bowman or the Water Tower, included either as a general pointer for New Orleans, or because it was something you might come across near the trail.
I see your point though. I did previously wonder about the plaque and flags at the Confederate Memorial Hall, for instance, interpreting it in that wider sense. (This is between Haughery and Lafayette.)
The masks in images 2 and 7 are like a nod to Masquerade.
A hoax…?
For reference, here’s a map showing Haughery, Memorial Hall, Lafayette (all on Camp St), and the spot where Joan of Arc was at the time, at the end of Canal St.
Coliseum Square Park is a bit further down Camp St to the south.
I like that it’s surrounded by streets named after the Muses. Eg, Melpomene, who is represented holding a mask. (Nine Muses, three nines on the clock. Clock-boy is looking at 9.)
If this was V2, then the park looks about 15 blocks down Camp St., and is bordered by these concrete posts. Guess it might be worth counting them, though the edge of the park is overlooked by houses.
The northern section is vaguely suggested in the clock…
(That shape seems to be like a theme running through this puzzle. It could also be read as a clue for this part of New Orleans. Circle indicates the park.)
…or…
Doesn’t look very practical.
This is the view of what would correspond with the turquoise in the clockface.
I’m losing the plot now. Interesting spot though.

WR, the top of the clocks arc shape is almost too general a shape, as always you’re doing a great job lubricating the forum with your ideas.
The two confirmers for me are the near perfect proportion of outer to inner circle shape of the fountain to the circular face of the clock and the portion of the arc that is clipped by the jockey is perfectly proportional to where the two walkways veer off to the northeast and southeast.  I’ll get that visual later if you don’t already have it queued up.  I didn’t realise we had muse names for streets…how can we know those were named that in 1980?

I have an exact dig spot for the NOLA casque. Anyone wanting to be involved in a dig plan, please contact me.

Hello all. I just joined yesterday, after reading the article about Egbert in the Cleveland Plain Dealer this past Sunday. Is there an FAQ on The Secret? It would be nice to have all the theories and information collected in one place. Of course, much of it is onjecture, so maybe that wouldn’t be a good idea.
My wife has latched on to P7, so I’ve been studying that one and reading all the past posts regarding it, and here are some things I’ve come up with (with quotes from old posts above)
>(10/16/03)Interesting that there are numbers in all of the corners of the clock (19, 29, and >90) but one of them is covered by the mask.  Maybe relevant, maybe not.
This may be reaching, but 90 minus 29 is 61. Combine that with the 19 and you have 1961, the year the Preservation Hall was founded.
>(5/27/04)And on the bottom right hand corner (with the brightness WAY up) the chess >board gets strange and a funny horse head is there:
I don’t think it’s a horse: horses aren’t usually shown with their mouths open that far.
>(5/27/04)I think the 8 you see are just the decorations on the hands of the clock
Turning it upside-down, it looks a bit like a nude woman. Yes, my mind is in the gutter.
>(5/27/04)Purple is the main color of the Mardi Gras (along with green & gold).  The MG >King, Rex, usually wears purple so I’m thinking the arm holding the mask in the P is that of >Rex.
But the hand has long, ragged nails. Wouldn’t a king take better care of his nails?
>(6/3/04)hmmm, 2 blocks up…1 block over….sounds like directions to me.  Find the site of the head, go >2 city blocks north, then 1 block east and viola!  And all along we have been calling them >squares.  Yet another possibility to explore.
Unfortunately, the streets near Preservation Hall run diagonally. Great idea, though, and I think it has some merit. Perhaps the squares are a map.
>(6/3/04)at expediamaps.com search for Preservation Hall and zoom all the way in.  Notice >how most of the city blocks around PH and JS are square…but JS is skewed like in the P.
The MapQuest map shows Jackson Square as square, but the aerial picture posted by neVar really cinched it for me.
I just took a look at the LA state flag. It features a mama pelican feeding her three babies… “Three winged and slight”? But as I read further, she’s tearing off piece of herself to feed to her babies!!! What kind of flag is that?!?!?
Keep up the good work!
Scott

If this pic is for NO, then it should contain clues indicating the city and the location of the casque within the city.
We have at least two clues for the city:  the horse head map of Louisiana and the long/lat.  What about the location?  Is “Preservation” a location clue?  Do we agree that the circle on the clock face matches the circle in Jackson Sq?  What about the curve in the checkerboard pattern?  The moon in the clock could indicate the Moon Walk by the Mississippi River.
All the location clues seem to indicate the French Quarter area. Maybe we should each take a verse, try to match it with sites in the French Quarter and report back to the group.

Unknown

Unknown:
There is something about this image that bothers me. The mask is a clear giveaway for New Orleans. Its to easy. I know sounds silly. When I was looking into something else I came across the Daughters of the American Revolution. The word “Preservation” came up many times. Their colors are that off light blue and red. Its just a thought.

I thought that too. It seemed much to obvious, compared to the other images. What if the mask wasn’t a Mardi Gras mask at all, but the mask for Comedy? That’s what I thought when I first saw it, since Mardi Gras masks are usually quite ornate. My feeling is that there should be something else in the picture that indicates the state. E.g., P4 has an outline of Ohio, P6 has an outline of Florida. So, though New Orleans seems like the obvious choice, let’s not get too focusses on N.O. that we discount the possibility that it’s somewhere else entirely.
Scott

OK this is reaching – I admit it.
but I figured if this was Louisiana it would have either the map of the state in the picture or the Lat/Lon
I don’t believe anybody found a lat/lon connection in this pix (I could be wrong, correct me if I am) so I figured somewhere in here must be a state map.
what do you think?

I like the horse head as the Louisiana map, but we also have the longitude and latitude in the numbers 29 and 90 on the clock.

I think that we can be (fairly) sure that this P is NO…with the lat/lon on the clock & now with the possible map = head that falcon found.  I do like that connection falcon…nice find.  Now where oh where in NO do we look?  I like the Jackson Square theory but who the heck knows.  At least it looks like we may be zero-ing in on another find.

We can speculate on the missing (covered) Longitude number by the voodoo hand clue. It’s 72.

I received an email from a friend who visited NO last week, and here’s what she had to say about it:
Well,  New Orleans was a bust.  We visited Jackson Square, Lafayette Square, Lee Circle, Armstrong Park, City Park (which is mammoth!!), Harlequin Park and Tourmaline Park without anything really to get us there or keep us there as confirmers go.  Lafayette Square is the top contender just a few blocks from the site of the old St. Charles Hotel (the palace), there are three statutes in the park (three stand watch) and Lafayette (Fays’ namesake), but that is about it.  I will need to do a little more research, but we could not find anything to really solidify a good lead anywhere.  City Park is larger than Central Park NY–I don’t know what gets you there and once there its so big, what in the picture or verses points you in the right direction???    We did check out Harlequin and Tourmaline Parks because of (In the place where jewels abound)  They are parks nestled into streets with jewel names (roughly twenty of them, I think).  But these are small, one block size, open green spaces with maybe one small out building, few trees and no markers or statues that abut up to backyards of a residential neighborhood.  I can definitively say, these two parks are not the places.  Have pictures of things that I’ll post later.  Beautiful botanical gardens at City park and a cool sculpture garden too—nice day out, just not a lucky day.
This makes me believe that perhaps the race track is going to be more important. Not only are the gates reminiscent of the clock hands, but the clock figure reminds me of a jockey, and the space inside the track is the same shape as the mask/stick; the checkered background suggests jockey’s silks and racing in general. There are three race horses already buried on the track’s infield (3 stand watch). Also, the arrows around the clock face might suggest “going around in a circle”, i.e, racing.  There is not a lot of information and photographic research material on the net for this location, but someone one the grounds there might be able to associate something for us. I love Lafayette park as the location–or I did–but it’s so small and so empty of other confirmers I’m starting to doubt it’s usefulness. The “namesakes” could be “Fair and Grounds” (fay and gnome) for the racetrack. I think this merits further research.  I could see the casque being buried near the grandstand (15 rows down to the ground) but what would the “jewels” be and the “21” from end-to-end?

I received an email from a friend who visited NO last week, and here’s what she had to say about it:
Well,  New Orleans was a bust.  We visited Jackson Square, Lafayette Square,
Lee
Circle
, Armstrong Park, City Park (which is mammoth!!), Harlequin Park and Tourmaline Park without anything really to get us there or keep us there as confirmers go.  Lafayette Square is the top contender just a few blocks from the site of the old St. Charles Hotel (the palace), there are three statutes in the park (three stand watch) and Lafayette (Fays’ namesake), but that is about it.  I will need to do a little more research, but we could not find anything to really solidify a good lead anywhere.  City Park is larger than Central Park NY–I don’t know what gets you there and once there its so big, what in the picture or verses points you in the right direction???    We did check out Harlequin and Tourmaline Parks because of (In the place where jewels abound)  They are parks nestled into streets with jewel names (roughly twenty of them, I think).  But these are small, one block size, open green spaces with maybe one small out building, few trees and no markers or statues that abut up to backyards of a residential neighborhood.  I can definitively say, these two parks are not the places.  Have pictures of things that I’ll post later.  Beautiful botanical gardens at City park and a cool sculpture garden too—nice day out, just not a lucky day.
This makes me believe that perhaps the race track is going to be more important. Not only are the gates reminiscent of the clock hands, but the clock figure reminds me of a jockey, and the space inside the track is the same shape as the mask/stick; the checkered background suggests jockey’s silks and racing in general. There are three race horses already buried on the track’s infield (3 stand watch). Also, the arrows around the clock face might suggest “going around in a
circle
“, i.e, racing.  There is not a lot of information and photographic research material on the net for this location, but someone one the grounds there might be able to associate something for us. I love Lafayette park as the location–or I did–but it’s so small and so empty of other confirmers I’m starting to doubt it’s usefulness. The “namesakes” could be “Fair and Grounds” (fay and gnome) for the racetrack. I think this merits further research.  I could see the casque being buried near the grandstand (15 rows down to the ground) but what would the “jewels” be and the “21” from end-to-end?

Unknown

Unknown:
Interesting that there are numbers in all of the corners of the clock (19, 29, and 90) but one of them is covered by the mask.  Maybe relevant, maybe not.

This is in no way right, but the first thing I assumed from these numbers was reading left to right–the year 1929, and similarly assuming the year 1990 on the bottom. There is no reason to do that, it was just a leap. And the Preservation thing matches up.

on January 22nd, 2004, 7:21am, The_Manley wrote:Also here are some references that helped me tie this to verse 2:
“As the sound of friends
Fills the afternoon hours”
(the clock in in image 7 is 15 sec afternoon)
“gnomes admire
Fays delight”
(Tourquise the Fays of France keep: stone Rare as a blue midsummer’s day.) from the litany of the jewels (page 20)
I spoke to Byron Priess once; I told him that I was looking for one of the casques in a location suggested by the Litany of the Jewels.  I’m pretty sure he said that the Litany is not part of the puzzle.  In other words, there aren’t any actual clues in that poem; just the suggestion that there are twelve types of gems, associated with a place of origin.  I think it’s supposed to make us notice that each image suggests a country and a type of gem.
Quote:”The namesakes meeting near this site”
(the preservation hall band)
How is the Preservation Hall Jazz Band the “namesakes” of gnomes and fays?  I think this line is supposed to refer to something fairy-related, like if there was a band in the area called “The Sprites” or a sports team called “The Leprechauns” or  something.  Or maybe its something like that Peter Pan statue mentioned earlier, the one showing Peter and several fairies.

Hello all. I’ve been away for a while and must add my findings. I believe the casque is in Congo Square. First, the 1929 numbers correspond with the building of the Municipal Auditorium. lLouis Armstrong died in 1971 and Armstrong park was dedicated to him in the late 1970’s. Preservation theme ties in. Municipal Auditorium was home to many concerts and is where Rex And Comus meet on Mardi Gras day. Balls are held there and perhaps this is where jewels abound. If that is the correct verse. The mask is definately a likeness of Louis Armstrong. It obscures the 6,7,and 8 on the clock. Armstrong Park is on the 6,7,and 800 block of Rampart st. I know that in the late 70’s Louis Armstrong was not as popular as today and perhaps Byron was commemorating him in this image. I’ll have to go back and look up my other findings but after much research and being from New Orleans this fits better for me than others. Lafitte

Lafitte

It obscures the 6,7,and 8 on the clock. Armstrong Park is on the 6,7,and 800 block of Rampart st.

Hmm, more like 7, 8, and 900, no?

Did Peter Pan often wear a baseball cap?

Nice work Mr.Seabass