Concentration (game Show) - Rebuses

Rebuses

The rebus form is centuries old and has been used in various forms. The most popular contemporary form prior to Concentration involved pictures, letters and numbers as well as plus and minus signs to add or delete parts of a word or phrase (e.g., WICK + E + PEA + D + UH)

The member of the Barry-Enright development team responsible for the development and art direction of the puzzles was Norm Blumenthal, who later became the original series' producer. He simplified the rebus form for television, allowing only plus symbols, and subsequently devised all of the puzzles seen on the original series. In his version of a rebus puzzle, which became Concentration's standard, a rebus is a puzzle made up of a combination of pictures, letters, words and numbers connected by plus signs. When solved, it gives a well-known title or phrase. For instance:

• A picture of a convict (CON)
• A plus sign
• A picture of a penny (CENT)
• A plus sign
• A picture of a serving tray (TRAY)
• A plus sign
• A picture of a human leg, shin highlighted (SHIN)

CON + CENT + TRAY + SHIN (CONCENTRATION).

Although many graphic artists contributed to the on-air renderings of the puzzles, only one, Bernard Schmittke, was with the series throughout its entire 1958–1991 history.