An old rule stated:
Upon reaching the 8th rank a pawn may be exchanged for another piece
(except a King) of the player choosing.
(The fact it had to be one of your pieces was not in the rules.)
Also, at one time you could only take a piece that had been previously captured.
You could not have two Queens on the board. If the player promoting the
pawn had not lost a piece it stayed on the board as a pawn.
Philidor was in favour of that rule and that is the rules about pawn
promotion given in his book. (So much for Pawns being the Soul of Chess.)
(The correct quote is: "Pawns are the very soul of the game." )
The wee puzzle I posted actually falls in line with another pre-Staunton rule.
You could only take a piece the corresponds to that file.
So promoting an a-pawn or h-pawn meant you had to take a Rook.
A b-pawn or g-pawn meant you could only take a Knight. etc..etc..
(above I have followed that rule by promoting on a b-file and taking a Knight.)
Promoting a an e-pawn gave you a free choice.