A Brief History Of Jigsaw Puzzles

Hi Puzzlers,

We thought it would be fun to share with you a brief history of the jigsaw puzzle. Below is a quick overview of what we discovered. Some things we knew, others truly amazed us.

Our journey begins in London in the 1760s when an engraver and mapmaker attached one of his maps to a sheet of wood and cut around the borders of each country with a fine-bladed saw. The "dissected map" was then used to teach geography to wealthy British children. Up until the 1820s, puzzles were mostly used for educational purposes and only available to the wealthy due to the cost of wood and the time it took to make one.

Then, in 1880, along came the treadle saw. The use of this tool is how the "jigsaw puzzle" name derived. This saw sped up the puzzle making process and, along with the introduction of cardboard, reduced the cost of manufacturing puzzles, making it affordable to the middle class.

Adult puzzle of this time were very difficult. The pieces did not interlock so, should you cough or sneeze, your pieces would move. There were no images to follow on the box, only a description, which was sometimes intentionally misleading to add to the difficulty. Puzzlers would not know what the real image was until the last piece was in place.

At the turn of the century the combination of using cardboard, die-cuts and interlocking pieces, which reduced the risk of spilling or losing pieces, created the jigsaw puzzle boom. The demand was so great that an American game manufacturer temporarily stopped making everything but puzzles.

During the Great Depression puzzle sales peaked. ...."It might seem odd at first glance that a non-necessity like a jigsaw puzzle would sell so well in the depression. But the appeal, then as now, was that one bought a good deal of entertainment for a small price. The weekly jigsaw puzzle could constitute a solitary or group activity, and would occupy one's time enjoyably for hours. And of course, a jigsaw puzzle was recyclable," in that one could break the puzzle up once one had completed it and then pass it on to another family member or friend. Another point to bear in mind is that jigsaw puzzle enthusiasts in the Depression discovered what many in our own time are rediscovering - that working on a jigsaw puzzle is a great way to reduce stress! ...Puzzles are still a lot of entertainment for a small price. And if they are addictive - and they are - they are a harmless addiction." - Daniel McAdam

Are you working on a puzzle right now and searching for your next one? Looks like you've caught the fever!

Happy Puzzling!