Where Are The Jigsaw Puzzles Coming From?

To track the origin of jigsaw puzzles we need to go back to approximately 1760 in England, where the Englishman John Spilsbury one day came out with a brilliant thought. John was a mapmaker and an engraver, proprietor of a print store located in Russell Court, London. Taking one of his globe map printed over a sheet of hardwood, John cut out the borders of the nations using a marquetry saw. The goal obviously was to produce a tutorial device for English kids to study their geography. To be noted John was the brother of Jonathan Spilsbury, a famous portrait painter at this time, well known for his portrait of George III, king of Great Britain and Ireland. John Spilsbury immediately realised the business opportunity of his creation and went to commercialise what he named ‘dissections’. He declined his dissections on a number of maps: the World, Europe, Asia… Initially educational devices, the idea rapidly changed and round 1820 these dissections happen to be utilised as hobby and playthings as well. The end of the 19th century saw modifications for the making of these dissections. First the usage of the treadle saw was introduced to cut out the pieces and so they were now referred to as ‘jigsaw puzzles’, a naming that is certainly better we should acknowledge! The making was somewhat simple at the time because the illustrations were either painted or glued on the wood support and the parts were traced manually using a pencil over the back of the board. It seems these marks can still be seen today on quite aged puzzles. Secondly an additional support was now used as well: cardboard. This cheaper support was however generally employed for kid jigsaw puzzles. Jigsaw puzzles had been particularly in favour objects during the very first part of the 20th century as they were increasingly more designed as an enjoyment or even a pastime for adults and also a very frequent interest within the higher classes of society. They happened to be in fact costly merchandise because the parts were manually cut one by one. These grownup puzzles were relatively a challenge by the way. The pieces were most often cut out on the colour lines and the parts were juxtaposed – not interlocked – so that you could very easily lose all of your efforts with the very first sneeze! Additionally, as opposed to the tutorial jigsaw puzzles for kids, no image was provided on the box, just a vague name to provide the puzzle maker some clues and leads… challenging isn’t it? But while the trend carried on, interlocked parts were quickly introduced and reaffirmed the accomplishment of jigsaw puzzles as a hobby, becoming more and more preferred as costs decreased. Themes turned more and more diverse and various and while difficult economical times hit society in the 30s, jigsaw puzzles seems to present a great number of individuals with an economical evasion as well as a way to fulfil their need for achievement. Nowadays jigsaw puzzles stay hugely popular. Either a tutorial tool for children or a hobby for adults, jigsaw puzzles have a very sweet and light way to get addictive, however it is a harmless addiction obviously. At www.OnlyJigsawPuzzles.com we are enthusiast regarding jigsaw puzzles and we trust you enjoyed browsing that article. Please do get in touch with us should you have any queries.

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