History of Wood Jigsaws
The wooden jigsaw puzzle is over 200 years old and though there is some dispute as to which was the first jigsaw puzzle it was certainly invented between 1760 and 1770. The most likely inventors were map makers though whether it was John Splisbury an English map seller or Covens and Mortier of Amsterdam is not clear. What is certain is that around the 1760s maps were stuck onto wooden boards and the outlines of either counties or countries were cut out to make a puzzle.
These early puzzles were called Dissected Maps and were used by teachers of geography as an educational aid. Even today children still play with map jigsaws, one of the most popular being the map of the United States of America. These early cut out puzzles were unlike the modern ones in that there were no interlocking pieces. This development happened about 1880 when the first treadle saws came into use and the dissected puzzle became the jigsaw puzzle though the puzzles were actually cut using a fretsaw. The pictures were stuck on a board and the interlocking pieces were drawn on the back of the board and then cut out by hand. This made them very expensive, for example in 1908 a 500-piece puzzle cost about $5 when the average worker only earned around $50 a month.
It was the introduction of die-cutting which made the jigsaw puzzle what it is today. Die-cutting is done by twisting thin strips of metal with sharpened edges into intricate patterns and fastening them onto a plate. This plate is then pressed down on the cardboard to make the cut. This dramatically reduced the costs and made them affordable by almost everyone. The surprising thing is that it was actually the Depression which really sealed their success. The Jigsaw was a comparatively cheap means of entertainment and could be re-done many times. It was also helped by advertisers giving away free jigsaw puzzles with their products.
The jigsaw puzzle is still very popular particularly with very young children but also has a large following with adults as the puzzles become more varied and difficult. So we have gone from the original dissected maps to the large selection of puzzles we have available today but as in the original the wooden jigsaw puzzle remains a top seller today.
