The jigsaw puzzle has been around for over 250 years. Yes, a very long time!  

Jigsaw puzzles were firstly created by painting a picture onto a piece of rectangle wood and then cutting it into small pieces. A jigsaw has not been used to cut the puzzle into pieces despite it being called a “jigsaw puzzle”. The most common material jigsaw puzzles are made from now is cardboard. The main contributing factor to this change in material is profit margins, cardboard is much cheaper than time and this is due to increasing profit margins.

But who created the jigsaw puzzle? 

As stated in Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jigsaw_puzzle 

John Spilsbury‘s “Europe divided into its kingdoms, etc.” (1766). He created the jigsaw puzzle for educational purposes, and called them “Dissected Maps”

John Spilsbury was the first to commercial the jigsaw puzzle in the 1760’s. Throughout history and recessions or depressions jigsaw puzzles were one of the first products which soared in sales. Jigsaw puzzles and especially personalised jigsaw puzzles provide a cheap and long-lasting form of entertainment for the whole family to enjoy. 

In recent times the personalised puzzles in Australia have become very popular. There is no limitation in regards to what image you place on your jigsaw puzzle. Many take their own photos and turn their pictures into puzzles. Jigsaw puzzles also come in a variety of sizes: 12 – 50,000 pieces. There are also other jigsaw related accessories on the market now that have also become very popular including: puzzle boards, cases, frames and roll up mats. 

It shows that jigsaw puzzles have been around for over 250 years and are going nowhere! Times of recession and depression are the times that the popularity of puzzles soar. Personalised puzzles are the way to go as there is no limitation in regards to what image you place on your jigsaw puzzle. Join history and enjoy puzzle making!