In the early 1760s, London mapmaker and engraver John Spilsbury mounted a map of Europe on a wooden board and cut along the country borders with a fine marquetry saw. He was selling what he called a "dissected map," an educational tool for teaching geography to the children of wealthy families who could afford it.
The word "jigsaw" itself came later, borrowed from the powered fretsaw that eventually replaced the hand saw for cutting the pieces, a tool that only came into common use for this purpose toward the end of the 19th century.
A Mapmaker's Teaching Tool in 1760s London
From Wooden Maps to Cardboard for Everyone
For over a century, puzzles remained a relatively expensive, hand-cut wooden product aimed mostly at educated households. That changed once manufacturers switched to die-cut cardboard in the early 1900s, a process that could stamp out interlocking pieces far faster and cheaper than any saw.
The puzzle industry boomed unexpectedly during the Great Depression, when cheap entertainment was in high demand. Some publishers released a new puzzle every week and rented them out for a few cents a day, and puzzles briefly outsold many other forms of home entertainment during the hardest years of the 1930s.
Sources
- Smithsonian Magazine β the origins of the jigsaw puzzle
- Victoria and Albert Museum β dissected maps and early puzzle history
- National Geographic β puzzles during the Great Depression
FAQ
Why is it called a "jigsaw" puzzle if the first ones were cut by hand?
The name came later, once manufacturers switched to cutting pieces with a mechanical fretsaw, a tool nicknamed a jigsaw, even though the earliest puzzles were cut with an ordinary marquetry hand saw.
What made puzzles boom during the Great Depression?
They were a cheap, reusable form of entertainment, and some companies even rented puzzles out for a small daily fee, making them affordable during widespread economic hardship.
When did cardboard replace wood as the standard material?
Manufacturers shifted to die-cut cardboard in the early 1900s, which was far faster and cheaper to produce at scale than hand-sawn wooden puzzles.
About the Author
We reference Smithsonian Magazine, Victoria and Albert Museum, National Geographic to explain the background and current understanding of this topic.
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