What's puzzling you?
What's It Wednesdays
ACHC #1997.119.1
This may be familiar to many in Andover as a souvenir given out by The Family Bank during Andover’s 350th Anniversary celebration. It is a jigsaw puzzle of a map of Andover. The novelty is that the canister can also be used as a bank. The plastic lid is imprinted with a handy coin slot. Our souvenir is in pristine condition – it has never been opened. We can assume that no pieces are missing!
How many of us learned our states by assembling a puzzle? Map puzzles been around since the 1760s. The invention of the first jigsaw puzzle is attributed to John Spilsbury a London engraver and mapmaker in 1767. Mapmakers would glue maps to wood and then cut out pieces along the country border lines. Such puzzle maps were, and still are, educational toys for teaching geography.
In 1880, the term “jigsaw” puzzles came into use. However, a fretsaw is usually the tool for cutting wood puzzle pieces. It allows for tight curves and intricate cuts. Paperboard jigsaw puzzles appeared during the late 1800s but were slow to replace the wooden jigsaw. Paperboard puzzles were thought to lack durability.
Paper on wood puzzle ACHC 1996.054.2
During the Depression puzzles became a mainstay. They provided a cheap, long-lasting, reusable form of entertainment. Beginning in the 1930s, mass production of inexpensive cardboard puzzles cut prices considerably. In 1933, "30 million households in the United States were absorbing 10 million jigsaw puzzles every week.”
Although the popularity of wooden puzzles declined after WWII, interest in jigsaw puzzles of every size, has not. Particularly in 2020. Puzzle companies like Ravensburger and Massachusetts-based, Ceaco, say their sales are up 300-370%. They can’t produce jigsaw puzzles fast enough.
Why are puzzles so popular now? As Marcel Danesi, University of Toronto Department of Anthropology professor said in a recent interview: “They are a form of escape. Once you are concentrated on doing a puzzle, it seems the outside world recedes temporarily. You immerse yourself into the intricacy of the puzzle and forget about everything else. They restore order to the chaos in our minds.”
So, what puzzle are you working on?
This is my family's next one!