The first jigsaw puzzle[puzzle?:jigsaw puzzle][jigsaw puzzle?:Jigsaw puzzle cutting machine] appears in 1762, by John Spilbury, a British mapmaker. Spilbury conceived of the idea of cutting maps up into jigsaw puzzle pieces to assist children in learning geography. These early jigsaw puzzles were cut along the borders of continents and nations, and would have been hard to put together, since no clues were provided by transitional pieces with multiple color elements. These jigsaw puzzles were also prone to catastrophe, since the pieces did not interlock.
In the late 1800s, manufacturers of jigsaw puzzles were still hand sawing them, but they had started to develop more interesting shapes, and in the early 1900s, jigsaw puzzle making companies figured out how to make jigsaw puzzle dies. Dies standardized the jigsaw puzzle making process, making jigsaw puzzles much cheaper. This period also saw the introduction of interlocking jigsaw puzzle pieces.
In the United States, the popularity of jigsaw puzzles surged during the 1930s. The Great Depression meant that many more people were bored at home, and jigsaw puzzles helped to fill the hours. Cardboard began to be the backing material of choice for jigsaw puzzles, rather than more expensive and difficult to cut wooden backings. Some companies gave jigsaw puzzles away to frequent customers, and libraries allowed patrons to check out jigsaw puzzles to work on at home.
