Showing posts with label jigsaw puzzles history. Show all posts

Monday, December 16, 2013

First Jigsaw Puzzle Ever Created

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John Spilsbury was born in 1739 and he is considered the inventor of jigsaw puzzles. John Spilsbury worked as an engraver and mapmaker. He served as an apprentice to Thomas Jefferys, the Royal Geographer to King George III.
He invented the first jigsaw in 1767 and it was a map of the world. John Spilsbury attached a map to a piece of wood and then cut out each country. Teachers used Spilsbury's puzzles to teach geography.
Spilsbury Puzzle

Students learned their geography lessons by putting the world maps back together. Sensing a business opportunity, he created puzzles on eight themes - the World, Europe, Asia, Africa, America, England and Wales, Ireland and Scotland.
Geography puzzles

John Spilsbury died on 3 April 1769 leaving us the legacy of jigsaw puzzles, which are used nowadays by people in the whole world.
Online Jigsaw Puzzles



Friday, September 13, 2013

Interesting Facts on Puzzles History

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  • “Legpuzzel” is the dutch name for jigsaw puzzles and tangram-like puzzles.
  • Puzzel represents the most general word, encompassing logical puzzles, crosswords, mechanical puzzles and in general all kind of “problems” to solve.
  • On 18 october 1817 in Paris a booklet with the title “Le Casse-tĂȘte Chinois” was published and it was a copy of the English publication ” The Chinese Puzzle”.
  • In italy the etimology of word puzzles weas reflected in Rompicapo- Al Gioco Cinese chiamato il Rompi-Capo” was the title of an 1818 Italian publication.
  • The Spanish Rompecabezas is from some later date, probably introduced as Rompe-Cabezas as one of the titles of French export puzzles.
  • The German name Kopfzerbrecher has been used in 1891 as the name for the Anker tangram puzzle
  • “Chinese puzzles” became in the middle of nineteenth century the name for mechanical puzzles from Asia  - they were made in Japan or India.
  • Unlike word or jigsaw puzzles, mechanical puzzles are hand-held objects that must be manipulated to achieve a specific goal. These puzzles are often referred to as mechanical puzzles, brain teasers, 3D puzzles, mind benders, one person games, or just plain wooden games or wooden toys.