Puzzle Mania
Puzzles have made a comeback due to the pandemic last year. But to be fair, they’ve always been popular when it comes to traditional means of family entertainment.
Puzzles originated from the 1760s and were originally made to educate, not entertain!
European cartographers, also known as map makers, pasted a large map on a piece of wood and cut them into pieces to teach geography to kids. The first toy puzzle for kids was built in 1767 and was used in both schools and homes.
It wasn’t until the 1900s when puzzles began to be made for adults. By 1908, adult puzzle mania began! Artists would make complicated and beautiful art that would then be converted to puzzles. Fun fact: the puzzles had no photo to reference so they had no idea what photo they were trying to complete which made it all the more challenging. Wooden puzzles were expensive and did not interlock as well, so they were seen as a novelty for the elite.
In the 1930s, companies found ways to make puzzles more affordable by die cutting cardboard.
The 1930s were a difficult time because people were struggling from the Great Depression and when puzzles were made, people felt some sense of achievement when they completed a puzzle. After World War II, wooden puzzles almost disappeared. People were loving the cardboard puzzles and the wooden puzzles couldn’t compete with the drop in prices.
The next evolution of puzzles were the personalized puzzles. Originally, coined luxury puzzles, these puzzles were mainly marketing to the elite who wanted their photo or name in the puzzle. We are so excited that nowadays, anyone can personalize their puzzle.
We offer 500 or 1,000 piece or heart shaped puzzles that we can print on cardboard and send to you neatly in a box. The puzzle can be anything you want:
- A photo you took during a travel adventure
- A photo of your friends or family
- A piece of digital art
- A painting or photo of something you made
Puzzles were always intended to give joy and that’s the reason why they’ve lasted so many years!
