Today we celebrate the first day of Summer. Cheers to that!

I thought that I would treat all of you puzzle enthusiasts to a little jigsaw puzzle history that involves the beach. The Missing Piece Puzzle Company is located in sunny Southern New Jersey which is very close to the beach and we love the history of the jigsaw puzzle. 

Read on...

It started as a stress reliever

During the Great Depression, morale was low and families needed a stress reliever. Mass produced, die-cut jigsaw puzzles were invented and became a very popular activity, even on the beach. Originally, the jigsaw puzzle dates back to the 18th century, when wooden maps were cut up and used as a study tool by children of aristocrats. Unaffordable and impractical for most of the population, jigsaw puzzles were expensive and available to aristocratic families.

It was during the Great Depression that jigsaw puzzles become popular regardless of people's socio-economic status and were very widely enjoyed by individuals and families alike.

A changing jigsaw process

Jigsaw puzzle makers were easily able to mass product die-cut puzzles made by cardboard that everyone could afford and they became very popular products used by many. Today, jigsaw puzzles have evolved quite a bit but we owe the Great Depression era for renewing the popularity of the cardboard jigsaw puzzle.