Jigsaw puzzle:Europe Divided Into Its Kingdoms

John Spilsbury, a map maker in London, England in the 1760s, was the first to commercialize jigsaw puzzle making. Spilsbury pasted his maps onto thin mahogany boards, then used a hand held fret saw with a very fine blade to cut them into pieces along political boundaries.He marketed these "dissected maps" as educational playthings to aristocrats whose children needed to learn geography--vital preparation for their future roles in governing the British Empire.

Spilsbury's 1766 "Europe Divided Into Its Kingdoms" is believed to be the earliest jigsaw puzzle in existence. Although his puzzles were expensive--costing more than a worker's daily wage--Spilsbury invented the irregular edge as an economy measure. Puzzles "without the sea" used less wood and sold more cheaply.