Jigsaw puzzle

The jigsaw puzzle first appeared in the US in 1908, but these early puzzles were beyond the means of most average Americans. The puzzle craze grew and finally crested around 1932 and 1933, when cardboard advertising puzzles appeared. Sold with other merchandise as premiums, these playthings for adults appealed to the puzzle-hungry public during the strapped years of the Great Depression. They were made by the thousands.