Jigsaw puzzle:The Monarch (homemade Pit)

The origins of jigsaw puzzles go back to the 1760s when European map makers pasted maps onto wood and cut them into small pieces. Puzzles for adults emerged around 1900, and by 1908 a full-blown craze was in progress in the United States. In 1909, Parker Brothers devoted its entire factory to puzzle production. Following this craze, puzzles continued as a regular adult diversion for the next two decades. With the onset of the Great Depression in 1929, puzzles for adults enjoyed a resurgence of popularity, peaking in early 1933 when sales reached an astounding 10 million per week. Puzzles seemed to touch a chord, offering an escape from the troubled times, as well as an opportunity to succeed in a modest way. Around this same period, cardboard became the material of choice and die-cut puzzles for adults enjoyed another surge of popularity. These pastimes, created for and enjoyed by children and adults alike, have remained popular ever since.
George Parker had another success with his invention of the card game Pit. Next to Parker's most successful card game Rook, Pit sold briskly after its introduction in 1904 and has sold briskly ever since. Pit was the first card game where all players play at once, trying to "corner the market" on a specific commodity, marked as suits on the cards. Some editions feature bull and bear cards which alter card values and make the game even more fun. The play can become raucous as players cry out the number of the cards they seek. Because of the luck element even new players may corner a market and win over experienced players.