With National Puzzle Day coming up, learn about the history of jigsaw puzzles and how brands can advertise with customized puzzle sets!
Putting together a puzzle can be an entertaining and calming indoor activity for individuals, children, couples, and families. This hobby reemerged for many in 2020, during the COVID-19 lockdown, but it has, in fact, been around since the 1700s.
According to the Los Angeles Public Library, a cartographer named John Spilsbury first created a puzzle in 1760; he took one of his maps, glued it to a piece of wood, and cut each country into a separate piece.
In the beginning, puzzle pieces were handcrafted out of wood, so this pastime was usually reserved for the wealthy. Fast forward to the Great Depression in 1933, though, and by that time, 10 million puzzles were being made each week, with people renting them for a nickel a night!
As mentioned, being inside during the pandemic led to another boom in puzzle sales, with well-known brand Ravensburger selling more than 28 million puzzles in 2020, for example. This hobby is also seen on YouTube channels like Karen Puzzles, Instagram accounts like puzzledabouteverything, and TikToks by puzzlesbynathan, drawing in more and more puzzlers.
With National Puzzle Day coming up on January 29, we wanted to show off a few custom puzzles that can be used to market businesses. Instead of the design showing a landscape, an animal, or a movie character, it can feature a company’s logo, a business’ name, or an association’s tagline.
5" x 7" 9-Piece Rectangular Puzzle
8.5" x 11" 35-Piece Rectangular Puzzle
11" x 17" 35-Piece Rectangular Puzzle
5-Piece Carbon Fiber-Texture Puzzle
Keep browsing our site for more custom promotional products…all made right here in the U.S.A.!