I was lucky enough to be given a jigsaw for my birthday, and it was quite a surprise because I’ve not had one since I was a child. When we’re on the family holiday, one cousin always brings a big and challenging puzzle and although she’s doing it, some of us can’t help but be drawn to it and look for pieces to fit somewhere.
When we were children we had quite a few jigsaws which we would do again and again – and I still have a couple of them, I don’t know why I hung onto them. We had them from being quite young, starting with six pieces when we were very small. I remember one we had which was two-sided, there was a picture on the front, and times-tables on the back! It became a tradition that my sister and I would do them without a picture – an extra challenge for us! Of course as they had more pieces it became almost impossible – for me, but my sister had a great eye for shape and she continued doing them face down as well as face up. I’m sure jigsaws teach so many skills, observation, memory, persistence, dexterity – and probably more which I can’t call to mind now!
Jigsaw puzzles have been around since the 1700’s, but as with many things, technology has improved the manufacture of them. They were originally wood, but then were made of cardboard with a paper image stuck on – before it was cut into pieces by a jigsaw of course! There are varying sizes because adults as well as children enjoy them – it’s practical to have smaller puzzlers, but addicts like my cousin have them up to 5,000 pieces! There are many different types of image used as the picture on each puzzle, for younger people there are usually characters and often animals, and sometimes scenes from children’s stories. For adults the type of picture varies enormously from street scenes, famous paintings, countryside, you name it and there’s probably a jigsaw with an illustration on. You can also have your own photos made into a jigsaw although it is quite expensive!
I’m looking forward to doing my birthday jigsaw – and will I follow my sister’s example and eschew the picture on the front of the box? I doubt it!!
My featured image taken in Tasmania would make a wonderful but tricky jigsaw, as would this one:
The view from the gateway of Boa Vista – the old structure now demolished and a school built in its place, where my great-grandfather was born in 1845.
Lois Elsden 