Stair na bPuzal

Chomh luath le 1760, bhí an cineál siamsaíochta tóir agus tairbheach seo le feiceáil beagnach go comhuaineach sa Fhrainc agus sa Bhreatain. Gliú pictiúr de chairtchlár agus gearr ina phíosaí beaga neamhrialta é. Ar dtús bhí na pictiúir oideachais, le téacsanna gearra a d'oirfeadh do dhaoine óga a léamh, nó le stair nó tíreolaíocht a mhúineadh don bhourgeoisie a bhí ag teacht chun cinn.

In 1762, during the reign of Louis XV in France, a salesman named Dima began to sell map puzzles with small success. This kind of map puzzle, which requires rearranging the pieces, is a very elegant recreation. That same year, in London, a printer named John Spearsbury came up with a similar idea, inventing the enduring puzzle. With the utmost ingenuity, he glued a map of England to the back of a thin dining table, then cut the map precisely into small pieces along the edges of the counties. The idea could lead to huge fortunes, but poor Spearsbury didn't get it, he lived to be 29 years old and didn't see the huge success of jigsaw puzzles. The real significance of his success was that he opened two important markets for his inventions: the burgeoning middle-class consumers hungry for knowledge and status, and the harsh British schools of his time.

Mhair Spearsbury in am nuair a bhí an cumas léarscáileanna a léamh ina shiombail d’fhear uasal. Tá buaic-imeacht na Camchuairte Móire, imeacht ollmhór a thugann mionsonraí ar an Eoraip ar fad, curtha faoi bhrón na míreanna mearaí. Ón dearcadh seo, úsáidtear míreanna mearaí chun staidéar dáiríre a dhéanamh ar thíreolaíocht na hEorpa ar fad - tíortha, príomhoidí, contaetha, cathracha, bailte, aibhneacha agus mar sin de. Bhí sé chomh bródúil as léarscáileanna a bheith ar an eolas faoin am sin agus do leathanach baile féin a bheith agat anois.

Of course, not everyone is adamant about puzzles. Contrarians and social critics alike mock the rich for being boring enough to do nothing but spread a pile of cardboard scraps on the table. More than a decade later, puzzle makers began to incorporate historical themes into their puzzles. In 1787, an Englishman named William Dutton made a jigsaw puzzle of portraits of the kings of England, from William the Conqueror to George III. Education and memory are also part of the entertainment, because to successfully arrange all the pieces, you must know the correct order of these kings. However, at that time, jigsaw puzzles were only a game of rich people, and they were not yet popular. Hand-painting, hand-coloring, hand-cutting make puzzles very expensive, equivalent to a month's salary for an average worker.

1789 saw the French Revolution usher in modern Europe, and saw the birth of the modern puzzle in the hands of John Wallis. This imaginative Briton invented brightly colored landscape puzzles. New puzzles require more focus and patience to put together. The new puzzle heralds the end of the era of exquisitely crafted, but expensive, Spearsbury puzzles. Wallis' reproduction techniques soon made his new puzzle a model for a developing trade based on his original printing plate.

Faoi thús an 19ú haois, thug teicnící tionsclaíocha nua le haghaidh olltáirgeadh foirm chinnte do phuzail. Is éard a bhí i gceist le puzzles toirtiúla agus toirtiúla roimhe seo socruithe le himill mhíne de phíosaí a d'fhéadfaí a bhaint as an gcreathadh is lú. Timpeall na bliana 1840, ghearr lucht déanta puzal Gearmánach agus Francach píosaí puzail le hinnill snapping comhghlasa, foirm a raibh aithne ag lucht leanúna na bpuzal uirthi sa lá atá inniu ann. Chuir siad bog-adhmaid, sraithadhmad agus cairtchlár in ionad veinírí crua-adhmaid, rud a laghdaigh costais go mór. Ar deireadh, ghlac tomhaltóirí de gach gné den saol leis na míreanna meara ar phraghas íseal, agus níorbh fhada gur chuir siad tús le fuadar i measc leanaí, daoine fásta agus daoine scothaosta.

Puzzles quickly became a well-established, mass-market entertainment product that consumers could buy anywhere. Puzzles are used at this time not only for education and entertainment, but also for commercials and political propaganda. The First World War (1914-1918) is a good example. Inexpensive jigsaw puzzles featuring brave warriors desperately fighting for king and country, were popular on both sides of the war and sold well. Jigsaw puzzles have become a way to get closer to people's inner world, into their homes, and to spread information. Puzzles and newspapers, radio, and soon the first generation of television became a simple and direct form of mass media. Should people be encouraged to travel by train? Many puzzles showing majestic trains and happy tourists appeared. Every new invention and trend—steamboats, planes, automobiles, and the latest and most daring women's swimsuits—has appeared on the puzzle.

Tar éis na géarchéime eacnamaíche domhanda i 1929, ba é an Spealadh Mór a scuabadh i Meiriceá Thuaidh an buaicthréimhse ina raibh tóir gan teip ar míreanna mearaí. Téigh síos go dtí an seastán nuachta is gaire duit le haghaidh 25 cent le haghaidh puzal 300-píosa, agus is féidir leat dearmad a dhéanamh ar do shaol crua agus brionglóidí a dhéanamh maidir le lá sona a chur le chéile. Tá daoine saibhre agus cáiliúla ag baint leasa as an bhfuadar seo freisin. I Nua-Eabhrac, rinne beirt as-díoltóirí oibre, John Henry agus Frank Ware, fortún le bundearthaí puzal Spearsbury. Cad é an rún atá acu? Atáirgeadh ardchaighdeáin de splints den scoth. Bhunaigh Henry agus Ware naisc go luath leis na Astors, na Vanderbilts, Bing Crosby agus Marilyn Monroe, agus bhí borradh faoin ngnó.