Robinson Crusoe and England and Wales dissected puzzle

A double-sided dissected puzzle, with 25 scenes from Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe arranged in five rows of five squares and, on verso, a map of England and Wales dissected along county boundaries.

Robinson Crusoe became a popular story with children soon after it was first published in 1719. Although not specifically written for them, the story had many elements that fascinated children: shipwreck, cannibals, survival and eventual rescue. Adaptations appeared rapidly and the story appeared, severely reduced in length, as a chapbook, an early moveable book and, as here, a dissected puzzle. The story line was borrowed by many other authors who produced classics such as Swiss Family Robinson, Masterman Ready and Coral Island. This type of story became known as Robinsonnades in honour of the original.

Dissected maps (an early form of jigsaw) were developed in the 1760s by John Spilsbury of London. An engraver, map-maker and map-seller, he saw a marketing opportunity by pasting maps onto thin mahogany board and cutting them into pieces for reassembling by children as part of their study of geography. Spilsbury's invention came at an opportune time: new theories of education were being promoted, the Industrial Revolution was producing a newly rich middle class with money to spend on the education of their children, and there was an increasing number of children's book publishers. Other map engravers and publishers followed Spilsbury's path and produced map dissections and games based upon maps. Dissected puzzles and games on other subjects such as history were also published.

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