The Golden Age of puzzle art was a glorious celebration of great art brought home to the kitchen table "Master Pieces" is a rich collection of hundreds of full-color assembled puzzles. Included are artist biographies and a collector's value guide.

Originally created as an educational tool for children in the 1700s, jigsaw puzzles developed into a national craze during the Great Depression. A renowned puzzle expert pieces together the origins of this beloved pastime and examine the minds of such famous puzzlers as Queen Elizabeth II, Bill Gates, and Stephen King. Includes illustrations and photos. 0-425-19820-0$22.95 / Penguin Group

"If your child can use scissors and glue fairly well, then this book will further develop those skills. Use this book to help improve your child's spatial reasoning and fine motor skills while having fun pasting jigsaw puzzles together."--Cover.

Steam Trains and Jigsaw Puzzles strikes most people as an intriguing title. The origin is simple,however my trainspotting youth has been synchronized with a later interest in jigsaw puzzles. The result is expensive I have a collection of over 250 jigsaws depicting British steam railways. The conclusion is impossible there are over 500 steam railway jigsaw puzzles to collect and they are being supplemented annually. The Liverpool & Manchester Railway marked the arrival of the true passenger railway service in 1830 and presented jigsaw manufacturers with another subject on which to focus. Prior to this date the jigsaw experience, started by John Spilsbury in c1760, was restricted to subjects such as religion, geography, history, monarchs, the alphabet and art. Many characteristics combine to form the basis of nostalgic images buried indelibly in the minds of people who travelled in the steam railway age. Manufacturers have not been slow to tap into this nostalgia and produce jigsaws aimed at stirring those memories and inviting people to reflect on past experiences, good, bad or indifferent. Chad Valley, Victory, Good Companion,Falcon, Waddingtons and Arrow are just a few manufacturers who produced steam railway jigsaws in the past. Most of these companies are now a distant memory while others are in foreign ownership. Equally famous names such as Wentworth, Ravensburger (Germany), House of Puzzles, Gibsons, JR Puzzles and King Puzzles (Holland) continue the manufacturing tradition. Output is generally superb thanks to the efforts of fine railway artists such as Terence Cuneo, George Heiron, T. E. North, Don Breckon, John Austin, Barry Freeman and Malcolm Root. The book is aimed at anyone with an interest in jigsaw puzzles and at those enthusiasts and aficionados who refuse to allow those evocative memories of the Golden Age of Steam to die.

Are you already a puzzle fan? Or do you want to find a new hobby? Have you ever wondered how to make your own jigsaw puzzles or simply broaden your puzzling hobby? Then here is a book for you! Whether you are an avid fan or a beginner, this book will equip you with everything you need to know about the much-loved jigsaw puzzle as well as how to make your very own creations. Whilst providing information on the history of puzzles, benefits of puzzles and even some puzzle trivia, this book will also provide you with a step by step guide to enable you to make your own puzzles. This could start with a simple cardboard puzzle cut by hand and lead to higher quality wooden puzzles cut with a craft knife or saw. Your puzzles can be whatever you want them to be and you will no longer be limited to those available in shops. Puzzling can quickly become an expensive hobby and being able to make your own should make it a more affordable one. The first of its type on the market, this book is set to show you everything you need to know and bring you into a whole new world of jigsaw puzzles!

Describes the history of inventions used for amusement, including teddy bears, board games, jigsaw puzzles, and train sets.