John Spilsbury of London created the first jig-saw puzzle in about 1760 which, alongside chess, cards and crosswords, must rank as one of the great indoor leisure activities. This book chronicles the many significant and exciting developments in jig-saw puzzle production during the 20th century and is a sequel to Linda Hannas' book The English Jig-Saw Puzzle 1760-1890.British Jig-Saw Puzzles of the 20th Century gives histories of the key jig-saw puzzle companies and their products; charts the progress in the reproduction of pictures from the early use of hand-colored stencils to today's digital cameras and computer-controlled printers; and describes the revolution in manufacturing technology which is now able to produce a 1000-piece jig-saw puzzle in a matter of seconds.The book describes the frantic craze for jigsaw puzzles during the 1920s and 1930s. The dawn of the television era in the 1950s and 1960s led to a decline in popularity but the 1970s and 1980s saw a resurgence in interest, and puzzles continue to provide an ideal opportunity for collectors. Many older jigsaw puzzles have been rescued and restored and now form part of highly prized collections. Jig-saw puzzles now have their place on the internet and computer jig-saw puzzles are increasing in number.