Enlarge [World War One jigsaw map of Europe, forming a matching pair with an identically designed board game or jigsaw template]
- £sold
- Stock Code: 22455
- Product Archive
- Publisher: Anonymous British Publisher / Maker
- Date: c1915
- Dimensions: 57 x 42.5 x 0.4 cms
Description:
An anonymous & untitled complete British jigsaw map of Europe overprinted with pictorial images of war, c1915
About this piece:
[World War One jigsaw map of Europe, forming a matching pair with an identically designed board game or jigsaw template]
Printed Colours to underlying map with military imagery overprinted on top. A complete jigsaw with all its original pieces and in generally very fine overall condition.
As already noted, the influence and impact of the War was increasingly reflected in the popular culture of the period. It particularly manifested itself in the emergent content & themes of wartime children’s games & jigsaw puzzles. This is one such British map jigsaw, of especially large proportions, possibly dating from 1915 and complete with all its original pieces. Interestingly it forms a matching pair with an identically printed board game or jigsaw template.
The map itself provides a striking perspective on the European War, extending to include Southern & Eastern England and France in the West, Northern Italy, Austria-Hungary & Serbia in the South, and East Prussia, Poland & Russia in the East. What is most unusual is the manner in which the whole map has been overprinted with a remarkable series of action-packed scenes portraying the unfolding events of the War. Giant infantrymen advance into battle against each other with bayonets fixed and with a supporting cast of cavalry, biplanes, howitzers, armoured cars & even a Zeppelin. Dreadnoughts, battleships & U-Boats fill the waters of the North Sea, Baltic & Adriatic. A German battleship is pointedly placed along the line of the Kiel Canal. Neutrals Switzerland and Holland are armed and ready, though both remain seated within the confines of their own territories. By contrast, Italy, a neutral until May 1915, in typical bersaglieri attire, now stands fully armed, rifle pointed towards the Trentino territories of his Austrian neighbour to the North. It is one tentative pointer suggesting that this puzzle may perhaps have been produced after Italy entry into the War in the summer of 1915.
Both pieces are unsigned and lack any other identifying features, making it extremely difficult to determine the exact date, publisher & origins of this extremely rare & unusual pair of British-made map puzzles.