John Spilsbury (cartographer)

Spilsbury created them for educational purposes, and called them "Dissected Maps".

[4] He served as an apprentice to Thomas Jefferys, the Royal Geographer to King George III.

He affixed a world map to wood and carved each country out to create the first puzzle.

Sensing a business opportunity, he created puzzles on eight themes - the World, Europe, Asia, Africa, America, England and Wales, Ireland, and Scotland.

After his death she ran his business for a period, then married Harry Ashby who had been apprentice to Spilsbury, and who continued to sell puzzles.