About Us

Liberty Puzzles are a throwback to the golden age of jigsaw puzzles. Each one contains dozens of hand-drawn “whimsy” pieces intricately cut into the shapes of characters, animals, and geometric designs. They are works of art within art. The puzzles are made with 1/4” plywood and use advance print technology for eye-popping color. We offer over 650 different puzzles on this website, and we add new items year round.

Liberty Puzzles are manufactured in Boulder, Colorado, USA.

What is a Whimsy Piece?

Whimsy pieces are cut in the shapes of recognizable objects, such as characters, animals, or complex geometric shapes. All of our puzzles contain as many whimsy pieces as we can fit, usually comprising 15-20% of the total. That's a lot of whimsy pieces! Oftentimes the whimsy pieces are carefully designed and crafted to match the theme of each puzzle image. Sometimes whimsy pieces are located near each other as part of a group of characters (interrelating whimsy pieces) or are made up of several interlocking pieces (complex whimsy pieces).

Our whimsy pieces and puzzle cut patterns are all hand-drawn by our designer here in Boulder.

Wooden Puzzles and Jigsaw Puzzle History

The golden age of jigsaw puzzles was approximately the 1930s. This was before the advent of die-cut (stamped) cardboard puzzles. Most puzzles were made of wood, and hand-cut using a scroll saw. Usually, the wood was approximately ¼” thick. With the end of the Roaring Twenties and the onset of the Great Depression, people were looking for cheap alternatives for entertainment. A jigsaw puzzle craze exploded worldwide. Numerous companies sprang up to meet the demand. Calvin Coolidge, King George V, and Benito Mussolini were all avid puzzlers. By the early 40s and the advent of World War II, the craze had died down and die-cut puzzles were now hitting the market. The art and popularity of the hand-cut puzzle subsequently waned significantly. Liberty Puzzles are a throwback to the golden age of jigsaw puzzles!

Jigsaw puzzle collectors prize old wooden jigsaw puzzles for their intricacy, craftsmanship, and the “heft” of the pieces. For the serious jigsaw puzzler, there is nothing quite as satisfying as plunking a wooden piece into place.

A Note About Puzzle Images on the Box

Traditionally, jigsaw puzzles came without a picture of the puzzle image on the box. Most simply had a title to tease the puzzler about what the image could possibly be. The image then unfolded as the puzzle was put together, creating greater satisfaction with the finished challenge.

In the spirit of old jigsaw puzzles, we encourage you not to look at the box image when assembling our puzzles! In fact, if you so request we will ship your puzzle without an image on the box. Instead we’ll provide just a title and artist information, as well as the puzzle dimensions. Additionally, if you join one of our puzzle clubs where we ship you puzzles on a periodic basis, you have the option of choosing not to receive the images on the box.

Puzzle Care

If properly cared for, your puzzle will last for many years. Please use common sense. Keep your puzzle dry. Be careful when disassembling the pieces. Our whimsy pieces are intricate and can be fragile. If you have a broken or peeling piece, a bit of Elmer’s paper glue or any kind of wood glue should do the trick. Any “smoke” smell from the manufacturing process should dissipate quickly once the box is opened and the pieces air out. If you have questions or comments or issues, please contact us. We love hearing from our customers!

Thank You

Thank you for your interest in Liberty Puzzles. Our puzzles are designed to deliver hours of non-digital entertainment, as a social experience for friends and family to spend quality time together. It's the perfect group activity. So do what we always recommend: Sit Long, Talk Much. And turn off that screen!

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