Puzzle

Object NamePuzzle

MediumCardboard

Dimensions1 1/4 × 2 1/8 in. (3.2 × 5.4 cm)

ClassificationsDolls, Doll Accessories, Toys and Games

Credit LineGift of Mr. & Mrs. John Wessman. In the Farm House Museum Collection, Farm House Museum, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.

Object number77.25.16

Status

On view

Collections

Dolls, Games and Toys

CultureAmerican

Label TextToday, the idea of adding a new state to the country may seem unusual, but for Americans of the Victorian era, it was a familiar aspect of national growth. When the Civil War ended in 1865, the Union counted only 36 states, most of which were located east of the Rocky Mountains. By the end of the Victorian era in the 1910s, all 48 contiguous states had been admitted into the Union. With the admission of New Mexico and Arizona in 1912, Americans could finally study a static map of the mainland United States. This cardboard puzzle, produced by Parker Brothers in the late Victorian era, reflects the excitement of a nation concluding its era of continental expansion, decades before Alaska and Hawaii’s admission into the Union in 1959. https://www.sos.arkansas.gov/education/arkansas-history/history-of-the-flag/order-of-states-admission

Locations