This is where two of my interests collide. I enjoy putting together puzzles (Springbok ftw!), and puzzles of maps are pretty fun. This one wasn’t very difficult or time consuming, but I found it for a buck (as you can see on the sticker on the box), so why not pick it up and see what it’s like.
I actually didn’t realize until right now, as I write this, that the box map is NOT the puzzle map. The box map is from the 50s (as evidenced by French West Africa)
This puzzle is a Rand McNally Mercator map from the 60s. The cut of the puzzle pieces is interesting, but the die wasn’t in the right place. The continents should have been roughly outlined by the pieces’ edges. They are, but the borders don’t align so well, the cuts are shifted East (to the right). It’s pretty obvious with Mongolia for example; if the cuts were like a quarter inch to the left, it would frame the countries/continents better. That said, it’s a fun quick puzzle.
I can’t tell exactly what year this is from, but…
the presence of the Protectorate of South Arabia suggests that it was between 1963 and 1967.
the presence of Bechuanaland suggests that it was before Botswana’s independence in September, 1966
the presence of Tanzania suggests that it was after the merger of Tanganyika and Zanzibar in April, 1964
the presence of Malawi suggests it was after the formation of their independence in July 1964 (before which it was Nyasaland).
the presence of Zambia suggests it was after the formation of their republic in October 1964.
the presence of Rhodesia as a British protectorate suggests it was before November 1965 (after which it had declared its independence, even though it was an unrecognized state [i.e. maybe the cartographers showed it as British after it had declared independence])
So, this map is from sometime between October 1964 and November 1965. I don’t think I can get too much closer. If you can narrow it down even further, let me know!
Pachyderm Cartography 