The Tangram Puzzle was invented in China in the late 18th or early 19th Century.
In 1817 it started to sweep the world as the first "Puzzle Craze".
According to research by Jerry Slocum and others in "The Tangram Book", the set illustrated here is the earliest non-Chinese Tangram Puzzle. Published by J.Leuchars of London, it was registered on 3rd February 1817 and first advertised on 19th March 1817.
At the time of preparing this page, this set from The Puzzle Museum's collection is also the only known example of a complete set by Leuchars.
The mahogany box measures 124 x 82 x 30 mm (5 x 3 x 1.25 inches) and contains 16 hand coloured problem cards, a key sheet, and a set of ebony tangrams. The label has the price 6s.6d. for the coloured set (Equivalent of about £25 ($40.00) in today's money).