Jumbo

Our story starts in 1853 with a commercial traveller, Englebert Hausemann, who moved from Germany to Amsterdam, and established a large department store which sold absolutely everything. In 1860, Wilhelm Hotte arrived and they began trading as Hausemann & Hotte. In 1930, they started to make wooden toys that had to be of sufficient quality that a wooden elephant could stand on them. These toys were sold under the name Jumbo. This was the birth of the elephant brand, the elephant being a symbol of strength. In 1950, Hausemann & Hotte began producing top quality games (instead of importing them) and three years later were awarded the “By Royal Appointment” label by the Mayor of Amsterdam. In 1958, Jumbo started to produce and trade in puzzles. The first series had just fifty large pieces and was created especially for children. In 1980, Jan Van Haasteren started drawing puzzles for Jumbo. His cartoon style was perfect for puzzles and now 40% of all Jumbo puzzles made by Jumbo are Van Haasteren puzzles! Nowadays, the name Jumbo is recognised for high quality, traditional games and puzzles that are as popular today as ever.