Dogs | Cavallini Papers & Co. 1,000-Piece Jigsaw Puzzle Review

There is something about the round tube containers of the Cavallini Papers & Co. puzzles that always draws me in when I find them in a store. Coupled with the gorgeous vintage artwork, I almost always stop and look at them when I come across them. I’ve purchased three Cavallini puzzles and, until this week, had yet to do any of them. 😅 One of them is more of a winter scene, so I’m waiting until later in the year to take it on. The second is certainly a summer-themed puzzle, and I’m likely to work on it in the next few weeks. The final Cavallini puzzle I own is the one in this week’s video. It is simply called ‘Dogs’ and features a patchwork of different dog-themed vintage artwork. I found this puzzle last week at my local library’s monthly sale and immediately wanted to put it together.

If you are unfamiliar with it, Cavallini Papers & Co. was founded in 1989 in the Wharf District of San Francisco. They create high-end gift and stationery items using vintage art sourced from around the world. Cavallini takes the artwork they find and carefully curates new designs by combining different elements into beautiful gift items. They have a large range of beautiful puzzles, but also aprons, tea towels, calendars, notebooks, and journals, to name a few.

The puzzle itself comes in the iconic tube-shaped box. The different art elements have been rearranged to wrap fully around the box in a tasteful design, with a small full-size image of the puzzle art and details about piece count, size, and contents description on the back. The packaging is unique compared to other puzzle packaging on the market and looks quite lovely. The round design is perhaps not the most space-saving, but the attractive quality makes up for it. Each puzzle in their collection has a lid that is color-coordinated with the puzzle design, and they look quite striking together on the shelf. The unique puzzle box is not the only interesting thing about the packaging. The puzzle also comes in a drawstring muslin bag and includes a small printout of the puzzle design. While it’s nice to have a reference with the exact design on it, as the image on the package is usually redesigned or cropped, the print is small and would be more useful if it were a tad bit larger. The entire puzzle is plastic-free, which is a plus. I was initially worried that the puzzle would be hard to put away with the muslin bag, but if you place the bag into the tube before adding the pieces and shake occasionally to settle the pieces, it was actually a very smooth reboxing procedure.

Quality-wise, the puzzle doesn’t quite hold up to the $24.99 average starting price for a 1,000-piece puzzle. Each design I’ve seen from the brand has been lovely. The artwork is gorgeous, and their designers do a beautiful job combining the different art elements, and their packaging is top-notch. However, the puzzle quality is just lacking a little. The pieces are paper-backed and have a standard ribbon cut with just two inner and two outer prongs. The finish is smooth but not glossy, which is nice if you have overhead lighting as there isn’t too much of a glare. The pieces are on the smaller side and, as it’s a paper-backed puzzle, are on the thinner side, which is to be expected given the material. You could move sections around but would likely lose a few pieces in the process. The pieces remind me quite a bit of the same quality as a Galison puzzle, which has an average price of around $16.99 for their 1,000-piece puzzles. If you’ve read my previous reviews, you’ll know that I quite like Galison puzzles, but that’s balanced with the lower cost. In my opinion, a $17 price is much more in line with the quality of the puzzle you receive here. You’re really paying $8 more for a nicer package and drawstring bag; the actual puzzle experience is about the same. It’s a lovely package, but something to keep in mind if budget is an issue for you.

The build for this puzzle was delightful. The color block layout of the different pieces of art meant that you were putting together 35+ mini puzzles that combined into one. It was relatively easy to sort out multiple different sections based on the different colors and textures in each image, making piecing them together quite satisfying and quick. I think this puzzle came together in a very languid 4 hours of puzzling for me, and I deliberately do not try to puzzle quickly. The most challenging part of the entire puzzle was the edge due to the solid color nature of several of the backgrounds of the art and the piece cut. Because this puzzle had a non-varied ribbon cut (each piece had only two inner prongs and two outer prongs), there were several false fits. Mostly on the edge where there was less detail and more solid color areas. Despite the false fits, it really wasn’t too challenging and just required some extra attention to detail.

The vintage dog artwork on this puzzle is really quite beautiful. I loved the different illustration styles they chose, and I’m impressed by how well they made the different pieces work together. All of the different sections flowed beautifully together, with none of them standing out too much and instead complementing the artwork next to it. The gorgeous final image is a testament to how good the Cavallini design team is. The repeating color scheme across the different pieces looks natural, and the entire combined image works as a whole. I was a little surprised at just how pretty this puzzle looked when I finished it.

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room: the art source and the lack of transparency about who the artists are. Cavallini sources vintage artwork, architectural drawings and charts, botanical prints, and bookplates, and stores all of it in their “Cavallini Archive.” They have artwork dating back to the 16th century, so the artists of these illustrations and drawings have long been deceased, and to be honest, it’s possible a lot of the illustrations are by unknown artists to begin with. I have an issue with their lack of effort to credit the artists and simply credit the images as taken from their “Archive” as though that is credit enough. They clearly have an incredible team who find the artwork and combine it. I just wish the company acknowledged their sources and made an effort to inform their customers about who made the art or what it was originally used for. To me, even though it’s lovely that they are bringing this forgotten art into the public eye again, they are just profiting off of the talents of people long gone. Not having to pay a royalty or licensing fee is a nice business model, but it feels a little cash-grabby to me given the complete lack of acknowledgment of the original artists. They are certainly not the only company out there that uses vintage art in this manner. You can access a huge trove of beautiful free-use artwork from the Library of Congress and other sources. It just felt like something that should at least be considered and talked about when discussing the brand.

Overall, Cavallini Papers & Co. offers a visually stunning puzzle experience, albeit at a higher price point for the quality. While the artwork and packaging are impressive, the actual puzzle pieces could be improved. If you appreciate beautiful designs and unique packaging, you might find these puzzles worth the investment. However, if you’re primarily looking for high-quality puzzle pieces, you might want to explore other options. Regardless, the joy of putting together a Cavallini puzzle is undeniable, and it’s a wonderful way to enjoy vintage art in a new form.