Ohio inventions and firsts · Company innovation · 1960
Etch A Sketch
Ohio Art of Bryan introduced André Cassagnes' drawing toy in the U.S. in 1960 at $2.99, selling 600,000 the first year; production moved to China around 2001.
At a glance
- Year
- 1960
- Company
- Ohio Art
- Place
- Bryan, Williams County ZIP 43506 · Bryan · Williams County
The story
A French electrician, Andre Cassagnes, invented a drawing toy in the late 1950s and called it L'Ecran Magique, the magic screen. He showed it at the 1959 International Toy Fair in Nuremberg, where the Ohio Art Company of Bryan, Ohio acquired the rights.
Ohio Art put it on American shelves in 1960 for $2.99, in time for Christmas. That year 600,000 sold. The toy has since moved over 100 million units worldwide.
It works with aluminum powder coating the inside of the glass screen. Two knobs move a stylus, the left one side to side and the right one up and down. Shaking the toy puts the powder back and erases the picture.
For decades the toy was made in Bryan. Ohio Art moved production to Shenzhen, China, in 2001, and in February 2016 Spin Master of Toronto bought the brand. Etch A Sketch entered the National Toy Hall of Fame in 1998, and its appearance in the Toy Story films boosted sales.
Timeline
- 1959: Cassagnes shows L'Ecran Magique at the Nuremberg Toy Fair; Ohio Art acquires the rights. (Nuremberg, Germany) source
- 1960: Etch A Sketch goes on sale in the U.S. for $2.99; 600,000 sell that year. (Bryan, OH) source
- 1998: Etch A Sketch enters the National Toy Hall of Fame. source
- 2001: Ohio Art moves production from Bryan to Shenzhen, China. (Bryan, OH) source
- 2016-02: Spin Master of Toronto acquires the brand. (Toronto, Canada) source
What it changed
- 600,000 sold in the first year, over 100 million since.
- Production in Bryan, Ohio for more than 40 years.
Why it matters
Classic toy.
Further reading
Sources
Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.