Hard red case, silver screen, and two twisty knobs on the bottom. Just about any adult can tell you that from that brief description, you are describing an Etch A Sketch. I remember sitting on the ground at my grandparents' house trying to remove all the silver powder from the Etch A Sketch screen so I could see what was inside making the little pointer move around. Unfortunately, I never had enough patience when I was younger to actually finish the job. Or one of my brothers would come by and grab the Etch A Sketch and shake it and ruin my grand plan.
64 years ago today the Etch A Sketch was sold for the first time in stores for the price of $2.99. In today's money that would be about $31.73. It was created in the late 50s by a French electrician named André Cassagnes. He had originally named the toy L'Écran Magique (The Magic Screen). In 1959 Andre took his drawing toy to the International Toy Fair in Nuremberg, Germany. Many manufacturers had looked over the toy saying that Andre wanted too much money for it. The Ohio Arts company took a second look at the toy and offered $25000 for the license. This was more than Andre was asking for originally. Later that same year Ohio Arts renamed the toy "Etch A Sketch" and began mass producing it. They began an aggressive ad campaign that made the Etch A Sketch the toy to have for Christmas in 1960.
Changing technologies and consumer preferences have led to numerous innovations and variations of Etch A Sketch. The Etch A Sketch Animator features a 4030 dot matrix display and the ability to make drawings. The Animator 2000 offered even more advanced features that included a larger screen and a touchpad. This made it look more like a portable entertainment system than a traditional Etch A Sketch. In 1993, Ohio Art launched the Etch A Sketch Color, which added six colors to the two-knob interface, allowing users to create more vibrant drawings. The company tried out different sizes, including travel-sized and miniature versions, and even introduced glow-in-the-dark models.
Etch A Sketch has become a cultural icon because of its simplicity and versatility. The post-war era embodied a "let's-start-over" mentality, and this innovative design allowed users to create intricate drawings, which could be easily erased and started again. The toy's popularity increased again after it was featured in the 1995 Disney/Pixar film "Toy Story". Overtime production was needed to meet the increased demand after this 12-second appearance. In 1999 it was included in the sequel, "Toy Story 2," which increased sales by 20%.
In 1998 Etch A Sketch was inducted to The Strong’s National Toy Hall of Fame. And in 2011 Time Magazine named Etch A Sketch in its “All-Time 100 Greatest Toys” list. Etch A Sketch was manufactured in Bryan, Ohio, US until the company moved the manufacturing plant to Shenzhen, China in 2001. In February 2016, Spin Master Corporation, a Toronto-based toy company, acquired the rights to the Etch A Sketch name and design. This acquisition marked a new chapter in the toy's history, as Spin Master aimed to revitalize the brand with new product launches and marketing strategies. That same year, Spin Master achieved a Guinness World Record title for the most amount of people drawing on an Etch A Sketch globally at the same time.
On the 60th anniversary of Etch A Sketch, Spin Master introduced two new variations: The Etch A Sketch Freestyle and the Etch A Sketch Joystick. The Freestyle model featured a flexible LCD screen and a stylus, while the Joystick version allowed for more precise control with a joystick and buttons. These modern takes on the classic toy aim to attract a new generation of users while retaining the charm and simplicity that made Etch A Sketch a beloved icon.
Mike Check is the library's technologist and focuses on providing support and technology services. He enjoys traveling with his family and has been to many exciting places around the globe.