Etch A Sketch

Etch A Sketch

First introduced to the retail market in 1960, the Etch A Sketch has been a popular toy ever since. During the 1960s it sold in large numbers and would have been a familiar site in most homes during the Space Race era - with many children drawing rockets and spacecraft on the mechanical drawing toy.

Invented by Frenchman André Cassagnes, it was first presented at a German toy fair in 1959. Cassagnes stumbled upon his invention whilst working as an electrician and making a chance discovery whilst fitting a light switch plate. Cassagnes began working with the Ohio Art Company to bring his invention to the mass market - and the Etch A Sketch was born. For many years the invention of the Etch A Sketch was credited to Arthur Granjean. This came about as Cassagnes could not afford to patent his invention so sought the help of investors. These investors sent Granjean, their treasurer, to file a patent - leading to Granjean's name being incorrectly registered as the inventor.

This Etch A Sketch is an original 1960 model. Many different versions have followed, with most working the same way. Inside the Etch A Sketch an aluminium powder coats the inside of the glass front. A movable stylus, controlled by the two dials on the front, scrapes off the powder leaving a black line on the grey coloured screen. To remove a picture from the screen, the unit is shaken up, causing polystyrene beads inside the Etch A Sketch to move about, in turn recoating the inside of the screen with the aluminium powder.