Cassagnes was born outside Paris, France, on September 23, 1926. [1] His parents owned and operated a bakery, where he worked as a teenager. [1] An allergy to flour forced him to seek another line of work, [2] and he became an electrician for the Lincrusta Company, a French manufacturer which produced picture frame covers using an aluminum powder. [1] The toy was originally marketed as the “Télécran" in France, but was later called the “L’Ecran Magique,” or Magic Screen. It was eventually re-named the Etch A Sketch by the Ohio Art Company. 6. IT WORKS AS A PLOTTER.

The Etch A Sketch toy was invented in the late 1950s by André Cassagnes, [1] [5] [6] an electrician with Lincrusta Co, who named the toy L'Écran Magique (The Magic Screen). [2] In 1959, he took his drawing toy to the International Toy Fair in Nuremberg, Germany. The Ohio Art Company saw it but had no interest in the toy. When Ohio Art saw the toy a second time, they decided to take a chance on the product. L'Écran Magique was soon renamed the Etch A Sketch and became the most popular drawing toy in the business. After a complex series of negotiations, the Ohio Art Company launched the toy in the United States in time for the 1960 Christmas season with the name "Etch A Sketch". Ohio Art supported the toy with a televised advertising campaign. [7]Jeff’s Etch-A-Sketch Art has been displayed at the Denver Art Museum and the Berkshire Museum in Massachusetts, as well as galleries around the country. He’s been a guest on numerous ABC and NBC news shows including Good Morning America, and his Etch-A-Sketch work has appeared in many publications including People Magazine, The USA Today, Omni Magazine and Ripley’s Believe It Or Not. He lives with his wife Nanci near Boulder, Colorado. I’m no Jamie Hyneman, and my girlfriend won’t let me play with explosives in the house (this is, I suppose, her only flaw), so I can’t test this out myself, but it seems pretty straightforward and plausible. And that’s part of the fun, isn’t it? Not knowing how it works? The idea – in a young, fertile imagination – that it might actually be magic? If you prefer to think of it that way, I can’t blame you, but you should stop reading, because here’s what’s going on under the screen: O'Reilly, Terry (27 April 2013). "Brand Envy". CBC Radio One: Under the Influence . Retrieved 28 April 2013.

This happened in New York at Rochester’s The Strong, which is a collections-based and interactive educational institution. It was also listed in the Century of Toys List by the Toy Association in 2003. There is no denying that this is a toy that has had a massive impression and will go down in history as one of the most memorable and successful toys of the 20th century. There have been more than 100 million units of this toy sold around the globe. Pretty impressive, right? Some of the image captions in this section may require cleanup to comply with Wikipedia guidelinesfor succinctness. Please improve this article if you can. ( June 2023) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) The Etch A Sketch was showcased at the 1959 Nuremberg Toy Fair, but toy companies didn’t want to pay a steep fee for the rights. Eventually, Ohio Art—who is said to have also passed on the Etch A Sketch—reconsidered and acquired the invention. 5. IT ALSO HAD A DIFFERENT NAME. The toy initially used a plate-glass screen but was replaced with plastic for safety reasons. In 1995, the Etch A Sketch toy featured in the 1995 Pixar animated film “Toy Story.” It had a 12-second feature that was enough to give a significant sales boost. The production line had to work overtime to meet the demand. Wee, Heesun (22 February 2013). "Etch A Sketch's Incredible Toy Legacy – And Burden". CNBC . Retrieved 9 May 2019.As touched upon earlier, there have been a number of different improvements and changes made to the Etch a Sketch over the years. For example, one of the most significant was the introduction of the Color Etch a Sketch in 1993. Originally, the toy used a plate glass screen, which was criticized by safety advocates for being easily broken and a danger to children. [8] In November 1970, Consumers Union filed a petition with the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, asking for emergency action under the 1969 Child Protection and Toy Safety Act. [9] The Food and Drug Administration responded that the toy had been redesigned, replacing the glass plate with plastic. [10]

Fuels commonly used in thermite include powdered aluminum, magnesium, calcium and boron. Common oxidizers are boron(III) oxide, silicon(IV) oxide, manganese(IV) oxide and iron(III) oxide. This was present in Cassagnes’s original designs. He later re-designed the toy to have two knobs. 4. TOY MANUFACTURERS ORIGINALLY REJECTED THE ETCH A SKETCH. ANDRÉ CASSAGNES, CREATOR OF ETCH A SKETCH, DIES AT THE AGE OF 86". Toy Industry Association, Inc. 25 January 2013. Archived from the original on 8 November 2013 . Retrieved 24 January 2018.Thank you everyone: Hunter, officialfuel, RonM, AuntieQ18 and Zatsoc. I appreciate you all looking, loving and liking. Lao Although the Etch A Sketch’s inner workings might seem like a mystery, they’re actually pretty straightforward. The inside of the toy’s glass screen is covered with aluminum powder, which has tiny beads mixed in to keep it from clumping. A stylus is connected to a pulley system, which, in turn, is attached to the horizontal and vertical metal rods. These rods are affixed to two knobs. When you move the knobs, the stylus is dragged through the powder, creating a line. Not happy with your drawing? All you have to do is shake the toy, and the aluminum powder will re-coat the screen and erase the markings. 7. IT FOUND A MARKET VIA TELEVISION. I hope they (Ohio Art) sent you a letter you can use to prove what you're saying, that would make this unique. I think I would ask them for that sort of letter for your own use..maybe notarized ? sewingfool - duly noted. In my excitement to share my old toy I misused the word, as apparently did Ohio Arts. Thank you for your comment. L.a.o.