The Etch A Sketch Animator
1986s
Aluminum powder, plastic
Manufactured by Ohio Art Company
Media Archaeology Lab
Label written by Emma Salomon
With its bright colors and playful design, this was a popular child’s toy from the 1980s to the early 2000s. The two dials create mechanical drawings, moving the stylus vertically and horizontally and if dialed at the same time, horizontally. The mechanical drawing works as an updated lithographic art form with the inside screen composition of aluminum powder which a stylus scrapes off, revealing the design. Erasing the drawing simply requires shaking –bringing mass enjoyment to children and allowing for unlimited creations.
It was originally created in the 1950s by André Cassagnes in France named “l’Écran Magique” (Magic Screen). The Ohio Art Company saw the potential of the design and launched it in America in the 1960s to mass success. Children found their opportunities endless in their ability to create crude drawings or spend more time creating virtual masterpieces. Attempting to keep up with the times, in the 1990s and 2000 brought digitization of the tool. However, without the heart of the toy and the joy elicited from the dials, and the unique charm of the “shake” it did not find as much commercial success.
Image:
- Media Archeology lab- https://www.mediaarchaeologylab.com/collection/the-etch-a-sketch-animator-caed904
Citations:
- Communications, Grainger Engineering Office of Marketing and. “Taylor Made: Inner Workings of the Etch a Sketch.” Accessed February 16, 2024. https://mechse.illinois.edu/news/blogs/taylor-made-inner-workings-etch-sketch.https://mechse.illinois.edu/news/blogs/taylor-made-inner-workings-etch-sketch
- “OHIO ART HAS HISTORY | Ohio Art,” July 13, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150713123732/http://www.ohioart.com/history.https://web.archive.org/web/20150713123732/http://www.ohioart.com/history