Significant dates in the toy's history
1955 — French electrician Andre Cassagnes comes up with idea for Etch A Sketch, a toy he calls Telecran.
1959 — Telecran investors take it to a toy fair in Nuremberg, Germany, where Ohio Art Co. buys the rights to the toy for $25,000.
1960 — Etch A Sketch goes into production at Ohio Art's factory in Bryan and becomes the No. 1-selling toy that Christmas.
1970 — Etch A Sketch is offered in pink and blue frames.
1978 — Etch A Sketch Club is formed, averaging 2,000 members.
1986 — Etch A Sketch Animator, an electronic version capable of storing 12 frames
of pictures, is introduced.
1992 — Pocket Etch A Sketch and Travel Etch A Sketch models make their debut.
1993 — Color Etch A Sketch, which can draw in six colors and produce printouts, goes on the market.
1995 — Sales skyrocket and Ohio Art's stock price soars as Etch A Sketch has a prominent cameo role in Disney's Toy Story animated movie.
1998 — National Toy Hall of Fame is established in Salem, Ore., and Etch A Sketch is among 17 original inductees.
1999 — Etch A Sketch appears in the sequel Toy Story 2, but sales increase only minimally.
2000 — Production of Etch A Sketch is moved to China.
2003 — The Toy Industry Association names Etch A Sketch to its Century of Toys list.
2004 — Etch A Sketch ETO, an electronic version that lets a TV set become the drawing screen, makes its debut.
2005 — An Etch A Sketch game for cell phones in Europe is introduced.
2009 — Etch A Sketch Freestyle makes its debut with features to let users easily draw curves and loops. A Magic Pad version with a pen to erase or add lines is introduced.
2010 — The toy is 50 years old. A limited Classic Etch A Sketch Signature edition autographed by inventor Andre Cassagnes is released.
First Published June 13, 2010, 12:07 p.m.
