André Cassagnes

Who was André Cassagnes?

André Cassagnes was a French inventor, electrical technician, toymaker, and kite designer. Cassagnes is best known as the inventor of the Etch A Sketch, a popular mechanical drawing toy manufactured by the Ohio Art Company.

Cassagnes was born outside of Paris, France, on September 23, 1926. His parents owned and operated a bakery, where he worked as a teenager. An allergy to flour forced him to seek another line of work, and he became an electrician for the Lincrusta Company, a French manufacturer which produced picture frame covers using an aluminum powder.

In one instance, Cassagnes was performing a routine installation of a factory light switch plate. The plate was wrapped in a translucent decal covering. During the installation, Cassagnes removed the decal and wrote on it with a pencil. He quickly noticed that image transferred to the opposite face of the decal. Cassagnes tinkered with his discovery, which led to the world's first prototype of the Etch A Sketch. He called his invention L'Ecran Magique, which is translated as "the Magic Screen." The toy was first unveiled in 1959 at the Nuremberg Toy Fair in Nuremberg, West Germany. Cassagnes later partnered with the American manufacturer Ohio Art Company to further develop the Etch a Sketch into its familiar form. The Ohio Art Company launched the Etch a Sketch in the United States during the 1960 holiday season.