BRYAN, Ohio — The Ohio company that has produced or owned the Etch A Sketch for more than five decades has sold the classic toy to a Toronto-based toy firm.

Bryan-based Ohio Art Co. made the surprise move to sell the Etch A Sketch and its spinoff, the Doodle Sketch, to Spin Master Corp. for an undisclosed price. Ohio Art announced the sale Thursday.

“I think it’s such an icon, it’s a part of our everyday life here,” Martin Killgallon, Ohio Art’s president, told The Blade in Toledo. “It’ll be bittersweet, but we had to look at the long-term future of the business.”

The company said the move leaves it with more capital to focus on metal lithography, the craft on which it was founded over a century ago.

“Ohio Art is squarely focused on continuing to build its reputation as one of the premier metal lithographers in North America,” CEO Elena West said.

The Etch A Sketch was created by a French inventor in 1955. The brand has been produced or owned by Ohio Art since 1960, when it bought the rights for $25,000 after executives saw it at a toy fair in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1959.

Production of Etch A Sketch and its spinoff was moved to China more than 15 years ago.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.