Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 25, 1990                   TAG: 9007240163
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: HOLLY SELBY THE BALTIMORE SUN
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Long

ITCHING TO ETCH

That is because the Bethesda, Md., school teacher spends much of his free time whirling, scrolling and drawing black-and-white pictures on an Etch A Sketch.

Etch A Sketch - remember them? Those toys that look like little TV screens, where you turn two knobs and - magic - you are drawing a picture. Remember how hard it is to make a diagonal line come out straight, not squiggly? How impossible it is to draw a circle?

How long have these toys been around, anyway?

Brace yourself, baby boomers. The neat-o toys with the bright red frames are almost as old as you are: This month marks the 30th anniversary of the Etch A Sketch.

In an industry built upon the flitting attention span of children, 30 years is nearly ancient, says W.C. Killgallon, who was national sales manager for Ohio Art when the toy first came on the market. "We never anticipated the long life that it was going to have. It might be once in 10 years that you have a toy that will really last."

But last Etch A Sketch has. Invented in the '50s by a Frenchman, Arthur Grandjean, the "L'Ecran Magique" - as he referred to it - was bought by Ohio Art for $25,000, and went on to become almost as well known as Barbie.

In celebration of the anniversary, a number of museums are hosting Etch A Sketch birthday parties.

Perhaps price is part of the toy's appeal. These days an Etch A Sketch costs about $10, while the original price was a mere $2.99. Or maybe its lasting popularity with kids stems from the mysterious way those little black lines appear, seemingly from nowhere.

(At the risk of ruining the magic, here is what really happens: The back of the glass screen is covered with aluminum powder. The picture is created by a stylus attached to two metal bars - one horizontal and one vertical - that are controlled by nylon strings attached to the knobs. When the stylus rubs against the screen, it removes the aluminum powder from the screen, leaving a black line.)

At any rate, the toy has what those in the industry call "play value," says David Leibowitz, senior vice president at American Securities and an industry analyst. "It's something that we all know when we see it, but we can't define it. And there's a timelessness to it - Etch A Sketch is every bit as good now as it was five years ago."

Since the first one rolled off the assembly line in Byron, Ohio, about 55 million Etch A Sketches have been sold. In 1976, an Etch A Sketch Club was formed and now there are 20,000 members in 25 countries.

For etchers with a penchant for higher technology, there is also a '90s version: Called the Animator 2000, this newest model allows you to create a cartoon by storing pictures on 12 screens 6 1 ETCH Etch to make a computerized picture book.

On Etch A Sketch packages, it is clearly stated that the Etch A Sketches are for children - although to be fair, there is no limit given for the upper end of the age scale. However, an increasing number of adults are picking up Etch A Sketches - and are not putting them back down.

"When my son got one, I started to play with it," says Earle. Now, "after dinner I usually have a cup of coffee and I often sit down with it and do some sketches."

Earle, an elementary school science teacher and father of two, is a member of the Etch A Sketch Club. "I was having so much fun with it that my wife bought me the club membership as a birthday present," he says.

"It could be that adults are having a revisiting of their youth," suggests Martin L. Killgallon II, the president of Ohio Art and the elder Killgallon's son. "Most people who are 35 to 50 were raised with an Etch A Sketch and have some type of talent. But they're discovering that the same thing that mystified them when they were children challenges them now."

Baltimore mother Kate McGraw is sure that her 6-year-old son, James, received an Etch A Sketch from his uncle because the uncle wanted to play with it himself: "I guess that says something about the toy," she says, laughing.

Indeed, some adults are just itching to etch. "I do it whenever I can," says Nina Valente, who runs a day-care center in her Kensington, Md., home. "I like to sit down and concentrate. I've got to have good light, music and something to eat."

Valente, who is listed as an Etch A Sketch artist by the Ohio Art Co., grew up playing with the toy. A few years ago, while working the all-night shift in a mental health facility, she needed a hobby that would help keep her awake. Etch A Sketching fit the bill.

Some artists are quite serious about their etches. For Earle, the challenge - and thereby the appeal - lies in detail and shading. "You can do a lot of interesting shading, because if you do it right all the shading lines are parallel, almost like a steel point engraving," he says.

"And figures work out well. You get a sort of abstract quality. The lightness of the lines - well, have you seen Rodin?"

But it is the fleeting nature of the medium - one shake and your masterpiece is gone forever - that captures Valente's fancy. "Part of the interest and intrigue of the art form is that it is temporary. I want to make each one as good as the one before to show people I can do it this well," she says.

But others, such as Tim George, a Columbus, Ohio, etching artist who conducts Etch A Sketch workshops, want their art work more than merely etched in their memories.

"I drill four or five holes in the bottom of the screen to drain the excess aluminum dust out," George says. "Then I have red tape and I tape the holes shut. I glue the knobs with glue and it's preserved forever."