André Cassagnes (September 23, 1926 – January 16, 2013) 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 since 2016 by Spin Master, formerly by the Ohio Art Company. ^[1]

Cassagnes was born outside Paris, France, on September 23, 1926. ^[1] His parents owned and operated a bakery, where he worked as a teenager. ^[1] An allergy to flour forced him to seek another line of work, ^[2] and he became an electrician for the Lincrusta Company, a French manufacturer which produced picture frame covers using an aluminum powder. ^[1]

In one instance, Cassagnes was performing a routine installation of a factory light switch plate. ^[1] The plate was wrapped in a translucent decal covering. ^[1] 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. ^[1] 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." ^[1] The toy was first unveiled in 1959 at the Nuremberg Toy Fair in Nuremberg, West Germany. ^[1] Cassagnes later partnered with the American manufacturer Ohio Art Company to further develop the Etch a Sketch into its familiar form. ^[1] The Ohio Art Company launched the Etch a Sketch in the United States during the 1960 holiday season. ^[1]

Cassagnes was also a well known kite designer and inventor in France. This was his main occupation but remained a hobby; he specialized in the creation of original modular kites throughout the 1980s. ^[1] A 1992 article in Kite Lines magazine described him then as "the most famous kitemaker in France." ^[2] He also invented several mechanical games: the Teleguide, which guides metal cars onto a track; and the SkeDoodle, a conceptual toy in which users draw images onto a globe-shaped screen. ^[1]

Cassagnes died in a suburb of Paris on January 16, 2013, at the age of 86, according to a report from the Toy Industry Association (TIA). ^{[1] [3] [4]} He was survived by his wife, Renée, and their three children. ^[1]

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