![]() Ohio Art ’s 75th anniversary publication noted that “Winzeler offered $100,000 for the rights to these pictures, but his offer was rejected. The Cupid images were copyrighted by Taber-Prand Company, and Ohio Art paid a royalty on each set. The company ’s most popular view featured a pair of cupids, one asleep, one awake. Within just two years production had expanded to 20,000 units each day. Sold primarily through the new breed of mass marketers like Woolworth ’s, Kresge ’s, and Sears, Roebuck& Co., Ohio Art ’s framed pieces featured religious scenes, still lifes, and landscapes. In 1910 Winzeler bought his own stamping machine and consolidated production. For the first two years, his oval metal frames were stamped in Toledo, then painted on-site in Archbold. Winzeler launched The Ohio Art Company in October 1908 with 15 employees. He continued to operate his “Hub Grocery ” through early 1909. He sold the dental office in 1908 and opened a grocery, using the market ’s profits to buy equipment for the frame business. With $300 borrowed from friends, Winzeler made preparations to begin production in a rented hall. Inspired by an oval mirror in his aunt ’s clothing store, Winzeler decided to start manufacturing oval picture frames. Trained as a dentist, Winzeler opened a private practice in the tiny town of Archbold, Ohio, in 1900. Ohio Art traces its history to the first decade of the 20th century, when Henry Simon Winzeler made a dramatic career change. Nevertheless, the sparsely traded company has never failed to pay an annual dividend. Profits eroded even faster, by over three-fourths, from $3.44 million to $824,000 during the same period. After reaching an anticyc-lical peak of $56.93 million in 1992, Ohio Art ’s sales declined by over 25 percent to $41.07 million in 1994. And though toys generated the majority of Ohio Art ’s annual sales, industrial components contributed about one-fourth of revenues in the early 1990s. The company ’s slogan, “Making Creativity Fun, ” emphasized its focus on art- and craft-oriented toys. One of the oldest toymakers in the United States, Ohio Art manufactured about 200 other basic toys in the early 1990s. By the early 1990s the Etch A Sketch was manufactured in five countries and sold in 67 nations around the world. In stark contrast to the faddish toys that crowded the toy market during the late 20th century, the company ’s flagship product had endured 35 years, sold over 100 million units, and appealed to children in 65 countries worldwide. Headquartered in a small northwest Ohio town, The Ohio Art Company is best known for its classic toy, the Etch A Sketch. Public Company Incorporated: 1930 Employees: 300 Sales: $40.2 million (1994) Stock Exchanges: American SICs: 3944 Dolls, Toys, Games& Sporting& Athletic Goods ![]()
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