Decline and evolution Planchette

1891 kennard novelty co. ouija board

following commercial introduction of ouija board charles kennard s kennard novelty company , acquisition of talking board patent partner elijah bond on 1 july 1890, automatic-writing planchettes took secondary role popular ouija board , many imitators success spawned. though press articles had dubbed ouija new planchette, patentees quick differentiate devices classic automatic writers pairing them paddle-shaped, pencil-less pointers far different in shape other planchettes of period. design changes , focus on elegantly varnished boards , stenciled letters arching across fronts seem have had intended effect, , items enthusiastically welcomed public in same way planchettes had experienced own craze 23 years previously. point on, pencil-equipped planchettes had facilitated often-garbled spirit writing 4 decades shoved aside in favor of cleaner, faster communications of these new talking boards. though writing planchettes enjoy brief revivals in subsequent years ouija s popularity waxed , waned, 1930s british toy companies such glevum games continued produce true writing planchettes in worthwhile numbers. ouija revival followed second world war, true writing planchettes no longer being manufactured in significant numbers anywhere, having been taken on more popular ouija faded obscurity.