Fifty years ago this week, the Ohio Art Company sold its first Etch A Sketch. And despite the march of technology the little red box is still popular today. Yet few owners are as accomplished as American artists George Vlosich, whose intricate works (above) take days to produce, and Jeff Gagliardi, who has been Etching for 35 years.
For both, a single mistake can be irreparable – but Gagliardi's not complaining: "I've always wanted to be a painter," he says, "but people walk past my paintings to see my Etch A Sketches."
