The history of the Ohio Art Company was etched in many American homes over the 20th century.
Although it had humble beginnings, Ohio Art grew to be one of the leading metal lithography companies in the world.

The founder of The Ohio Art Company, Henry Simon Winzeler, was born, in 1876, a little north of the village of Archbold in Fulton County. Schooled as a dentist, Winzeler opened a dental practice in 1900.
Eight years later, while looking at a framed oval mirror in his aunt's clothing store, Winzeler saw his future. He decided to use his dental plaster cast making skills to start a picture frame manufacturing business. Renting part of a dance hall in Archbold and employing 15 women to paint stamped metal frames, Ohio Art was soon shipping picture frames all over North America.

What really grew the Ohio Art Company's popularity was the use of Morris Burke Parkinson 1897 photographs of four-year-old Josephine Anderson. Dubbed "Cupid Awake" and "Cupid Asleep", the adoring public bought Ohio Art frames just because these Cupid photos were in them. By the 1930s over a quarter of US households purchased the Cupid framed pictures.

With the Ohio Art Company's success, Winzeler moved production locations in 1912 to Bryan, OH.
Building the company's own manufacturing plant, Winzler leaned into metal lithography, a method of printing from one flat surface to another by means of a chemical reaction, creating advertising signs, small wagons and much more.

In 1917, because of the loss of European imports during World War I, Ohio Art began manufacturing toys such as windmills and climbing monkeys. The toy company grew exponentially when they acquired other toy manufacturers leading to the introduction of colorful tea sets, drums and sand pails.

The 1930's, saw Ohio Art as one of the very first companies to license a Walt Disney character, Mickey Mouse, from the SteamBoat Willie cartoon. With the acquisition of more companies, Ohio Art expanded into stamping parts for automobiles and electric appliances like clothes dryers.as well as other items for popular brands such as Coca-Cola, Campbell's and Budweiser. During World War II Ohio Art suspended novelty production and helped with the war effort by making metal parts for rockets and aircraft. After the war, they returned to manufacturing toys and goods, some of which were now manufactured with the new plastics, such as film canisters.

Across the globe, André Cassagnes, an french inventor, was tinkering with the first prototype of the Etch a Sketch. Working for a manufacturer using Aluminum powder, Cassagnes removed the powder dust from a translucent wrapper with his finger and noticed the mark was visible on the other side.
The toy was unveiled at the Nuremberg Toy Fair in West Germany in 1959. Cassagnes later partnered with Ohio Art to further develop The Etch a Sketch into its familiar form.

With the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval and the golden age of televised advertising, Sears, Roebuck & Co. sold ten million Etch A Sketch toys during the 1960s alone. In the 1990s, Ohio Art's Etch A Sketch was featured in the original "Toy Story" animated movie, and its sequels. This world wide exposure increases sales and production. Spin Master of Canada, best known for toys like PAW Patrol, and Rubik's Cube, acquired The Etch A Sketch in 2016.

Meanwhile, The Ohio Art Company still produces metal lithography products and has won numerous internationally recognized awards. And, in Archbold, where Henry Simon Winzeler started his company, a Remarkable Ohio marker stands in its honor.