Remember these? Magic Slates all seem to have that cardboard top with a fun cartoon character or TV show star and then small pics down the sides. I remember loving to draw on these and to be able to just pull up the grey plastic page and have it all be a "fresh slate."
These were originally published under the Whitman brand, and later under Golden Books. Each slate is a piece of stiff cardboard, with a sheet of cellophane over a soft waxy surface on the front. Using the included red plastic stylus, a child can draw on the cellophane, and then lift the page to erase and start over.
I've been trying to figure out when these first came out, but the more I read the less I know. I have discovered that the "concept" at least predates Western publishing, I think. Freud wrote an article about the idea of a mystic notepad in 1925. Here's an article about his article. Check it out. It's wild!
Mmmmm. We always got to pick out one of these on shopping trips to Jamestown. My brother and I would draw all the way home in the car. I hadn't thought of these for years and years and years.
ReplyDeleteThat is how I felt when I stumbled upon a reference to one the other day. WOW. All the stuff I used to love that I have since forgotten. I doubt I owned an Underdog one, but I'm sure there were many others. That Freud connection was a little bizarre too!
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