Vintage OuiJa Boards

Today's iconic Ouija is the registered trademark of Parker Brothers games, but the idea goes back much farther.

Generally, the name "Ouija" is regarded to be derived from the "yes-yes" in French (oui) and German (ja), altough alternate explanations exist (such as the Moroccan city of Oujda).

A divination tool like a Ouija board called "Fu Ji" is cited as being used in China around 1200 BC. Mystic 'platforms' were used for divining elsewhere in history.

With the Spiritualism movement that came as a response to post Civil War America, divination became very popular. Messages transmitted by pendulum swing, spirit writing, and eventually the planchette emerged. On May 28, 1890, Elijah Bond and Charles Kennard patented the first modern Ouija board with a planchette (U.S. Patent number 446,054). Their employee William Fuld took over the business and began marketing his own Ouija boards in 1901 - Fuld's name is still found on modern Ouija boards.

	Magic Marvel: The Wonder Answer Board manufactured by Lee Industries in 1944. Colorful presentation with demons, swamis, and zodiac symbols made this one of the more attractive boards in the post-Fuld days.
Swami the Talking Board made by Cardinal Industries (Brooklyn N.Y.) during the 1940s. Unlike most board, this model is vertically oriented, which might throw habitual Ouija users off track.
	Swami Ouija Talking Board created by National Novelties from Chicago, by most accounts in the 1940s. Although the Swami boards are not too uncommon, this was also manufactured under the "Gift Craft" company, also in Chicago. The board name was soon changed to "Swami Mystery Talking Board" to avoid infringement over the "Ouija" brand name. Better art than most, probably silkscreened. The odd "reception good" and "reception bad" markers remind me of old televisions somehow....
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