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Ouija and Other Talking Boards
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Other Talking Boards
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Charles Kennard Volo Talking Board

Volo Talking Board
Shortly after Col. Washington Bowie reorganized and renamed the Kennard Novelty Company to the Ouija Novelty Company in 1892, former company founder Charles Kennard introduced the Volo talking board as competition to the Ouija board. The boards construction is identical to other Ouija boards manufactured at the time and also included veneer. However, this is where the similarities end. The design is completely different, and most noticeably missing are the classic full and crescent moons, the stars, as well as the Good Bye at the bottom. Replacing those were small anchors and the words Clear, Rain, and Farewell. Because of the swift marketing campaign for the Ouija board the Volo board didn't last. We don't believe they were manufactured for long and therefore not many were produced. These boards are extremely rare and played a significant role in the Ouija board's early history. Manufactured circa 1892-1893.

Ouija Novelty Company 909 East Pratt Street

Espirito/Ouija Talking Board
We believe the Espirito talking board was created by Col. Washington Bowie and William Fuld in response to Charles Kennard's Volo competition. The Espirito trademark (No. 20,566) was originally registered on January 5th 1892 by the W. S. Reed Toy Company located in Leominster, Massachusetts. The mark describes “a toy resembling a planchette.” Since their trademark shows up on a Ouija Novelty Company Ouija board they must have made some sort of deal to lease and use it. It seems that Bowie and Fuld devised the perfect way to beat Kennard and his Volo Board. They copied the design of the Volo board above and printed their version on the back of their Ouija boards. They bet that no one would buy a Volo board if they could get a Ouija board and Espirito board for the same price. It apparently worked since the Volo board didn't last long, and to date there are very few Ouija/Espirito boards left as evidence. Manufactured circa 1892-1893.

American Toy Company 222 South Charles Street

Igili The Marvelous Talking Board
You might think that after Kennard's loss with his Volo board that he would give up. Far from it! Charles Kennard teamed up with J. M. Raffel and Albert C. Strobel to set up the American Toy Company at 222 South Charles Street seemingly at the same location as the original Kennard Novelty Company. A completely new design this board was constructed with a familiar bird's eye maple veneer. Again, Kennard abandoned the moons and stars and instead included words like “Who, Which, Where, Because, and Rest.” The back is stamped “IGILI. Pat Applied for.” An 1897 advertisement in Munsey's magazine describes the Igili as “The Marvelous Talking Board. Scientific, Fascinating, Entertaining for Old and Young. Talks of Past, Present, and Future, and other topics, with wonderful accuracy.” The American Novelty Company didn't last long, and neither did the Igili talking board. This rare board was Kennard's last known attempt at the talking board business. Manufactured circa 1897-1899.

Swastika Novelty Company Elijah Bond

Nirvana The Magic Swastika Talking Board
In the early 1900s Elijah Bond moved from Baltimore, Maryland to Charleston, West Virginia where he decided to reenter the talking board fray. On March 28th, 1907 he filed for a trademark (No. 63,360) on the word Nirvana that was registered on June 18th 1907. The word Nirvana is placed in the middle of a swastika logo. On June 20th 1907 Bond assigned this trademark to The Swastika Novelty Company who manufactured and sold the Nirvana talking boards. Unfortunately for Bond and The Swastika Novelty Company lightening didn't strike twice. The Nirvana talking board couldn't overcome the popularity of the original Ouija board, and production eventually ceased. The arc layout of the letters is very similar to his first Ouija design though the moon, stars, and Goodbye are missing. Instead, the Nirvana board displays “Farewell” and unusual symbols such as an elephant crawling out of a snail shell, a warrior with a flail, the staff of Hermes with twin serpents, and a cloudy, windy face to decorate the Nirvana talking board. These boards are extremely rare and because of the Bond connection extremely sought after. Manufactured circa 1907.

Uknown Talking Board Circa 1885 - 1920

Unkown Talking Board
Talking boards were being used by 1885, five years before the Ouija board came onto the scene. This makes it hard to place these unnamed boards. Was it made before the Ouija board or after? This board has no markings on the back and no label to tell us who made it and where it was manufactured. However, there have been three other boards like this one to hit ebay hinting that these were manufactured and not homemade. This board is made of veneer, and many pieces of wood glued together. It looks as if a stencil was used to roll the ink over, and varnish applied on top of that. Its layout is unique. Absent is the typical arching of the alphabet. The other words which appear on the board besides the usual, Yes, No, and Good Bye are Good, Bad, Lost, Found, and Don't Know. Also of interest are the & symbol and semicolon. We are guesstimating when we date this one. Manufactured 1895-1920.

Unknown Talking Board Circa 1885 - 1920

Unknown Talking Board
This mysterious unknown talking board made its rounds on ebay before landing here with us. Though it cleaned up well, it’s still as much of a mystery as the day we got it. Following the trend of early talking boards, it has the stenciled design and the letters are in the typical two band arc with a coat of yellowish varnish applied to the front. It also has the Yes, No, Good Bye, the full and half moon, as well as the stars in the lower left and right corners of the board. Unique to this board is the fancy flourish where one might expect a name to appear. Turn this board over and it gets very interesting. Besides the early Ouija boards there has been only one other talking board to surface that has these nailed or screwed slats attached to the back. Is this board inspired by the Ouija or did this board inspire the Ouija? Is this a homemade talking board or was is mass produced? To date it's the only one of its kind to show up. Until we find more information, this board asks more questions than it answers. As a talking board we think that's not such a bad thing! Manufactured 1895 - 1920.

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