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Back in the 1960s, a very popular drawing toy here in the UK was the Spirograph, invented by Denys Fisher. Trained as an engineer, he went on to found Denys Fisher Toys. This drawing device consisted of a set of circular plastic rings and wheels, that allowed you to create a variety of mathematical roulette curves of the variety technically known as hypotrochoids and epitrochoids. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirograph The toy was subsequently distributed around the world, and the name has been a registered trademark of Hasbro Inc. since 1998. There had been other earlier mechanical drawing devices, certainly as far back as the early 19th Century, and probably earlier.

In this video, Tim explores some other mechanical drawing devices that are less well known...

'Doodle Top' looks like a normal spinning top, but when you remove the cover, you discover there is a built in pen, which draws while the top spins.

Next, the Rainbow Drawing Machine. The square base contains the motor and the battery. You place a piece of paper on top of the base, and the spindle from the motor just sticks up in the centre of the paper. The spindle is magnetic, so when you place the drawing device in position, the central metal part is attracted to the spindle. In the plastic surround there are a number of holes, where you can place coloured felt tip pens. This toy was produced by Pic Toys Ltd in the United Kingdom. They do not seem to exist any more, although there are a few vintage Rainbow Drawing Machines on eBay! Not sure if it was ever available outside the UK.

Finally, a drawing device invented by Denys Fisher, of Spirograph fame. He called it CYCLEX.

Here is a 1977 BBC film about his work -    • 1977: SPIROGRAPH inventor at work on ...  

It is not quite clear whether the new toy he is creating in the film is the one that Tim demonstrates.

PS The Denys Fisher Toy Company no longer exists. Fisher-Price toys is a completely separate company, founded in the USA in 1930.

PPS The Denys Fisher Toy Company also produced a range of dolls. Given Denys Fisher's engineering background, it will not surprise you to learn that these dolls had a number of ingenious mechanisms built into them, allowing one design of doll to swim, and another one to walk. See https://www.worldcollectorsnet.com/fe...