The Electric Mystifying Oracle

Once in a while a company will take a detour from the usual business and come up with something really creative and special. The Electric Mystifying Oracle from William Fuld is such an example. Possibly the rarest of the Fuld production talking boards, this art deco depression era beauty from the 30's is an absolute marvel to see. The board and planchette are completely made of sheet metal and finished in a faux mahogany. Both are king-size. The board is a huge 18 1/2 by 25 inches. The planchette looks massive enough to iron a shirt with and would be far to heavy to slide if it weren't for the ball bearings underneath.

The most unusual part of this combination, other than the odd letter board layout, is William Fuld's innovative light up planchette. Powered by a dry cell battery, an electric bulb illuminates letters through the viewing window when the electric switch, located on the underside of the planchette, strikes strategically placed bumps on the board. The effect is nothing short of wonderful and must have made quite an impression on users of the day. If you have let the board image at the top of the page load completely, the planchette should be flashing now to give you a demonstration. It is unknown how many of these boards survived the depression. We think not many. When we talk about the loss of an American art form, this is what we mean.

If you would like to read more about this unusual talking board, we invite you to see the original patent on our patent page. Learn about the "plurality of protuberances" and other weird things that went into the making of the Electric Mystifying Oracle.