As a youngster I owned one of the ubiquitous Magic 8-Balls, and loved it. However, this novelty did not appear in its current form until 1950. Prior to that date, a number of precursors were on the market. Albert C. Carter invented the working guts, inspired by a “spirit writing” device used by his mother, Mary, a Cincinnati clairvoyant, and applied for a patent in 1944. Carter and his brother-in-law Abe Bookman formed Alabe (Al & Abe) Crafts along with store owner Max Levinson in 1946. The first device developed was called the Syco-Seer, a 7″ tube filled with dark liquid and divided into two compartments – each end held a die and a window, and each end would give different answers. The patent was assigned to Bookman and Levinson, but before the patent was granted in 1948, Carter died under somewhat mysterious circumstances – he lived a troubled life and lived his last years in flophouses, constantly broke; Bookman later said that he bought every idea Carter came up with, which kept him going until his death. “When he was sober, he was a genius,” Bookman said.

After Carter’s passing, Alabe Crafts made some improvements to the device, reducing it to a single-sided device, and sold it as Syco Slate: The Pocket Fortune Teller.

At some point it was marketed simply as The Pocket Fortune Teller, of one of which I happen to be the proud owner:

Later, Alabe changed the tube to a crystal ball; this did not help sales, but it did attract the attention of Brunswick Billiards, who produced promotional pieces in the form of a “Magic 8-Ball.” After Brunswick’s contract expired, the product continued to be marketed in that form, and is today sold by Mattel who move over a million units a year.

Q: Has the Old Wolf spoken?
A: Signs point to Yes.

External links:

Magic 8 Ball at Wikipedia

Patent Plaques: Magic 8 Ball

Timeless Toys: Classic Toys and the Playmakers Who Created Them