Elijah Bond
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Through Invention and American Civil War
Early life
Elijah Jefferson Bond was born on January 23, 1847, in Bel Air, Maryland, to Charlotte Howard (née Richardson) and William B. Bond. His father was a judge. Bond graduated from the University of Maryland School of Law.
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Career
Bond served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He worked as a lawyer in Baltimore until around 1918.
Inventions
Although he invented and patented items, including a steam boiler, he is best remembered for patenting what became known as the Ouija board. He filed for a United States patent on May 28, 1890. Charles W. Kennard and William H. A. Maupin were listed as assignees. The patent was granted on February 3, 1891. Bond sold the US distribution rights for the Ouija board to the Kennard Novelty Company.
The building where Bond chose the name for the board still stands in downtown Baltimore. Its first floor is now a 7-Eleven convenience store. A plaque commemorating Bond and the Ouija board is installed inside the store.
Swastika Novelty Company
By 1907 Bond had relocated to West Virginia where he established the Swastika Novelty Company. The company produced a knock-off of Bond's original Ouija board called the "Nirvana". The Swastika Novelty Company was a U.S. corporation that was incorporated in June 1, 1957, and dissolved on December 30, 2014. The company status was revoked after failure to file an annual report. The company's officers were Bond, E. T. Crawford and J. E. Crawford.
Personal life
Bond married Mary Peters of Baltimore. They had at least one son, William B. Bond.
Bond died on April 14, 1921, at the home of his son at 3304 Clifton Avenue in Baltimore. He was buried in Baltimore's Green Mount Cemetery. In 2007, his grave marker was replaced with a custom headstone resembling a Ouija board.