The Big Chief tablet was for many years the most popular brand of paper writing tablet among school children and hopeful novelists in the United States -- it exemplified the lined writing tablet as a communications medium. The tablet featured a native American with full headdress on the cover.
The Big Chief Writing Tablet copyright was originally held by William Albrecht at the Western Tablet Company in St. Joseph, Missouri, and was later sold to the Mead Corporation, which also manufactured a Son of Big Chief tablet. On January 5, 2001, the Everett Pad and Paper purchased the latest makers of the tablet, Springfield Tablet, and closed the plant after 80 years.
At present, the Big Chief tablet is no longer being made. However, the lined writing tablet is likely to remain a useful artifact of information technology for many years to come even as its electronic counterpart, the iPad, gains popularity.
See also: tablet PC, touch screen, e-reader, whiteboard, digital pen