Have you ever drawn with a crayon? I am pretty sure that all of us have, nowadays. Chances are, you even had a package of Crayolas when you were in school, and created some artwork you were very proud of! However, interestingly enough, many children didn’t have crayons back in the late 1800s. While they existed, they were a bit different originally from what we are used to now days. But, it’s important to mention that Crayola, while they might be the most popular brand of crayons, was not the first in America to manufactuer crayons. There were crayons sold in the 1880s by E. Steiger & Co, Franklin Mfg Co, and, this is really interesting, cedar wood encased crayons by the Faber Pencil Company. (Can you imagine that?)
The first box of Crayola crayons was created in 1903. Its colors were red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, brown, and black.
If you were to go into Walmart, you’d be hard pressed now to find a package with so few colors, but back then, that was likely the most incredible thing in the world, and I suspected taken very good care of.
As it turns out, the history of crayons is also pretty fascinating. Why am I talking about crayons? Well, because today I’m giving EVERYONE a FREE copy of my book, Louise. In it, I briefly mention these early crayons book because I thought it was an interesting fact, and also figure that the children of a shop owner were more likely to have a box of crayons than not.
As soon as these crayons came out, they were very popular, and more colors were added. An affordable item, they soon found their way into homes and school. It wasn’t long before someone could go to the shop and buy boxes with even more colors.
We know that Crayola didn’t really invent the crayon, but they sure popularized it! Originally, crayons came from Europe, and were made of a mixture of charcoal and oil. Sounds messy, doesn’t it? Later, powdered pigments were used to give the colors. After a time, wax replaced the oil, which made the crayons sturdier. That said, we all know they still melt in the sun, and a box left in the back of the car or outside on a sunny day isn’t a good idea.
Still, crayons have been around for a long time. Jane Austen mentioned them in “Pride and Prejudice” but even before then, something similar, pastels, were used by artists, such as Leonardo da Vinci.
When Crayola crayons were first invented by Binney & Smith, the original name for the Crayola Company, the name was suggested by Mrs. Edwin Binney, who combined two French words. Craie, meaning chalk stick, and oleaginous, meaning oily. It worked, since those early versions were made with oil.
While the original method of creating crayons is a thing of the past, today, and there are still many companies who make crayons, Crayola is so popular, that often their name is used as an alternate word for crayons. The company makes over three billion crayons a year. That’s incredible. And that’s just their brand!
While the crayons only make a tiny appearance in this book of mine, they are used at a very important point. To keep the children quiet while…well, I don’t want to ruin this for you.
Let me share the blurb, and then how to get your free copy.
The night before her wedding and honeymoon on Titanic’s maiden voyage, Louise discovers the man she was to marry is a hardened criminal. Desperate to escape and protect her younger sister, she does the only thing she can think of to hide—become a mail order bride and mother to two young children. Louise knows nothing of mothering or managing a home, and it’s sure to be the perfect cover.
But when Louise arrives at her destination, she’s surprised to learn she’s not the only one with a secret. With peril surrounding them, will the man she’s supposed to marry help once he discovers her past and the danger she’s brought to his quiet life? Or will the secrets from his past return to hurt them both?
And to grab your copy, just click RIGHT HERE and it will take you to Amazon.
Now…here’s a question for you. When I was in elementary school, I was SO jealous of the kids who had the boxes of 64 crayons with the crayon sharpener. Which size box did you have? And, as a bonus, was anyone else annoyed when they went to grab the red, and it was that weird red-violet or weird red-orange?
Sarah is wife to an amazing teacher and mom to two boys who are growing up just a little too fast. She spends her days working and writing in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.
Yes, I was annoyed to pick up the wrong color. I was annoyed when the first “skin color” crayons came out and it was only dark skin colors. The teacher said to use peach crayon but I have never seen anyone with peach crayon colored skin! Maybe they make a better variety of “skin color” crayons that include olive and yellow undertones?
My youngest has the skin tone crayons and colored pencils. He still doesn’t ever seen to find just what he’s wanting, but we thought about trying to layer them! I wonder how that will work.
THANK YOU for the free book!!!
I hope you’ll enjoy it!
can’t remember, no
It’s likely a frustrating memory not worth remembering!!
Thank you for the free book. Was so happy when I received my first box of 64 colors.
You are welcome! I hope you enjoy it! And yes…that first big box of crayons! It was so special!
I loved art and had boxes of Crayola crayons in all sizes over my school years. They were the best because the colors went onto the paper better than any other brand. Have you been to the Crayola Museum in Kansas City? It’s interesting.
I agree, Crayola just colors so much better. I’ve never been to the museum, but I bet it is really interesting. We have a ton of Crayola in our house!
My Mom always said I didn’t need 64 crayons when 24 would do just fine. It wasn’t just the reds that were annoying but the greens and blues too! Thanks for the book – look forward to reading it.
Ohhh!! Yes! Gosh, picking up thinking it was a blue and it was indigo. Ugh! I hope you’ll enjoy the book!
Yes! I was jealous too, I can’t remember but I’m guessing we had a box of 12. I remember having a lot of broken crayons too that we used, there were 4 of us kids born within 4 years of each other (I have a twin) so we had to share what we had.
And i don’t like reaching for a red and getting one that isn’t true red.
Weren’t some crayons also lead based?
I think you are right on the lead. I know there have been recalls here and there nowdays for that too.
Thanks for the free book! I don’t remember about the crayons. It was probably a box of 24.
You are welcome! I hope you enjoy it!
I don’t remember how many crayons came in the box I used, but I know it wasn’t many because as an adult I bought myself the first 64 crayon box. I loved that I could have so many choices.
It was pretty fun to have all those choices, even as an adult!
I think the biggest box of Crayons was a 32 count but most of my boxes were 16. I never had a 64 crayon box!
I had the box of 64 at home. I think we only needed a smaller box for school. I always kept them in the same order, so they never got mixed up.
I have a wood crate box from the Crayola factory.
Crayola is a subsidiary of Hallmark, now.
Enjoyed the teaser from your book.
Ohh a wood crate from the company? How neat!! And make sure you download your copy! It’s free today, and then you can enjoy the rest of the story!
Look at you sitting at #1 for the first category. Hope you get the orange flag.
24 box…the big box with sharpener came out after I was done with crayons! Thanks for the book and memories…
You are welcome! I hope you enjoy it!
Hey Sarah! Thank you for the crayon history! The days my brothers and I spent on coloring! I pretty much got my choice of colors since my brothers didn’t spend too much time coloring! I too was annoyed at the colors for red! For heaven sakes an apple that looks like a tomatoe??? LOL we did have 64, but that isn’t what went to school with me. Only a 12 pack, maybe? I learned to mix colors early. Now there are many solvents to use to mix colors with! Yay!
Thank you for the free book! Many blessings and best wishes to you!
Yes! Mixing the colors works really well, but not everyone realizes they can do that at a young age!! I hope you’ll enjoy the book!
I think I had a box of 24 and I couldn’t wait until I could get a box of 64.
I think we ALL wanted that box of 64!
I loved the big box! Yeah, the one with the built in sharpener! But we did share it between the four of us. Great post about crayon history, Sarah!
Yes! The built in sharpener was the BEST! Even if it was a little messy.
Thank you for the book!! And, I have sooooo many boxes of different types of Crayola crayons! Not to mention colored pencils!!! I have two boxes of the 64 (one is a very old box!), a box of 8 of the large crayons elementary school children use (I use them since I make my own cards, and I went through green and blue really fast, so bought the big ones), I have a box of 8 pearl crayons (haven’t used them yet), a box of 24 confetti crayons, and a box of 8 glitter crayons. I’m not even going to try to figure out how many boxes of colored pencils I have! All of them (except for a box of Venus colored pencils I have of my Daddy’s) are all Crayola.
Crayola makes such great crayons. I was in the store and saw neon ones now too!! I hope you’ll enjoy the book!
I only had the basic box so no problem picking the wrong color. That came later when I bought my children the larger box. lol
Ahhh they had no idea how lucky they were to have so many to choose from! Back when the world was black and white, we were limited!! LOL
I think maybe I finally got a box of 48, never all the way to 64! But yes, I was annoyed when they had those ‘weird’ colors. I probably should have stuck with 8 or 16.
Thanks for the book – sounds great.
I had the 64 pack for home only. My mom got me a 24 pack for school and I think a 8 or 12 pack too in case kids wanted to borrow any. She was a teacher aide at the school where I went and most kids never returned what they borrowed. Thank you for the book!
Ohh a smart mom there! My husband is a teacher…my goodness. He runs through it like crazy. We buy so much supplies! Enjoy the book!
Thank you so much for the book. Mail-order bride stories are favorites.
It was so long ago, I don’t remember what I had for Crayons. There were six of us at home and we likely shared a small box. Today, the large boxes with so many colors are fun to use, but I have switched to colored pencils when I do get a chance to color. That said, I do have a large box of Crayons for the grandchildren when they visit.
Crayons and children are a good mix. When I’m a grandma, I’ll also have a big box!! I hope you’ll enjoy the book!
when I went to school, we all had to have our own crayons. and the teachers said that it was only a twelve pack. I was one of the kids who really didnt matter about the off colors. mom showed me how to mix colors and make more colors. so cool. mom is the one that started me on the path of the arts and crafts. thanks for sharing about the history of Crayola. I am now 65 and crafts are a huge part of my life.
Oh that’s so great that she taught you to mix them! It’s a creative thing to do!
Thank you for the free book Sarah and for the interesting history – I love the smell of a box of Crayola crayons!
My sister and I were never allowed to have the Crayola box of 64 because mom said the sharpener would leave shavings all over the place which would get in the shag rug. But every Christmas we’d each have a new box of 32 in the toe of our stockings along with a Christmas themed coloring book.
Great memories!
Mostly in elementary school our class was issued a box of crayons each for the school year. I think there was maybe 24 in each box. I can’t remember class members bringing their own from home, but some probably did, it’s been a long time ago.
Thanks for the book, it looks like a great story!
Sorry, it’s been a minute since I was in school! My grandson use to love to color. He has the big box at his house. Thank you for the book!