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?