Today, March 31st, is Crayola Crayon Day! With over 400 colors in the Crayola collection, this day should be celebrated with loads of color. Local Artist, Bob Love provided us with this Morris Jewelry coloring sheet and we thought we would share it with you on this special day. So gather some Crayola crayons and unleash your creative side! We'd love to see your coloring creation so be sure to share and tag @MorrisJewelry on Facebook or Instagram. Click here to download Coloring Sheet.
Crayola Crayon's Brief History
In 1903, Crayola pastels made their debut in Easton, Pennsylvania. Binney & Smith Company created a colored stick that was non-toxic, child-safe, long-lasting, and cheap. The term Crayola was created by Alice Binney, Edwin Binney's wife, by fusing the French words "craie," which connotes "chalk," and "oleaginous," which means "oily." The initial Crayola collection was titled Young Artists' Drawing Crayons for Coloring Maps and Pictures, No. 51. Among the 28 hues used were celestial blue, golden yellow, rose pink, and burnt sienna.
While more complicated colors lost favor over time, simpler hues gained popularity. In 1910, the colors celestial blue, golden ochre, rose pink, and burnt sienna were all phased out. Gold, silver, and copper crayons were eliminated from the line in 1915, while purple and violet crayons were divided in 1914.
Crayola crayons rose to fame after Binney & Smith acquired the Munsell Color Company's drawing system in 1926. Their crayons, which comprised the five primary colors of red, yellow, green, blue, and purple, were the first to incorporate the color wheel concept. In 1930, they added orange to their primary colors and created the six intermediate colors: red-orange, yellow-orange, yellow-green, blue-green, and red-violet. Later, this evolved into the 12-color case. To produce a package of 16 colors, they additionally added white, neutral gray, black, and brown. Contrarily, Munsell Crayola cartons began to disappear in 1935 due to a lack of supplies during the war. Despite this, the Munsell color system remained a significant part of the Crayola company until 1990.
3 Fun Facts About Crayola Crayons
Drawing of Morris Jewelry by Local Bowling Green, KY Artist Bob Love
Crayola Crayon's Brief History
In 1903, Crayola pastels made their debut in Easton, Pennsylvania. Binney & Smith Company created a colored stick that was non-toxic, child-safe, long-lasting, and cheap. The term Crayola was created by Alice Binney, Edwin Binney's wife, by fusing the French words "craie," which connotes "chalk," and "oleaginous," which means "oily." The initial Crayola collection was titled Young Artists' Drawing Crayons for Coloring Maps and Pictures, No. 51. Among the 28 hues used were celestial blue, golden yellow, rose pink, and burnt sienna.
Assortment of Crayola boxes pre-1920 from the collection of Ed Welter. Image courtesy of Google Creative Commons.
While more complicated colors lost favor over time, simpler hues gained popularity. In 1910, the colors celestial blue, golden ochre, rose pink, and burnt sienna were all phased out. Gold, silver, and copper crayons were eliminated from the line in 1915, while purple and violet crayons were divided in 1914.
Crayola crayons rose to fame after Binney & Smith acquired the Munsell Color Company's drawing system in 1926. Their crayons, which comprised the five primary colors of red, yellow, green, blue, and purple, were the first to incorporate the color wheel concept. In 1930, they added orange to their primary colors and created the six intermediate colors: red-orange, yellow-orange, yellow-green, blue-green, and red-violet. Later, this evolved into the 12-color case. To produce a package of 16 colors, they additionally added white, neutral gray, black, and brown. Contrarily, Munsell Crayola cartons began to disappear in 1935 due to a lack of supplies during the war. Despite this, the Munsell color system remained a significant part of the Crayola company until 1990.
3 Fun Facts About Crayola Crayons
- The rarest Crayola crayon is ‘C-Rex,’ which was used for a Kraft Macaroni & Cheese promotion.
- The ingredients used to make Crayola crayons is: Paraffin wax and color pigment.
- Crayola released a 16-pack of Gem Tones crayons in 1993 with crayons named after these gemstones: Amethyst, black, Citrine, Emerald, Jasper, Lapis Lazuli, Malachite, Moonstone, Onyx, Peridot, Pink Pearl, Rose Quartz, Ruby, Sapphire, Smokey Topaz, Tiger's Eye
Crayola Crayon Gem Tones crayons. Image courtesy of Creative Commons.