Did you know?

NATIONAL CRAYON DAY

Each year, on March 31st children and adults alike, pick up their favorite colors for National Crayon Day. Opening up a box of crayons opens up a world of imagination and hours of fun.  Wax and chalk-based crayons have been used by artists around the world for centuries. Edwin Binney created the brightly colored crayons we are familiar with today. He was part owner of Binney & Smith, a company that produced products such as paint, pigments and slate pencils for schools. (Info from here)

 The Inventors of Crayola Crayons: Binney & Smith

Binney & Smith, now Crayola LLC, was an outgrowth of a chemical company that made pigments. The company started in 1864 in Peekskill, New York, and Joseph W. Binney was the owner. His son and a nephew took over when he retired, and they re-named the business Binney & Smith.

 Peekskill Chemical Works sold their pigment product, “lampblack,” to foundries and to the cast-iron stove manufacturers that were located nearby. As the business grew and pigment was shipped elsewhere, the company used wax marking crayons to label the boxes. Later on, these wax crayons would be a main part of their business in the form of Crayola crayons.

When his son, Edwin Binney (1866-1934), finished his schooling in 1883, he joined his father’s company. One of Joseph’s nephews, C. Harold Smith (1860-1931) also joined the company around that time.

New Pigment Developed

In the meantime, Edwin Binney was investigating new ways to expand their line at home. Some businesses were marketing a new pigment known as “carbon black,” which was a byproduct of the drilling for natural gas that was being done in western Pennsylvania. Edwin Binney was very taken with the possibilities, and in 1892 he received a patent for an apparatus that permitted the mass manufacture of carbon black. Soon Binney & Smith became one of the major producers of the pigment. (In 2011, Edwin Binney was honored posthumously by the National Inventors Hall of Fame in recognition for his invention.)

 Slate Pencil Let Company Enter School Market

At the turn of the 20th century, school children each had their own slates (like small two-sided blackboards) since paper was expensive and not easy to come by. The students used slate pencils to write on these tablets, and the softer the pencil the better. (The marks from a slate pencil are very much like markings of chalk and can be easily wiped away using a cotton cloth–or even a sleeve.) As Binney & Smith became familiar with the school market, Smith began listening for what else teachers needed. Two requests came up again and again: chalk that didn’t produce a dusty mess, and inexpensive wax crayons children could use for artwork.

 Crayola Crayons Division Grows

The first wax crayons in the U.S. were imported from Europe, but by the 1880s, a few American companies were making them, too. Franklin Manufacturing in Rochester, New York, began with lumber and marking wax crayons, and by the 1880s, they expanded into the colored crayon market. Other companies, including Louis Prang (maker of early Christmas cards) and the Milton Bradley game company made wax crayons as well.

 By 1903 they were satisfied with their new product. Binney & Smith produced their first box of eight colorful crayons that year. Alice Binney, who was a former teacher, is credited with coming up with the Crayola name under which the crayons were released. (“Craie” means chalk in French and “ola” was a shortened form of the French word, “oléagineux,” which means oily.)

 At first, the boxes were sold door-to-door for a nickel. Each box contained crayons in these colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, brown, and black. Each crayon was wrapped in paper and labeled as to color.

 During the Depression, Binney & Smith hired farm families to hand-letter the papers and wrap the crayons. This provided work in an economic downturn, and over time, certain farms became known for their color specialty.

 More and More Crayola Crayons

The big seller, however, has always been crayons. And from the beginning (1903), they recognized the growing interest in art education. For that more refined market, they created the Rubens-Crayola crayon. In 1949, the box was expanded to hold 48 colors placed in a box with “stadium seating,” and in 1958 the classic 64-color box was introduced with a built-in sharpener. In 1993, ninety-six colors were packaged into what they called the Big Box.

 Involving the Public

Crayola has long recognized the importance of public opinion, and that is part of their success. In 1993, they ran a “Name the New Colors Contest.” Almost two million people entered. The oldest winner was an 89-year-old woman who submitted “purple mountain’s majesty” for a new shade of purple, and the youngest was 5, who submitted “razzmatazz” for the raspberry red crayon. To read all the new color names and their winners, click here.

Eight years later, the company wanted to know the most popular color. In 2001, they conducted the Crayola Color Census and the undisputed winner was the color blue; runners-up were various shades of blue.

Read more here.

@lulu13 did they ever give tours of their factory?