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{{Short description|Stick made up of pigmented wax, used for writing or drawing}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Other uses}}
{{pp-sock|small=yes}}
{{Globalize |article|an US-centric point of view|date=July 2011 |discuss=Talk:Crayon#Globalize }}
[[Image:Crayones cera.jpg|thumb|right|240px|Wax crayons]]
[[File:Crayones cera.jpg|thumb|right|270px|A colorful selection of crayons]]
A '''crayon''' (or '''wax pastel''') is a stick of [[pigment]]ed [[wax]] used for writing or drawing. Wax crayons differ from [[pastel]]s, in which the pigment is mixed with a dry [[binder (material)|binder]] such as [[gum arabic]], and from [[oil pastel]]s, where the binder is a mixture of wax and oil.


Crayons are available in a range of prices, and are easy to work with. They are less messy than most paints and markers, blunt (removing the risk of sharp points present when using a pencil or pen), typically non-toxic, and available in a wide variety of colors. These characteristics make them particularly good instruments for teaching small children to draw in addition to being used widely by student and professional artists.
A '''crayon''' ({{IPAc-en|icon|ˈ|k|r|eɪ|.|ɒ|n}}, {{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|r|eɪ|.|ə|n}}, or {{IPAc-en|US|ˈ|k|r|æ|n}}) is a stick of colored [[wax]], [[charcoal]], [[chalk]], or other materials used for writing, coloring, [[drawing]], and other methods of illustration. A crayon made of '''oiled chalk''' is called an [[oil pastel]]; when made of [[pigment]] with a dry binder, it is simply a [[pastel]]; both are popular media for color artwork. A [[grease pencil]] or '''china marker''' (UK '''chinagraph pencil''') is made of colored hardened [[petroleum|grease]] and is useful for marking on hard, [[glossy]] surfaces such as [[porcelain]] or [[glass]]. Some fine arts companies such as Swiss [[Caran d'Ache (company)|Caran d'Ache]] manufacture water-soluble crayons, whose colors are easily mixed once applied to media.


==Composition==
They are easy to work with, not messy (as paint and markers are), blunt (removing the risk of sharp points present when using a pencil or pen), non-toxic, very inexpensive, and available in a wide variety of colors.
In the modern English-speaking world, the term crayon is commonly associated with the standard wax crayon, such as those widely available for use by children. Such crayons are usually approximately {{convert|3.5|in}} in length and made mostly of [[paraffin wax]]. Paraffin wax is heated and cooled to achieve the correct temperature at which a usable wax substance can be dyed and then manufactured and shipped for use around the world. Paraffin waxes are used for cosmetics, candles, for the preparation of printing ink, fruit preserving, in the pharmaceutical industry, for lubricating purposes, and crayons.<ref>Asinger, F. Paraffins: Chemistry and Technology. Long Island City, NY: English Edition Copyright, 1968. 47. Print.</ref>
[[Image:VariousCrayonBoxes.jpg|thumb|right|500px|A wide variety of crayon boxes have been produced over the years]]

[[Colin Snedeker]], a chemist for [[Binney & Smith]] (the then-parent company of [[Crayola]]), developed the first washable crayons in response to consumer complaints regarding stained fabrics and walls.<ref name=weagle>{{cite news|first=Beccy|last=Tanner|title=Chemist who came up with washable crayons dies in Wichita |url=http://www.kansas.com/news/local/news-local-obituaries/article110549337.html |work=[[The Wichita Eagle]] |date=2016-10-26 |access-date=2016-12-10}}</ref> A [[patent]] for the washable solid marking composition utilized in the washable crayons was awarded to Snedeker in 1990.<ref name=weagle/>


==History==
==History==
[[File:VariousCrayonBoxes.jpg|thumb|A wide variety of crayon boxes have been produced over the years.]]
The history of the crayon is not entirely clear. In the form we think of a crayon today, a combination of [[pigment]] and [[wax]], the history is relatively short compared to its chalk and colored pencil cousins. But the word crayon goes back to 1644, a diminutive of the French word ''craie'' (chalk) and the Latin word ''creta'' (Earth).<ref name="websters">{{cite book
The history of the crayon is not entirely clear. The [[French language|French]] word ''crayon'', originally meaning "chalk pencil", dates to around the 16th century, and is derived from the word ''craie'' (chalk), which comes from the [[Latin language|Latin]] word ''creta'' (Earth).<ref name="websters">{{cite book
|title=Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary
|title=Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary
|publisher=Merriam-Webster, Inc
|publisher=Merriam-Webster, Inc
Line 17: Line 21:
|page=292
|page=292
|isbn=0-87779-808-7
|isbn=0-87779-808-7
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O78rzaI2XmUC&q=crayon+1644&pg=RA1-PA292}}</ref><ref name="hiskeytoday">{{cite web |last1=Hiskey |first1=Daven |title=Where the words "Crayola" and "Crayon" come from |url=http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2011/07/where-the-words-crayola-and-crayon-come-from/ |website=Today I Found Out |access-date=March 3, 2020 |date=July 1, 2011}}</ref> The meaning later changed to simply "pencil", which it still means in modern French.<ref name="hiskeytoday"/>
|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=O78rzaI2XmUC&pg=RA1-PA292&dq=crayon+1644&cd=24#v=onepage&q=crayon%201644&f=false}}</ref>


The notion to combine a form of wax with pigment actually goes back thousands of years. The [[Egyptians]] perfected a technique using hot [[beeswax]] combined with colored pigment to bind color into stone in a process known as [[encaustic painting]]. A heat source was then used to "burn in" and fix the image in place.<ref name="encaustic1">{{cite book
The notion to combine a form of wax with pigment goes back thousands of years. [[Encaustic painting]] is a technique that uses hot [[beeswax]] combined with colored pigment to bind color into stone. A heat source was then used to "burn in" and fix the image in place.<ref name="encaustic1">{{cite book
|title=Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians
|title=Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians
|last=Wilkinson
|last=Wilkinson
Line 29: Line 33:
|year=1847
|year=1847
|page=110
|page=110
|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=X8YWAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA110&dq=encaustic+Egyptians&cd=3#v=onepage&q=encaustic%20Egyptians&f=false}}</ref> This method, also employed by the Romans, the Greeks and even indigenous people in the [[Philippines]] around 1600-1800, is still used today. However, the process wasn’t used to make crayons into a form intended to be held and colored with and was therefore ineffective to use in a classroom or as crafts for children.<ref name="encaustic2">{{cite book
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X8YWAAAAQAAJ&q=encaustic+Egyptians&pg=PA110}}</ref> Pliny the Elder, a Roman scholar, was thought to describe the first techniques of wax crayon drawings.<ref name="Girdler, Reynolds 1967">Girdler, Reynolds. "Crayons in the History of the Arts." Art Education. 20.1 (January 1967): 30-32. Print.</ref>

This method, employed by the Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, and indigenous people in the [[Philippines]], is still used today. However, the process was not used to make crayons into a form intended to be held and colored with and was therefore ineffective for use in a classroom or as crafts for children.<ref name="encaustic2">{{cite book
|title=History and Methods of Ancient Modern Painting
|title=History and Methods of Ancient Modern Painting
|last=Ward
|last=Ward
Line 37: Line 43:
|year=1914
|year=1914
|page=155
|page=155
|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=yHZAAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PA155&dq=encaustic+history&cd=2#v=onepage&q=encaustic&f=false}}</ref>
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yHZAAAAAYAAJ&q=encaustic&pg=RA1-PA155}}</ref>


Contemporary crayons are purported to have originated in [[Europe]] where some of the first cylinder shaped crayons were made with charcoal and oil.<ref name="charcoal">
Contemporary crayons are purported to have originated in Europe, where some of the first cylinder shaped crayons were made with charcoal and oil.<ref name="charcoal">{{cite web|url=http://www.crayola.com/mediacenter/HistoryOfCrayons.doc |title=Crayola Web Site – History of Crayons |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100409022027/http://www.crayola.com/mediacenter/HistoryOfCrayons.doc |archive-date=April 9, 2010 }}</ref> Pastels are an art medium sharing roots with the modern crayon and date back to [[Leonardo da Vinci]] in 1495. [[Conté]] crayons, out of Paris, are a hybrid between a pastel and a conventional crayon, used since the late 1790s as a drawing crayon for artists.<ref name="conte">{{cite web
{{cite web
| url = http://www.crayola.com/mediacenter/HistoryOfCrayons.doc
| title = Crayola Web Site – History of Crayons
}}</ref> Pastels are an art medium having roots with the modern crayon and stem back to [[Leonardo da Vinci]] in 1495. Conté crayons, out of [[Paris]], are a hybrid between a pastel and a conventional crayon; used since the late 1790s as a drawing crayon for artists.<ref name="conte">
{{cite web
| url = http://jeanvincent.com/conte-invention.htm
| url = http://jeanvincent.com/conte-invention.htm
| title = Nicolas Conte and the Invention of Conte Crayons
| title = Nicolas Conte and the Invention of Conte Crayons
| access-date = 2010-03-01
}}</ref> Later, various hues of powdered pigment eventually replaced the primary charcoal ingredient found in most early 19th century product. Joseph Lemercier (born Paris 1803—died 1884), considered by some of his contemporaries to be “the soul of [[lithography]]”, was also one of the founders of the modern crayon. Through his Paris business circa 1828 he produced a variety of crayon and color related products.<ref name="Lemercier">{{cite book
| archive-date = 2020-10-03
|title=Enclopedia Britannica
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201003054714/http://jeanvincent.com/conte-invention.htm
| url-status = dead
}}</ref> Later, various hues of powdered pigment eventually replaced the primary charcoal ingredient found in most early 19th century products. References to crayons in literature appear as early as 1813 in Jane Austen's ''Pride and Prejudice''. French lithographer {{ill|Joseph Lemercier|fr|Joseph-Rose Lemercier}} was also one of the inventors of the modern crayon. Through his Paris business circa 1828, he produced a variety of crayon and color related products.<ref name="Lemercier">{{cite book
|title=Encyclopædia Britannica
|last=Baynes
|last=Baynes
|first=Thomas
|first=Thomas
Line 56: Line 61:
|year=1888
|year=1888
|page=698
|page=698
|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=lqMMAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA698&dq=Lithography+Lemercier&cd=1#v=onepage&q=Lithography%20Lemercier&f=false}}</ref> But even as those in Europe were discovering that substituting wax for the oil strengthened the crayon, various efforts in the [[United States]] were also developing.
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lqMMAAAAYAAJ&q=Lithography+Lemercier&pg=PA698}}</ref> But even as those in Europe were discovering that substituting wax for the oil strengthened the crayon, various efforts in the United States were also developing.


[[File:Dixon Crayon Ad.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Early Dixon crayon ad from August 1901]]
The initial era of wax crayons saw a number of companies and products competing for the lucrative education and artist markets. In addition to the giants like Binney & Smith/[[Crayola]] and American Crayon/[[Dixon Ticonderoga]], other companies popped up in the industry at various times from the late 19th century to the early 1910s.
The initial era of wax crayons saw several companies and products competing for the lucrative education and artist markets. The Franklin Mfg. Co, founded in 1876 in [[Rochester, New York]], was one of the first companies to make and sell wax crayons, and in 1883 they appeared with a display of crayons at the [[World's Columbian Exposition]] that year.<ref name="FranklinExpo">{{cite book

|title=World's Columbian Exposition – Official Catalog
===E. Steiger & Co.===

One of the first companies to offer up a line of wax crayons aimed for [[kindergarten]] use. Located out of [[New York]], NY, it is unclear when this company started producing crayons but based on a known ad from 1881, they clearly offered wax crayons in boxes of 6, 12, and 18 colors.<ref name="Steiger">{{cite book
|title=The Kindergarten Guide
|last=Kraus
|first=Maria
|volume=Vol 1
|publisher=E. Steiger & Company
|location=New York, NY
|year=1881
|page=23
|url= http://books.google.com/books?id=1ADmIPYz6QEC&pg=RA1-PA23&dq=wax+crayons&cd=1#v=onepage&q=wax%20crayons&f=false}}</ref>[[Image:Franklin Crayons.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Surviving boxes from Franklin Mfg Co.]]

===Franklin Mfg Co.===

The Franklin Mfg. Co, founded in 1876 in [[Rochester, New York]], was one of the first companies to make and sell [[wax]] crayons. While it is undetermined when the company began manufacturing wax crayons, they were indeed selling them as early as 1883, having appeared with a display of crayons at the [[World's Columbian Exposition]] that year.<ref name="FranklinExpo">{{cite book
|title=World’s Columbian Exposition – Official Catalog
|last=Smith
|last=Smith
|first=Willard
|first=Willard
|volume=Vol 7
|volume=7
|publisher=W. B. Conkey Company
|publisher=W. B. Conkey Company
|location=Chicago, IL
|location=Chicago, IL
|year=1883
|year=1883
|page=23
|page=23
|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=pz41AAAAMAAJ&q=Franklin+Mfg+Co&pg=PA20}}</ref>
|url= http://books.google.com/books?id=pz41AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA20&dq=Franklin+Mfg+Co&cd=11#v=onepage&q=Franklin%20Mfg%20Co&f=false}}</ref> They regularly advertised their Rainbow, Radiant, Penguin and Educational brands of crayons in various art and educational catalogues and periodicals throughout the late 19th century and early 20th century. In 1906, they changed their name from the Franklin Mfg. Co to the Franklin Crayon Company and remained in operation until 1927.<ref name="FranklinAd">{{cite book
|title=School Journal
|volume=Vol L
|publisher=W. B. Conkey Company
|location=New York, NY and Chicago, IL
|date=Jan 26, 1895
|page=82
|url= http://books.google.com/books?id=ZfkBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA82&dq=Franklin+Mfg+Co+crayons&cd=7#v=onepage&q=Franklin%20Mfg%20Co%20crayons&f=false}}</ref><ref name="FranklinAd2">{{cite book
|title=Bookseller & Stationer
|volume=Vol XVII
|publisher=W. B. Conkey Company
|location=Toronto, Canada
|date=Jan 1901
|page=14
|url= http://books.google.com/books?id=fjQZAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA2-PA13&dq=crayons&cd=3#v=onepage&q=crayons&f=false}}</ref>

===Eberhard Faber===

The [[Eberhard Faber]] Pencil Company, originally the A. W. Faber Company, was founded by [[John Eberhard Faber]] (1822–1879) in 1861. The company is primarily credited with bringing German lead pencil-making techniques to the United States. The Faber family was known for lead [[pencil]] manufacturing in the village of Stein, [[Germany]], near the city of [[Nuremberg]] as early as 1761 when the business was founded by Kasper Faber. His son Anton Faber took over in 1774 and the company came to be known as the A.W. Faber Company. Anton’s grandson, Johann Lothar, took charge of the business in 1839.

Johann Lothar’s youngest son, Eberhard Faber (1822–1879), came to the United States in 1848. He settled in New York City, and by 1850, had opened a store selling pencils and other stationery items in [[Manhattan]]. In 1861, Faber opened the American manufacturing branch of A.W. Faber, in a factory close to the [[East River]], near [[42nd Street (Manhattan)]], where the [[United Nations]] now stands. It was the first pencil factory opened in the United States.<ref name="faber1">
{{cite web
| url = http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/downloads/pdf/reports/Eberhard_Faber.pdf
| title = Eberhard Faber Pencil Company Historic District Designation Report
}}</ref>

Faber also developed his own line of wax crayons by as early as 1883. E. Faber’s wax crayons were available in packages of 6, 12, 18, 24 and 36 assorted colors.<ref name="FaberAd">{{cite book
|title=Priced and Illustrated Catalogue of Mechanical Instruments
|volume=Vol XVII
|publisher=James W. Queen and Company
|location=Philadelphia, PA
|year=1883
|page=105
|url= http://books.google.com/books?id=oxE1AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA105&dq=wax+crayons&cd=2#v=onepage&q=wax%20crayons&f=false}}</ref> While their [[Cedrus|cedar]] wood encased crayons were a hybrid on the traditional all [[wax]] crayon, this nonetheless should be regarded as one of the earliest available wax crayon products. Later they would offer traditional all-wax crayons as well.<ref name="FaberAd2">{{cite book
|last=Fuerst
|first=Sidney
|title=New York Teachers’ Monographs
|volume=Vol 8
|publisher=E.P. Dutton and Company
|location=New York, NY
|date=Mar 1906
|page=121
|url= http://books.google.com/books?id=g-8BAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PA131&dq=Faber+Drawing+crayons&cd=1#v=onepage&q=Faber%20Drawing%20crayons&f=false}}</ref> After a fire destroyed the original factory, they moved their location to [[Brooklyn]]. The Faber Company grew to become one of the largest pencil manufacturers in the world, with additional factories located in Germany, [[Canada]], and [[Argentina]].

===Charles A. Bowley===


Another one of the earliest recorded evidence of the modern [[paraffin]] wax crayon comes from Charles A. Bowley, a resident outside of [[Danvers, MA]] who developed what he thought were the first [[wax]] coloring crayons in the late 1880s. Mr. Bowley had been selling various [[stationery]] items around the vicinity of Danvers and had developed clumps of colored [[wax]] designed for marking [[leather]]. With the need for more accuracy, he went back to his home and formed the wax crayons into more manageable cylinder shapes similar to that of a pencil. The crayons were approximately five and one-half inches long and sold out quickly. He packaged his crayons into decorative boxes and offered them through stationer clients he knew. The demand for his crayons soon exceeded his ability to keep up with production and he contacted the American Crayon Company in 1902 to partner and create a full blown catalog of crayon offerings.<ref name="Bowley">{{cite book
Some of the earliest records of the modern [[paraffin wax]] crayon comes from Charles A. Bowley of Massachusetts, who developed wax coloring crayons in the late 1880s. Bowley had been selling various [[stationery]] items in the vicinity of Danvers and had developed clumps of colored wax designed for marking [[leather]]. With the need for more accuracy, he went back to his home and formed the wax crayons into more manageable cylinder shapes similar to that of a pencil. He packaged his crayons into decorative boxes and offered them through stationer clients he knew. The demand for his crayons soon exceeded his ability to keep up with production and he partnered with the American Crayon Company,<ref>{{cite web|title=''The American Crayon Co., Sandusky, OH, 1835 - 1957'' on website crayoncollecting.com |url=https://crayoncollecting.com/Other/AmericanCrayon.htm |access-date=10 September 2021 |url-status=live |quote= (condensed excerpt) American Crayon Company formed from the merger in 1890 of several older companies, one dating back to 1835. In 1957 it merged with Joseph Dixon Crucible, which then merged with Bryn Mawr Corporation in 1983 to form the [[Dixon Ticonderoga Company]]. 'Prang' became the brand of crayon made by the American Crayon Company subsidiary thereof.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101008202823/http://crayoncollecting.com/Other/AmericanCrayon.htm |archive-date=2010-10-08 }}</ref> who had been producing chalk crayons, in 1902.<ref name="Bowley">{{cite book
|last=Elliott
|last=Elliott
|first=Brenda
|first=Brenda
Line 137: Line 82:
|location=Fredericksburg, VA
|location=Fredericksburg, VA
|year=1996
|year=1996
|pages=148–149
|pages=[https://archive.org/details/bestofitskindsin00bren/page/148 148–149]
|isbn=0-9650739-0-4
|isbn=0-9650739-0-4
|url=https://archive.org/details/bestofitskindsin00bren/page/148
}}</ref>[[Image:Dixon Crayon Ad.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Early Dixon crayon ad from Aug 1901]]

===Joseph Dixon Crucible Co.===

The Joseph Dixon Crucible Co. was formed in March 1868 from the existing Joe Dixon and Company that [[Joseph Dixon (inventor)|Joseph Dixon]] ran.<ref name="DixonHistory">{{cite book
|last=Elliott
|first=Brenda
|title=The Best of Its Kind
|publisher=Bookcrafters
|location=Fredericksburg, VA
|year=1996
|page=83
|isbn=0-9650739-0-4
}}</ref> While the company primarily produced pencils, like many of their contemporaries (E. Faber and Eagle Pencil) they too expanded into a line of wax crayons for offer in 1887.<ref name="DixonRef">{{cite book
|last=Hills
|first=William
|title=The Writer
|volume=Vol 1
|publisher=Writer Publishing Company
|location=Boston, MA
|date=Jul 1887
|page=79
|url= http://books.google.com/books?id=5yo5AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA79&dq=Dixon+crayons&cd=4#v=onepage&q=crayon&f=false
}}</ref> The Dixon Solid Crayons were offered in as many as 15 colors by 1902.<ref name="DixonAd">{{cite book
|title=The School Journal
|volume=Vol 65
|publisher=American Book Company
|date=Aug 16, 1902
|page=101
|url= http://books.google.com/books?id=lJIVAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA101&dq=Dixon+crayons&cd=1#v=onepage&q=Dixon%20crayons&f=false
}}</ref> In addition to their initial Dixon brand they went on to produce the Educator, Gem and Prestite lines of crayons before the company merged with American Crayon to form the [[Dixon Ticonderoga]] Company in 1983. They continue to produce numerous brands of crayons to this day.

===Prang Educational Company===

[[Louis Prang]], one of the principal fathers of [[art education]] in schools throughout the United States, also developed his own line of [[watercolor]] crayons, very similar to the modern wax-based crayon. Through his business, the Prang Educational Company, he sold several crayon products during the timeframe from the late 1880s through the early 20th century. Several examples of these exist in private collections to this day. In 1915 Prang merged his company into the American Crayon company and he served on the board for several years afterward.<ref name="PrangAd">{{cite book
|title=Technology Quarterly and Proceedings of the Society of Arts
|volume=Vol 1
|publisher=MIT
|location=Boston, MA
|date=May 1888
|page=vi
|url= http://books.google.com/books?id=Kv3NAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PR6&dq=Prang+Educational+Co&cd=29#v=onepage&q=Prang%20Educational%20Co&f=false
}}</ref>
}}</ref>
<ref name="Prang1">{{cite book
|last=Elliott
|first=Brenda
|title=The Best of Its Kind
|publisher=Bookcrafters
|location=Fredericksburg, VA
|year=1996
|pages=254–255
|isbn=0-9650739-0-4
}}</ref><ref name="prang2">
{{cite web
| url = http://www.crayoncollecting.com/Other/PEPhoto.htm
| title = Official Virtual Museum for Crayon Collecting – Prang Educational Co known crayons}}</ref>[[Image:BB Crayons.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Known crayon boxes from B.B. Crayons]]


[[Edwin Binney]] and C. Harold Smith had been long established in the coloring marketplace through Binney's [[Peekskill, New York]], chemical works making [[lampblack]] by burning [[whale]] and [[carbon black]], as well as their [[chalk]] products. In 1902, they developed and introduced the Staonal marking crayon. A year later in 1903, Edwin Binney's wife, Alice Stead Binney,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Crayola Crayons |url=https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/snapshot/crayola-crayons |access-date=2022-06-21 |website=Smithsonian Institution |language=en}}</ref> coined the name [[Crayola]] by combining the French word for chalk, ''craie'', with the first part of ''oleaginous'', another name for the paraffin wax used to make the crayon.<ref name="Crayolahist">{{cite book
===B.B. Crayons===

Perhaps one of the most mysterious companies to offer a full set of brands was a company simply known as B.B. (they have a [[trademarked]] double [[bumblebee]] on their [[logo]].) They offered several boxes similar in size and composition to that of the earliest of crayon boxes from the late 19th century with products such as Cadet (featuring a [[civil war]] [[tent]] camp backdrop), Favorite, Junior Artists, and The Winner brands.<ref name="bb">
{{cite web
| url = http://www.crayoncollecting.com/Other/UMPhoto109-126.htm
| title = Official Virtual Museum for Crayon Collecting – Cadet crayon photo}}</ref>

===Milton Bradley Co.===

Founded in 1860, the [[Milton Bradley Company]] is the oldest game manufacturer in the United States. They didn’t stop by offering just games however. They were also instrumental in the promotion of the early [[kindergarten]] movement rising up during the late 19th century. Bradley, inspired by a lecture from [[Elizabeth Peabody]] on the teachings of German scholar [[Friedrich Froebel]] concerning education through creative activities, spent much of his life developing and selling products around this pursuit.<ref name="bradleyhistory">
{{cite web
| url = http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Milton-Bradley-Company-Company-History.html
| title = Milton Bradley Company History}}</ref> Through the Milton Bradley Company, he produced wax crayons for retail as early as 1895 under the Bradley name.<ref name="BradleyAd">{{cite book
|title=The Kindergarten News
|volume=Vol 6
|publisher=Milton Bradley
|location=Springfield, MA
|date=May 1895
|page=205
|url= http://books.google.com/books?id=-VkVAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Kindergarten+Review&cd=1#v=snippet&q=bradley%20crayons&f=false
}}</ref> In addition to the Bradley line of crayons, they also produced Brodlyne, Copley, Banner, Big Boy, Crayrite, Economo, Embeco, Manual Art, Tru-Tone and Springfield Solid and other brands. In addition, they produced a series of [[licensed]] character crayon products such as [[Popeye]], [[Mother Goose]], [[Howdy Doody]], [[Little Lulu]], [[Moon Mullins]], [[Lone Ranger]], [[Little Orphan Annie]] and [[Sergeant William Preston]].<ref name="bradleycrayons">
{{cite web
| url = http://www.crayoncollecting.com/Other/MiltonBradley.htm
| title = Milton Bradley Crayon Products}}</ref> The company was acquired by [[Hasbro]] in 1984.[[Image:Standard Crayon Ad.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Crayon ad showing two boxes of Standard Crayon products from 1901]]

===Standard Crayon Company===

The Standard Crayon Company began their operations in the late 1890s. Though the exact date of their beginning is not clear, there is documentation on a receipt from the state of [[Maine]] from 1897.<ref name="StandardHist01">{{cite book
|last=Simpson
|first=F.M.
|title=Annual Report of the Treasurer of the State of Maine
|publisher=Milton Bradley
|location=Springfield, MA
|year=1897
|page=28
|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ZKhNAAAAMAAJ&pg=PT23&dq=Standard+Crayon&cd=3#v=snippet&q=Standard%20Crayon&f=false}}</ref> There is also information on size of the company from 1899 police report investigating child labor complaints (the company had 72 employees that year).<ref name="StandardHist02">{{cite book
|title=Report of the Chief of the Massachusetts District Police for Year 1899
|publisher=Write and Potter Printing Company
|location=Boston, MA
|year=1899
|page=188
|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=vaAXAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA188&dq=Standard+Crayon&cd=5#v=snippet&q=Standard%20Crayon&f=false}}</ref> It is also unclear exactly when they started producing wax crayon products but ads featuring their Centennial and Falcon brands of crayons began appearing as early as Jan 1900.<ref name="StandardAd1">{{cite book
|title=The School Journal
|volume=Vol 61
|edition=No 3
|publisher=E. L. Kellogg and Company
|location=New York, NY
|date=Jul 14, 1900
|page=35
|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=-_gBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA589&dq=Standard+Crayon&cd=1#v=onepage&q=Standard%20Crayon&f=false}}</ref><ref name="StandardAd2">{{cite book
|title=Bookseller and Stationer
|volume=Vol 17
|edition=No 1
|publisher=The MacLean Publishing Co.
|location=Toronto, Canada
|date=Jan 1901
|page=15
|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=fjQZAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA2-PA13&dq=Standard+Crayon&cd=2#v=onepage&q=Standard%20Crayon&f=false}}</ref> They went on to produce Clover, Acme, Hummer, Gem, Crown, Crest Light, Bon-Ton, Crayel, Velazquez, Buster, Old Master, [[Viking]], Bril-Tone, Murillo and other crayon lines<ref name="standardcrayons">
{{cite web
| url = http://www.crayoncollecting.com/Other/StandardCrayon.htm
| title = Standard Crayon Co Known Products}}</ref> before eventually being purchased by Binney & Smith Inc. in 1958.

===American Crayon===

Known for their chalk crayons, the American Crayon Company in [[Sandusky, OH]] spread out to the wax crayon market in 1902. As the popularity of Bowley’s crayons spread to schools, his ability to keep up with production forced him to partner with the American Crayon Company who increased his manufacturing output by adopting his crayons and offering a full blown catalog of crayons in 1902.<ref name="AmericanCrayon">{{cite book
|last=Elliott
|first=Brenda
|title=The Best of Its Kind
|publisher=Bookcrafters
|location=Fredericksburg, VA
|year=1996
|page=149
|isbn=0-9650739-0-4
}}</ref> These boxes included The American Crescent Drawing Crayons in 7 and 14 color packages, the American Special School and Drawing Crayons in 7 and 14 colors, the American Electric drawing crayons in 7 and 12 colors, the American Brownie crayons in 7, 12 and 28 colors along with a wooden canister containing 14 colors, the American Perfection crayons in a wooden canister of 7 colors, the American Banner containing six colors and a pencil sharpener.<ref name="AmericanCrayon2">{{cite book
|title=The American Crayon Company Wax and Oil Crayons Price List
|publisher=American Crayon Co.
|location=Sandusky, OH
|date=Mar 1902
}}</ref>
They continued to expand their crayon line to include brands such as Blendwel, Crayograph, Crayarto, Colorit, Crayonart, Crayonex, Emerald, Excello, Giant, Imperial, Kantroll, Kindograph, Kroma, Lakeshore, [[Old King Cole]], Paragon, Pastello, Payons, Perfection, [[Popeye]], Prang, Sketcho, Playmates, Waxena, Wonder and Young Artist brands among others.<ref name="americancrayons">
{{cite web
| url = http://www.crayoncollecting.com/Other/AmericanCrayon.htm
| title = American Crayon Co. Known Products}}</ref> In 1957 they merged with Joseph Dixon Crucible which eventually merged to form [[Dixon Ticonderoga]] Company in 1983; which continues to make and sell crayons to this day.

===Eagle Pencil Company===

In 1902 another pencil company began to offer up crayons. The Eagle Pencil Company, New York, NY, featured a line of wax crayons offered up in 6 and 12 count boxes with a color line that included White, Pink, Violet, Terrasienna, Yellow, Blue, Brick Red, Brown, Orange, Red, Green and Black.<ref name="Eagle">{{cite book
|title=The School Journal
|publisher=University Publishing Co.
|location=New York, NY
|date=Sep 6, 1902
|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=lJIVAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=School+Journal&cd=1#v=onepage&q=crayons&f=false
}}</ref> Eagle Pencil began in 1856 and quickly became one of the four major pencil manufacturers in the United States (Joseph Dixon Crubicle, Eberhard Faber and American Lead Pencil were the others.) Though always considered a side item, they continued with their crayons through the mid 40s with the introduction of their Color-Glo Eagle crayons.<ref name="eagle2">
{{cite web
| url = http://www.crayoncollecting.com/Other/EPCPhoto.htm
| title = Eagle Pencil Co. Known Products}}</ref> They closed their NY factory in 1958 and under various mergers and acquisitions they still operate selling pencils to this day with [[Berol]].<ref name="eagle3">
{{cite web
| url = http://www.lionandpen.com/Sterling/Eagle.html
| title = The Common Pencil and the Eagle Pencil Company}}</ref>

[[Image:Crayola Ad 1905.jpg|thumb|right|400px|A March 1905 ad from [[Crayola]]]]

===Binney & Smith (Crayola)===
[[Image:Crayola-64.jpg|thumb|left|A 64-crayon pack from [[Crayola]]]]
[[Binney & Smith]] Company (later to be named [[Crayola|Crayola LLC]]) developed their own famous line of wax crayons beginning on June 10, 1903.<ref name="Crayolause">{{cite book
|title=The Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office
|volume=Vol 105
|publisher=Government Printing Office
|location=Washington, DC
|date=Jul-Aug, 1903
|page=968
|url= http://books.google.com/books?id=cMt8AAAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA968&dq=Crayola&cd=13#v=onepage&q=Crayola&f=false
}}</ref> [[Edwin Binney]] & C. Harold Smith had been long established in the coloring marketplace through Binney’s [[Peekskill, NY]] chemical works factory making [[lampblack]] by burning [[whale]] and [[carbon black]] and later instrumental in the coloring of [[automobile]] [[tires]].

In 1902 they developed and introduced the Staonal marking crayon. [[Edwin Binney]], working with his wife, Alice Stead Binney, came up with their famous Crayola brand of crayons. Alice came up with the name Crayola by combining the French word for chalk, craie, with the first part of oleaginous, the oily paraffin wax used to make the crayon.<ref name="Crayolahist">{{cite book
|last=Kitchel
|last=Kitchel
|first=A.F.
|first=A.F.
Line 318: Line 94:
|location=Easton, PA
|location=Easton, PA
|year=1961
|year=1961
}}</ref><ref name="Crayolause">{{cite book
}}</ref>
|title=The Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office

|volume=105
[[Binney & Smith]] were quick to capitalize on their creation by offering 19 different boxes with 30 different colors including the [[Crayola]] No 51 which featured their largest selection of colors with 28.<ref name="Crayolaad1">{{cite book
|publisher=Government Printing Office
|location=Washington, DC
|date=Jul–Aug 1903
|page=968
|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=cMt8AAAAMAAJ&q=Crayola&pg=RA1-PA968
}}</ref> Binney and Smith were quick to capitalize on their creation, selling boxes of various sizes and color pallets.<ref name="Crayolaad1">{{cite book
|title=New York Teachers Monographs
|title=New York Teachers Monographs
|volume=Vol 7
|volume=7
|edition=No 1
|edition=No 1
|publisher=American Book Company
|publisher=American Book Company
|location=New York, NY
|location=New York, NY
|date=Mar 1905
|date=March 1905
|page=125
|page=125
|url= http://books.google.com/books?id=0dxNAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA125&dq=Crayola&cd=2#v=onepage&q=Crayola&f=false
|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=0dxNAAAAMAAJ&q=Crayola&pg=RA1-PA125
}}</ref> The [[Rubens]] [[Crayola]] line started in 1903 as well (not in the 1920s as previously documented by many sources)<ref name="Crayolapamphlet">{{cite book
}}</ref> The Rubens Crayola line started in 1903 as well,<ref name="Crayolapamphlet">{{cite book
|title=The Art of "Crayola" Painting
|title=The Art of "Crayola" Painting
|publisher=Binney & Smith
|publisher=Binney & Smith
|location=Easton, PA
|location=Easton, PA
|year=1904
|year=1904
}}</ref> was directly targeted toward artists and designed to compete with the [[Raphael]] brand of crayons out of [[Europe]]. [[Rubens]] were featured in everything from the small 6-color box to the No. 500 with 24 colors.<ref name="CrayolaYouth">{{cite book
}}</ref> aimed at artist and designed to compete with the Raphael brand of crayons from Europe.<ref name="CrayolaYouth">{{cite book
|title=The Youth’s Companion
|title=The Youth's Companion
|publisher=Perry Mason & Co.
|publisher=Perry Mason & Co.
|location=Boston, MA
|location=Boston, MA
|date=Oct 18, 1906
|date=October 18, 1906
|page=524
|page=524
}}</ref>
}}</ref> In addition to their highly familiar Crayola line, they also made many other crayon lines including Anti-Roll, Arista, Art-Toy, Besco, Boston, Cerata, Cerola, Chic’ago, Doo Zee, Durel, Easy-Off, Gotham, Liquitex, Munsell Crayola, Perma, Pooh, Protfolio, Rubens, Spectra, Tiny Tots, Washable and Widstrok.<ref name="crayolainfo">
{{cite web
| url = http://www.crayoncollecting.com/ContainerList.xls
| title = Known Binney & Smith crayon products}}</ref>


[[File:Crayola Ad 1905.jpg|thumb|March 1905 ad from [[Crayola]]]]
By far the most recognizable brand was their Crayola “Gold Medal” line in the familiar yellow boxes. The Gold Medal referred to a Gold Medal the company earned with their An-du-Septic dustless chalk during the March [[1904 St. Louis World's Fair]]. Over 39,000 awards were given out using the medals designed by [[Adolph A. Weinman]]. Receiving a medal at an Exposition was and still is something of importance with many companies featuring their medal on their products. Two companies to use the 1904 medal were [[Jack Daniel's]] [[whiskey]] (which still use it on their bottles to this day) and Binney & Smith. They used the award to design an entirely new line of crayons featuring the medal on the front of their box.<ref name="StLouisExpo">
Their most recognizable brand was the Crayola "Gold Medal" line in yellow boxes, which referred to one the company earned with their An-du-Septic dustless chalk during the March [[1904 St. Louis World's Fair]]. They used the award to design a new line of crayons featuring the medal on the front of their box.<ref name="StLouisExpo">{{cite web|url=http://www.tlaupp.com/goldmedal.html |title=Gold Medals Louisiana Purchase Exposition 1904 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100822175649/http://www.tlaupp.com/goldmedal.html |archive-date=August 22, 2010 }}</ref> Initially, they developed and introduced the No. 8 box of eight assorted colors, which became an immediate success; it was even featured on a [[postage stamp]] in early 1905.<ref name="CrayolaNo">{{cite book
{{cite web
| url = http://www.tlaupp.com/goldmedal.html
| title = Gold Medals Louisiana Purchase Exposition 1904}}</ref> Initially, they developed and introduced the No. 8 box of eight assorted colors (this famous box is usually depicted on most historical material associated with Crayola; it was even featured on a [[postage stamp]]) in early 1905<ref name="CrayolaNo">{{cite book
|title=The West Virginia School Journal
|title=The West Virginia School Journal
|volume=Vol 34
|volume=34
|publisher=Acme Publishing Co.
|publisher=Acme Publishing Co.
|location=Morgantown, WV
|location=Morgantown, WV
|date=Oct 18, 1906
|date=October 18, 1906
|page=5
|page=5
|url= http://books.google.com/books?id=mPQBAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA8-PA5&dq=Crayola&cd=8#v=onepage&q=Crayola&f=false}}</ref> using the side of the medal depicting an [[Eagle]] but quickly changed to the other side showing the 1904 date their medal was won.<ref name="CrayolaEagle">
|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=mPQBAAAAYAAJ&q=Crayola&pg=RA8-PA5}}</ref> From there they began to phase out other Crayola crayon boxes until their line of Crayola crayons featured the Gold Medal design.
{{cite web
| url = http://www.crayoncollecting.com/PL-CrayolaNo8USA.htm
| title = Binney & Smith Product Line – Crayola No 8}}</ref> From there they began to transition and phase out other Crayola crayon boxes used earlier until eventually their entire line of Crayola crayons featured the Gold Medal design. They would use this design to identify their brand for over 50 years, permanently infusing their crayons into the consciousness of consumers and catapulting the Crayola brand into the world's leading crayon brand.

===L. & C. Hardtmuth===

There isn’t a lot of clear data on L. & C. Hardtmuth, New York, NY except to know that they were pencil and crayon manufacturers starting with crayons at least as early as 1903; perhaps even earlier. What is interesting about this company at this time was their large selection of crayon colors for the time. A 1905 ad describes 48 different colors available for sale; the most variety of colors coming out of any crayon manufacturer at the time.

===New England Crayon Company===

New England Crayon Company began their crayon operations in 1905 under Wadsworth, Howland & Co. out of [[Boston, MA]]. This company ran until 1912. They introduced a line of Pride crayons featuring the popular "[[The Brownies]]" characters. They were available in 28 colors. Their factory boasted having the only [[steam]] operated molding machine back in 1907; allowing them cost efficiencies passed on to the consumer.<ref name="NewEngland">{{cite book
|title=School Education
|volume=Vol 26
|publisher=School Education
|location=Minneapolis, MN
|date=Feb, 1907
|page=51
|url= http://books.google.com/books?id=eO4BAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PA51&lpg=RA1-PA51&dq=%22New+England+Crayon+Co%22#v=onepage&q=%22New%20England%20Crayon%20Co%22&f=false}}</ref><ref name="NewEnglandCrayon">
{{cite web
| url = http://www.crayoncollecting.com/Other/NEPhoto.htm
| title = New England Crayon Co – Known Products}}</ref>

[[Image:Munsell Crayons.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Originally Munsell produced his own crayons and later sold the rights to Crayola]]

===Albert H. Munsell===

Another significant contributor to crayon history is [[Albert Henry Munsell]], the professor who did scientific experiments in color that led to his published 1905 “A Color Notation” work.<ref name="Munsellbook">{{cite book
|title=A Color Notation
|edition=No 2
|publisher=Geo. H. Ellis Company
|location=Boston, MA
|year=1907
|url= http://books.google.com/books?id=aQHWAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Munsell+color+notation&cd=1#v=onepage&q=&f=false}}</ref> He created the [[Munsell Color System]] in 1915 and started his own [[Munsell Color Company]] in 1917.<ref name="Munsellbio">
{{cite web
| url = http://www.cis.rit.edu/mcsl/about/munsell.php
| title = Munsell Color Science Laboratory}}</ref> Initially he produced high quality coloring crayons through Wadsworth, Howland & Co. as early as 1906 and then later through his own company<ref name="Munsellad">{{cite book
|title=Western Drawing and Manual Training Instruction
|volume=Vol 13
|publisher=J.W. Franks & Sons
|location=Proria, IL
|year=1906
|page=156
|url= http://books.google.com/books?id=HGRLAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA156&dq=Munsell+crayons&cd=7#v=onepage&q=Munsell%20crayons&f=false}}</ref> [[Binney & Smith]] purchased the Munsell Color Company crayon product line in 1926 and inherited 22 new colors, 11 in the maximum and 11 in the middle hue ranges.<ref name="Munsellsale">
{{cite web
| url = http://www.americanscientist.org/my_amsci/restricted.aspx?act=pdf&id=3644245056075
| title = American Scientist}}</ref><ref name="MunsellCrayola">{{cite book
|title=Crayons Chalk Water Colors
|pages=13–14
|publisher=Binney & Smith Co.
|location=New York, NY
|year=1927
}}</ref> They kept the Munsell name on products such as “Munsell-Crayola” and “Munsell-Perma” up until 1934 and then incorporated their colors into their own Crayola Gold Medal line of boxes.<ref name="MunsellCrayola1">{{cite book
|title=Crayons Chalk Water Colors
|publisher=Binney & Smith Co.
|location=New York, NY
|year=1934
}}</ref>

In 1949 Binney & Smith Co. revamped their colors and names and only 8 of the original 22 Munsell colors survived. Maximum Blue became Turquoise Blue and one of only three surviving colors to this day. Maximum Blue-Green became Azure Blue and later Green Blue until officially retired in 1980. Maximum Purple became Medium Violet but got dropped from the line up with the introduction of the Crayola No 64 box in 1958. Maximum Purple Blue became Medium Blue and also got dropped in 1958. Maximum Yellow-Red became Medium Orange and then Burnt Orange in 1958 and is still a color used today. Middle Blue Green made it until 1958 but got dropped because they had already come out with their own Blue Green color in 1930 and it was this color that survived. Middle Purple became Lavender and also is still a color in the Crayola color palette.

===Others===

Many other companies took to producing crayons as well. J. Pressman out of New York had a [[license]] for Disney's [[Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film)|Snow White]] characters and produced Snow White crayons for a short time. Ullman Mfg Co., NY was another early crayon adopter featuring their Priscilla brand of crayons. Hundreds of companies entered the crayon market, but only a few exist today, with Crayola dominating the market in the United States.


Hundreds of companies entered the crayon market, but only a few exist today, with Crayola dominating the market in the United States. That brand become a [[generic trademark]]<ref name="gc">{{cite web |url= https://www.genericides.org/trademark/crayola |title= Has crayola become a generic trademark? |access-date= April 29, 2021 |website= genericides.org |archive-date= April 29, 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210429141935/https://www.genericides.org/trademark/crayola |url-status= dead }}</ref> also used to describe other brands' crayons. In all, there were over 300 documented crayon manufacturers in the United States and many more in other countries.
In all, there were over 300 documented crayon manufacturers in the United States and many more in other countries.


===Today===
===Today===
[[File:One Made it.jpg|thumb|An assortment of Crayola crayons]]
Beyond Crayola, other [[brand name]] crayon manufacturers today include [[Rose Art Industries]] and [[Dixon Ticonderoga]], the successor to the American Crayon Company. Numerous suppliers create [[generic brand]] or [[store brand]] crayons. These are typically found in supermarkets.


In 2000, there was concern about potential contamination of [[asbestos]] in many popular brands of crayons after the ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' reported in May of that year that they had tests performed finding that three brands of crayons contained asbestos.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.commondreams.org/headlines/052300-02.htm|title=Major brands of kids' crayons contain asbestos, tests show|author=Andrew Schneider|author2=Carol Smith|date=May 23, 2000|access-date=December 19, 2009|work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525061550/http://www.commondreams.org/headlines/052300-02.htm|archive-date=May 25, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> In a follow-up study released in June the [[Consumer Product Safety Commission|U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission]] (CPSC) found traces of asbestos fibers in three crayons and larger amounts of transitional fibers which can be misinterpreted as asbestos<!-- probably need to cite here somehow that these fibers are often mistaken for asbestos, see http://www.olympus-sis.com/en/6900_6928.htm --> as a result of using talc as a binding agent in additional crayons. CPSC declared the risk to be low, but said that because of the concerns it had asked manufacturers to reformulate the concerned crayons and commended them for their swift agreement to do so.<ref>{{cite web|title=CPSC Releases Test Results on Crayons, Industry to reformulate|url=http://cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml00/00123.html|date=June 13, 2000|access-date=December 19, 2009|publisher=U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721033913/http://cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml00/00123.html|archive-date=July 21, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cpsc.gov/LIBRARY/FOIA/foia00/os/crayons.pdf|title=CPSC Staff Report on Asbestos Fibers in Children's Crayons|date=August 2000|access-date=2009-11-18|publisher=U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090826233121/http://www.cpsc.gov/library/foia/foia00/os/crayons.pdf|archive-date=2009-08-26}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/crayons.asp|title=Crayon Me a River|date=December 31, 2005|access-date=December 19, 2009}}</ref>
Today , beyond Crayola, other [[brand name]] crayon manufacturers include [[Rose Art Industries]] and [[Dixon Ticonderoga]]. There are also numerous suppliers who create [[generic brand]] or [[store brand]] crayons. These are typically found in supermarkets.


==Artists==
In 2001 there was a concern about potential contamination of [[asbestos]] in many popular brands of crayons after the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported in May of that year that they had tests performed finding that three brands of crayons contained asbestos.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.seattlepi.com/national/cray23.shtml|title=Major brands of kids' crayons contain asbestos, tests show|author=Andrew Schneider|author2=Carol Smith|date=May 23, 2000|accessdate=December 19, 2009}}</ref> In a follow up study released in June the [[Consumer Product Safety Commission|U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission]] (CPSC) found traces of asbestos fibers in three crayons and larger amounts of transitional fibers which can be misinterpreted as asbestos<!-- probably need to cite here some how that these fibres are often mistaken for asbestos, see http://www.olympus-sis.com/en/6900_6928.htm --> as a result of using talc as a binding agent in additional crayons. CPSC declared the risk to be low, but said that because of the concerns it had asked manufacturers to reformulate the concerned crayons and commended them for their swift agreement to do so.<ref>{{cite web|title=CPSC Releases Test Results on Crayons, Industry to reformulate|url=http://cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml00/00123.html|date=June 13, 2000|accessdate=December 19, 2009|publisher=U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission}}.</ref> Further tests have shown the risk to be insignificant, especially since the largest risk of asbestos is produced when it becomes [[Friability|friable]] and is then inhaled. Because the fibers are trapped in wax this is unlikely. As part of their testing the CPSC simulated heavy use by a child and did not find significant amounts of fibers released.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cpsc.gov/LIBRARY/FOIA/foia00/os/crayons.pdf|title=CPSC Staff Report on Asbestos Fibers in Children's Crayons|date=August 2000|accessdate=2009-11-18|publisher=U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/crayons.asp|title=Crayon Me a River|date=December 31, 2005|accessdate=December 19, 2009}}</ref>
Early French artists, including [[François Clouet]] (1510–1572) and [[Nicholas L'agneau]] (1590–1666), used crayons in their early art projects. Clouet used crayons for his modeled portraits, which were so elaborate that he caught the attention of Henry V, who knighted him. He became a court painter for the royalty, and his entire art career began with and consisted of wax crayon art. L'agneau illustrated his portraits with outlines in wax crayons, and with tints of watercolor. His portraits were often of people who looked surprised or unaware of their surroundings.<ref name="Girdler, Reynolds 1967"/>


[[Gertrude Morgan|Sister Gertrude Morgan]] was most known for preaching the Gospel around New Orleans with simplicity and easy-to-understand crayon drawings. Morgan caught the eye of a gallery owner [[Larry Borenstein|E. Lorenz Borenstein]], and was allowed to show her work, play her music and spread her word of God at the gallery. Her early drawings were that of just very modest and simplicity crayon drawings, depicting biblical text to provide a clearer image to those who were unfamiliar with the Bible. Morgan went on to publish a record of her biblical songs and has artwork featured in the [[American Folk Art Museum]] in New York.<ref>"MORGAN, SISTER GERTRUDE (1900-1980)." The Encyclopedia of American Folk Art. London: Routledge, 2003. Credo Reference. Web. 24 September 2012</ref>
==Art==

[[Conté]] crayons of clay and graphite are used for sketching, particularly in the ''[[trois crayons]]'' style. [[Antoine Watteau]] and [[Jean-François Millet]] are noted for using conté in their work.<ref>[http://www.artrenewal.org/asp/database/image.asp?id=4594 ARC :: Jean-François Millet :: Le Nourrisson or L'enfant Malade<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://www.vggallery.com/influences/millet/m_0668.htm Jean-François Millet<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
* [[Grease pencil]]
* [http://www.crayoncollecting.com/Colorlist.htm Comprehensive List of Color Names used for Crayons]
* [[List of art media]]
* [[List of Crayola crayon colors]]
* [[List of Crayola crayon colors]]
* [[Conté crayons]]
* [[Photo-crayotype]]
* [[Trois crayons]]
* [[Crayon-eating Marine trope]]


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


== External links ==
{{Commons category|Crayons}}
{{Commons category|Crayons}}
{{Wiktionary}}
{{Wiktionary}}
* [http://www.crayoncollecting.com Crayon Collecting Research Site]
* [http://www.crayolacrayon.com/history-crayola.html Crayon History Site]
* [http://pbskids.org/rogers/R_house/picpic.htm PBS Kids movie about how crayons are made]
* [http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0872797.html Timeline of Crayola crayon colors]
* [http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blcrayon.htm Inventors of crayons]
* [http://www.crayola.com/corporate/timeline.cfm?n_id=77 Timeline of the Crayola Company]


[[Category:Art materials]]
[[Category:Visual arts materials]]
[[Category:American inventions]]
[[Category:American inventions]]
[[Category:Stationery]]
[[Category:Stationery]]
[[Category:1903 introductions]]
[[Category:Products introduced in 1903]]
[[Category:Crayola]]
[[Category:Children's art]]
[[Category:Crayons]]

[[da:Pastelkridt]]
[[de:Wachsmalstift]]
[[es:Crayón]]
[[fr:Craie de cire]]
[[ko:크레용]]
[[id:Krayon]]
[[he:עיפרון צבעוני]]
[[lt:Kreidelės]]
[[ms:Krayon]]
[[nl:Waskrijt]]
[[ja:クレヨン]]
[[pl:Kredka]]
[[pt:Giz de cera]]
[[simple:Crayon]]
[[sv:Kritor]]
[[zh-yue:蠟筆]]
[[zh:蠟筆]]

Latest revision as of 03:22, 6 January 2025

For other uses, see Crayon (disambiguation).

A colorful selection of crayons

A crayon (or wax pastel) is a stick of pigmented wax used for writing or drawing. Wax crayons differ from pastels, in which the pigment is mixed with a dry binder such as gum arabic, and from oil pastels, where the binder is a mixture of wax and oil.

Crayons are available in a range of prices, and are easy to work with. They are less messy than most paints and markers, blunt (removing the risk of sharp points present when using a pencil or pen), typically non-toxic, and available in a wide variety of colors. These characteristics make them particularly good instruments for teaching small children to draw in addition to being used widely by student and professional artists.

Composition

In the modern English-speaking world, the term crayon is commonly associated with the standard wax crayon, such as those widely available for use by children. Such crayons are usually approximately 3.5 inches (89 mm) in length and made mostly of paraffin wax. Paraffin wax is heated and cooled to achieve the correct temperature at which a usable wax substance can be dyed and then manufactured and shipped for use around the world. Paraffin waxes are used for cosmetics, candles, for the preparation of printing ink, fruit preserving, in the pharmaceutical industry, for lubricating purposes, and crayons.[1]

Colin Snedeker, a chemist for Binney & Smith (the then-parent company of Crayola), developed the first washable crayons in response to consumer complaints regarding stained fabrics and walls.[2] A patent for the washable solid marking composition utilized in the washable crayons was awarded to Snedeker in 1990.[2]

History

A wide variety of crayon boxes have been produced over the years.

The history of the crayon is not entirely clear. The French word crayon, originally meaning "chalk pencil", dates to around the 16th century, and is derived from the word craie (chalk), which comes from the Latin word creta (Earth).[3][4] The meaning later changed to simply "pencil", which it still means in modern French.[4]

The notion to combine a form of wax with pigment goes back thousands of years. Encaustic painting is a technique that uses hot beeswax combined with colored pigment to bind color into stone. A heat source was then used to "burn in" and fix the image in place.[5] Pliny the Elder, a Roman scholar, was thought to describe the first techniques of wax crayon drawings.[6]

This method, employed by the Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, and indigenous people in the Philippines, is still used today. However, the process was not used to make crayons into a form intended to be held and colored with and was therefore ineffective for use in a classroom or as crafts for children.[7]

Contemporary crayons are purported to have originated in Europe, where some of the first cylinder shaped crayons were made with charcoal and oil.[8] Pastels are an art medium sharing roots with the modern crayon and date back to Leonardo da Vinci in 1495. Conté crayons, out of Paris, are a hybrid between a pastel and a conventional crayon, used since the late 1790s as a drawing crayon for artists.[9] Later, various hues of powdered pigment eventually replaced the primary charcoal ingredient found in most early 19th century products. References to crayons in literature appear as early as 1813 in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. French lithographer Joseph Lemercier [fr] was also one of the inventors of the modern crayon. Through his Paris business circa 1828, he produced a variety of crayon and color related products.[10] But even as those in Europe were discovering that substituting wax for the oil strengthened the crayon, various efforts in the United States were also developing.

Early Dixon crayon ad from August 1901

The initial era of wax crayons saw several companies and products competing for the lucrative education and artist markets. The Franklin Mfg. Co, founded in 1876 in Rochester, New York, was one of the first companies to make and sell wax crayons, and in 1883 they appeared with a display of crayons at the World's Columbian Exposition that year.[11]

Some of the earliest records of the modern paraffin wax crayon comes from Charles A. Bowley of Massachusetts, who developed wax coloring crayons in the late 1880s. Bowley had been selling various stationery items in the vicinity of Danvers and had developed clumps of colored wax designed for marking leather. With the need for more accuracy, he went back to his home and formed the wax crayons into more manageable cylinder shapes similar to that of a pencil. He packaged his crayons into decorative boxes and offered them through stationer clients he knew. The demand for his crayons soon exceeded his ability to keep up with production and he partnered with the American Crayon Company,[12] who had been producing chalk crayons, in 1902.[13]

Edwin Binney and C. Harold Smith had been long established in the coloring marketplace through Binney's Peekskill, New York, chemical works making lampblack by burning whale and carbon black, as well as their chalk products. In 1902, they developed and introduced the Staonal marking crayon. A year later in 1903, Edwin Binney's wife, Alice Stead Binney,[14] coined the name Crayola by combining the French word for chalk, craie, with the first part of oleaginous, another name for the paraffin wax used to make the crayon.[15][16] Binney and Smith were quick to capitalize on their creation, selling boxes of various sizes and color pallets.[17] The Rubens Crayola line started in 1903 as well,[18] aimed at artist and designed to compete with the Raphael brand of crayons from Europe.[19]

March 1905 ad from Crayola

Their most recognizable brand was the Crayola "Gold Medal" line in yellow boxes, which referred to one the company earned with their An-du-Septic dustless chalk during the March 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. They used the award to design a new line of crayons featuring the medal on the front of their box.[20] Initially, they developed and introduced the No. 8 box of eight assorted colors, which became an immediate success; it was even featured on a postage stamp in early 1905.[21] From there they began to phase out other Crayola crayon boxes until their line of Crayola crayons featured the Gold Medal design.

Hundreds of companies entered the crayon market, but only a few exist today, with Crayola dominating the market in the United States. That brand become a generic trademark[22] also used to describe other brands' crayons. In all, there were over 300 documented crayon manufacturers in the United States and many more in other countries.

Today

An assortment of Crayola crayons

Beyond Crayola, other brand name crayon manufacturers today include Rose Art Industries and Dixon Ticonderoga, the successor to the American Crayon Company. Numerous suppliers create generic brand or store brand crayons. These are typically found in supermarkets.

In 2000, there was concern about potential contamination of asbestos in many popular brands of crayons after the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported in May of that year that they had tests performed finding that three brands of crayons contained asbestos.[23] In a follow-up study released in June the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) found traces of asbestos fibers in three crayons and larger amounts of transitional fibers which can be misinterpreted as asbestos as a result of using talc as a binding agent in additional crayons. CPSC declared the risk to be low, but said that because of the concerns it had asked manufacturers to reformulate the concerned crayons and commended them for their swift agreement to do so.[24][25][26]

Artists

Early French artists, including François Clouet (1510–1572) and Nicholas L'agneau (1590–1666), used crayons in their early art projects. Clouet used crayons for his modeled portraits, which were so elaborate that he caught the attention of Henry V, who knighted him. He became a court painter for the royalty, and his entire art career began with and consisted of wax crayon art. L'agneau illustrated his portraits with outlines in wax crayons, and with tints of watercolor. His portraits were often of people who looked surprised or unaware of their surroundings.[6]

Sister Gertrude Morgan was most known for preaching the Gospel around New Orleans with simplicity and easy-to-understand crayon drawings. Morgan caught the eye of a gallery owner E. Lorenz Borenstein, and was allowed to show her work, play her music and spread her word of God at the gallery. Her early drawings were that of just very modest and simplicity crayon drawings, depicting biblical text to provide a clearer image to those who were unfamiliar with the Bible. Morgan went on to publish a record of her biblical songs and has artwork featured in the American Folk Art Museum in New York.[27]

See also

References

  1. ^ Asinger, F. Paraffins: Chemistry and Technology. Long Island City, NY: English Edition Copyright, 1968. 47. Print.
  2. ^ a b Tanner, Beccy (2016-10-26). "Chemist who came up with washable crayons dies in Wichita". The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved 2016-12-10.
  3. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (11th ed.). Merriam-Webster, Inc. 2004. p. 292. ISBN 0-87779-808-7.
  4. ^ a b Hiskey, Daven (July 1, 2011). "Where the words "Crayola" and "Crayon" come from". Today I Found Out. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  5. ^ Wilkinson, John (1847). Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians. Vol. 3 (3rd ed.). London: A. Spottiswoode. p. 110.
  6. ^ a b Girdler, Reynolds. "Crayons in the History of the Arts." Art Education. 20.1 (January 1967): 30-32. Print.
  7. ^ Ward, James (1914). History and Methods of Ancient Modern Painting. New York, NY: E.P. Dutton & Company. p. 155.
  8. ^ "Crayola Web Site – History of Crayons". Archived from the original on April 9, 2010.
  9. ^ "Nicolas Conte and the Invention of Conte Crayons". Archived from the original on 2020-10-03. Retrieved 2010-03-01.
  10. ^ Baynes, Thomas (1888). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 14. New York, NY: Henry G. Allen & Company. p. 698.
  11. ^ Smith, Willard (1883). World's Columbian Exposition – Official Catalog. Vol. 7. Chicago, IL: W. B. Conkey Company. p. 23.
  12. ^ "The American Crayon Co., Sandusky, OH, 1835 - 1957 on website crayoncollecting.com". Archived from the original on 2010-10-08. Retrieved 10 September 2021. (condensed excerpt) American Crayon Company formed from the merger in 1890 of several older companies, one dating back to 1835. In 1957 it merged with Joseph Dixon Crucible, which then merged with Bryn Mawr Corporation in 1983 to form the Dixon Ticonderoga Company. 'Prang' became the brand of crayon made by the American Crayon Company subsidiary thereof.
  13. ^ Elliott, Brenda (1996). The Best of Its Kind. Fredericksburg, VA: Bookcrafters. pp. 148–149. ISBN 0-9650739-0-4.
  14. ^ "Crayola Crayons". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
  15. ^ Kitchel, A.F. (1961). The Story of a Rainbow. Easton, PA: Crayola LLC.
  16. ^ The Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office. Vol. 105. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. Jul–Aug 1903. p. 968.
  17. ^ New York Teachers Monographs. Vol. 7 (No 1 ed.). New York, NY: American Book Company. March 1905. p. 125.
  18. ^ The Art of "Crayola" Painting. Easton, PA: Binney & Smith. 1904.
  19. ^ The Youth's Companion. Boston, MA: Perry Mason & Co. October 18, 1906. p. 524.
  20. ^ "Gold Medals Louisiana Purchase Exposition 1904". Archived from the original on August 22, 2010.
  21. ^ The West Virginia School Journal. Vol. 34. Morgantown, WV: Acme Publishing Co. October 18, 1906. p. 5.
  22. ^ "Has crayola become a generic trademark?". genericides.org. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  23. ^ Andrew Schneider; Carol Smith (May 23, 2000). "Major brands of kids' crayons contain asbestos, tests show". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Archived from the original on May 25, 2011. Retrieved December 19, 2009.
  24. ^ "CPSC Releases Test Results on Crayons, Industry to reformulate". U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. June 13, 2000. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved December 19, 2009.
  25. ^ "CPSC Staff Report on Asbestos Fibers in Children's Crayons" (PDF). U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. August 2000. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-08-26. Retrieved 2009-11-18.
  26. ^ "Crayon Me a River". December 31, 2005. Retrieved December 19, 2009.
  27. ^ "MORGAN, SISTER GERTRUDE (1900-1980)." The Encyclopedia of American Folk Art. London: Routledge, 2003. Credo Reference. Web. 24 September 2012
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