How a Teacher Named Crayola's First 8-Crayon Box for 5 Cents Led to a $204 Million Sale
How a Teacher Named Crayola's First 8-Crayon Box for 5 Cents Led to a $204 Million Sale
Terri PetersSun, November 8, 2026 at 2:15 AM UTC
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(Kevin Carter / Getty Images)
Before Crayola became a fixture in classrooms and playrooms, the company behind the colorful crayons was making something entirely different: industrial pigments for products like barn paint and automobile tires.
But in 1903, a former schoolteacher helped give the company a new identity, naming a box of crayons that sold for just five cents.
More than eight decades later, the business would be acquired for $204 million.
According to Crayola’s official history, the story began in 1885, when cousins Edwin Binney and C. Harold Smith formed Binney & Smith.
The company initially specialized in pigments, including red oxide used in barn paint and carbon black used in printing inks and tires.
The business eventually expanded into school supplies, producing slate pencils, dustless chalk and marking crayons.
But Binney and Smith saw an opportunity to create a safer, more affordable coloring product for children.
In 1903, the company introduced its first box of Crayola crayons. The box contained just eight colors: black, brown, blue, red, violet, orange, yellow and green.
It cost a nickel.
The memorable Crayola name came from Edwin’s wife, Alice Binney, a former schoolteacher. She combined the French word “craie,” meaning chalk, with part of the word “oleaginous,” meaning oily, to create the name that generations of children would come to recognize.
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The crayons quickly found a place in American schools and homes.
Over the decades, the company introduced additional colors, larger assortments and new art supplies.
In 1958, Crayola debuted its famous 64-crayon box, complete with a built-in sharpener.
Then came a major change in ownership.
In August 1984, Hallmark Cards acquired Binney & Smith for approximately $204 million, according to contemporary reporting from The Washington Post.
The acquisition came 81 years after Crayola introduced that first nickel-priced box.
The company continued operating under the Binney & Smith name until 2007, when it officially became Crayola LLC.
Today, Crayola says it manufactures billions of crayons annually.
It’s a remarkable evolution for a company that once specialized in industrial pigments—and a product whose famous name was dreamed up by a former schoolteacher.
Related: In 1997, a Woman Turned a 10-Year-Old Girl’s Simple Suggestion Into a Teddy Bear Store—28 Years Later, It Was a $530 Million Business
This story was originally published by Parade on Nov 8, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: “AOL Money”
