{"id":6030,"date":"2022-09-02T08:15:22","date_gmt":"2022-09-02T12:15:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/uapress\/?post_type=product&p=6030"},"modified":"2025-03-11T14:32:19","modified_gmt":"2025-03-11T18:32:19","slug":"color-capital-of-the-world","status":"publish","type":"product","link":"https:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/uapress\/product\/color-capital-of-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Color Capital of the World"},"content":{"rendered":"

Following the Civil War, three entrepreneurial families took their innovative ideas for school chalk from the kitchen stove and transformed them into the American Crayon Company in Sandusky, Ohio. Color Capital of the World\u00a0<\/em>tells this story through the eyes of one of the founding family’s descendants, tracing the cycle of build, boom, and bust. Readers will come away feeling a greater appreciation of the human story behind the crayon and the Ohio town that produced more crayons and paints than anywhere in the world.<\/p>\n

About the author<\/h2>\n

John Kropf is the author of Color Capital of the World: Growing Up with the Legacy of a Crayon Company<\/em>. His previous book, Unknown Sands: Journeys Around the World\u2019s Most Isolated Country<\/em> that Publisher\u2019s Weekly<\/em> praised as a fascinating narrative bound to hook adventurers. His writing has appeared in The Baltimore Sun<\/em>, Florida Sun-Sentinel<\/em>, The Washington Post<\/em>, and elsewhere. Kropf was born in Sandusky and raised in Erie County, Ohio. He is an attorney in the Washington, DC. area.<\/span><\/p>\n

Praise for Color Capital of the World<\/em><\/h2>\n

A book as vibrant as its subject. There\u2019s more here than the compelling history of the American Crayon Company and the brightly-hued world it helped bring forth. Kropf\u2019s moving account of his family\u2019s journey and of his own coming of age in Sandusky is also an exploration of the American dream, the meaning of success, the importance of industry in sustaining a community, and, yes, the disastrous consequences when that industry disappears. <\/span>
\n\u2014Bruce Falconer, Senior Editor, The American Scholar<\/i>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

“This book colored my world with history and hope. Kropf does a deep dive into the development of crayons, their economic impact on the community of Sandusky, Ohio, and the science of how color determines and defines us. <\/span>Color Capital of the World<\/span><\/i> is a multi-generational story of American business and ingenuity told through the author’s ambitious research and personal genealogy. A delightful and engaging read!”<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u2014Melissa Scholes Young, author of The Hive<\/i> and Flood<\/i>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

John Kropf deftly synthesizes regional, industrial, and family history in this book, which chronicles the history of the American Crayon Company in Sandusky, Ohio and his family\u2019s role in creating and growing this remarkable firm that became one of the most successful suppliers of crayons and other art supplies to schools and businesses throughout the world. Through the precise use of portraiture, broader San<\/span>dusky history, and his own vivid recollections, Kropf tells the story of what American Crayon meant to his town and his family\u2014and all the costs that result when something great fades away. Memory, meditation, and exposition blend seamlessly in this unusual and valuable work of history.\u00a0<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u2014Patrick Kerin, writer<\/strong><\/p>\n

Media<\/h2>\n

” . . . well-written and, for those of a certain age, suffused with nostalgia.” \u2014<\/em>Washington Post<\/a><\/p>\n

“Kropf tells three parallel and inseparable stories: The company\u2019s, the city of Sandusky\u2019s and his family\u2019s. It is actually three families who, through ingenuity and partnership, developed the products and found a market for them.” \u2014Akron Beacon Journal<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Radio interview podcast on WLEC Radio<\/a> in Sandusky<\/p>\n

“Chronicling the crayon’s importance” \u2014Sandusky Register<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

“Inherently fascinating, impressively informative, enhanced with a section of color plates, exceptionally well written, organized and presented\u2014and certain to be of immense interest to anyone with childhood memories of drawing with color crayons.”\u2014Midwest Book Review<\/a><\/p>\n

Interview with Lena Crown at The Inner Loop for The Author’s Corner Series<\/a><\/p>\n

“It is a very moving account of one man\u2019s connection to his family\u2019s legacy. It is also a reminder of a time when there were company towns and people took pride in being part of them.”\u2014The American Spectator<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Read “(A Legacy) Waxing and Waning: John Kropf’s Account of American Crayon” at The Helm <\/a><\/p>\n

Read an excerpt from the book at Miller’s Book Review<\/a><\/p>\n

“Deftly weaving together the stories of his family, the company, and the city, Kropf creates a vivid portrait of the build-boom-bust of The American Crayon Company, and its impact in Sandusky and on residents\u2014including his family\u2014over the decades to today.” \u2014Inside Our Towns<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Read the first chapter of Color Capital of the World, “<\/em>Pink Piano,”<\/a> featured in Belt Magazine<\/em><\/p>\n

Read an excerpt from the book at Cleveland Review of Books\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

The Virtual Memories Show<\/a>, <\/em>a podcast with Gil Roth<\/p>\n

\n

Listen to the Innovators Series: John Kropf – Color Capital<\/a> podcast on Spotify<\/p>\n

Interview with Rust Belt Girl<\/a><\/p>\n

The Daily Heller: A Saga of the American Crayon<\/a><\/p>\n

Researching Your Life with John Kropf<\/a> on The Inner Loop Radio: A Creative Writing Podcast<\/p>\n

“. . . at its peak, the Sandusky factory topped every other crayon company in its yearly production rate.” \u2014Midstory<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\u201cThe book is educational, entertaining, and colorful, much like the crayons that play such an important role in it.\u201d\u2014Flyover Country<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Growing Up with the Legacy of a Crayon Company<\/h2>\n

John Kropf<\/h3>\n

Size: 6 x 9<\/p>\n

Images: 12-page color insert<\/p>\n

Winner of the 2023 Local History Publication Award from Bowling Green State University’s Center for Archival Collections<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":6031,"template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[85984,80523],"product_tag":[7160,97351],"class_list":{"0":"post-6030","1":"product","2":"type-product","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"product_cat-ohio-history-and-culture","7":"product_cat-recent-releases","8":"product_tag-akron","9":"product_tag-memoir","11":"first","12":"instock","13":"shipping-taxable","14":"product-type-simple"},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/uapress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/6030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/uapress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/uapress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/product"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/uapress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/uapress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"product_brand","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/uapress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_brand?post=6030"},{"taxonomy":"product_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/uapress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_cat?post=6030"},{"taxonomy":"product_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/uapress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_tag?post=6030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}