It’s National Coloring Book Day!

The first coloring book was published 137 years ago, in a long-ago time when coloring books were just for kids. In honor of our favorite grown-up pastime, we’re taking a look back at the history of the coloring book in this week’s GelWriter blog.

Ready to take a trip down coloring book memory lane? Here we go!

1879: The McLoughlin brothers published The Little Folks Painting Book, the first known book of drawings created specifically for children to color. The editors held a contest and offered prizes for finished books, and at the close of the competition sent all of the entries to Children’s Hospitals, “for the amusement of little ones during their weary hours in the hospital.” The line drawings accompanied stories, verses, and nursery rhymes well-known to children at the time.

1907: Buster’s and Mary Jane’s Painting Book was the first coloring book to feature a popular comic strip character, chronicling the mischievous exploits of Buster Brown. American businesses soon recognized an opportunity to use coloring books to promote their products, and books began to appear advertising everything from house paint to sewing machines.

1931: Cartoon and movie characters began to dominate children’s coloring books in the 1930’s, a theme which continues to this day. Some of the most popular coloring books in the 30’s featured Mickey Mouse, Little Orphan Annie, and Shirley Temple. Coloring books were designed mainly for watercolor paints in these early years, although a new company called Crayola was about to introduce the world to crayons.

1940’s-1950’s: During and after WWII, coloring books began to feature soldiers, superheroes, and glamorous Hollywood movie stars. Others, like the Little Housekeepers Coloring Book, offered both entertainment and education for young girls as they colored their way through the fun of daily chores. Someone had to do the laundry and cook dinner while Batman and Superman were out saving the world.

1961: The very first adult coloring book—at last! The 1960’s saw the advent of the adult coloring book, in all of its radical glory. These books were a far cry from the mindful mandalas we know today, however—coloring books like the Executive Coloring Book were a subversive criticism of post-war America. The new trend even inspired Barbra Streisand’s 1962 song, “My Coloring Book.”

1970’s…80’s…90’s: The adult coloring book trend faded, and coloring books were once again dominated by children’s cartoon characters and TV shows. From The Brady Bunch to Lisa Frank, children could color in all of their favorites. Things remained pretty stable in the coloring book world, until…

2013: A young woman in Scotland by the name of Johanna Basford released The Secret Garden, and adult coloring took the over the world in a matter of hours. And we all know the rest of the story—adults everywhere have traded in their crayons for gel pens, and spend their evenings toiling over intricate designs and complex patterns. Surely there must still be some children coloring out there somewhere…but coloring books are definitely all grown up now!

Coloring books, you’ve come a long way! It’s hard to believe there was ever a time before adult coloring, but we hope you’ve enjoyed taking a look back at the books of days gone by.

What were your favorite coloring books as a kid? Share it with us on Facebook!

All books and images featured are property of their respective owners. GelWriter claims no rights to any of the intellectual property featured in this blog.