The All American: Newsletters from the American Crayon Company

Seventeen issues of The All American newsletters from the American Crayon Company are housed in the business collections of the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. The newsletters covered company news, information about the managers and employees of the company, photographs, poems, and travel articles. This item from the June 1922 issue paid tribute to the company president, L.L. Curtis, on the occasion of his seventieth birthday.

George Koch described the Art Department of the Kroma division of the American Crayon Company in the July 1925 issue. He stated that the view from his office, which faced Sandusky Bay, often gave him inspiration for his work. The employees in the Art Department created cover designs for the various styles and sizes of products.

In this article by C.W. Hord, who was with the American Crayon’s sales department for many years, he describes the process by which “Old Faithful” was chosen as a trademark for the company.

Though the American Crayon company is no longer in operation, for decades the company provided jobs locally and in other states for hundreds of individuals. To view the historic newsletters, which range in date from 1921 through 1925, visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center.

Art Works by George Koch

Above is a painting by George Koch, which is on display in the Children’s Services area of the Sandusky Library. It depicts children building a snowman in the 1940s. 

George William Albert Koch was born in Germany in 1878. At the age of 14 he emigrated to the U.S. He graduated from the Pratt Institute in New York, and for several years he was a freelance artist in Connecticut. In 1921 George Koch moved to Sandusky, where he worked as the Art Director for the American Crayon Company. An article in the July 8, 1938 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal stated that Mr. Koch was “a brilliant colorist who is responsible for the many developments in the color line and head of the art department.”  Mr. Koch was a participant in many local art shows, and he often served as a judge in art shows. He took both first and second place in an exhibition of the Sandusky Camera Club in December of 1939, and in November of 1946, he took third place in an art show for his painting “Lengthening Shadows.” 

George W.A. Koch died on March 2, 1947. He was survived by his wife Maude, a sister, niece and nephew. Below are illustrations he made for promotional materials for the American Crayon Company.