Crayon king Richard Gwyn has filled his home with crayons, crayon containers, and crayon creations over the years.
Jan 22, 2024–In my weekly scribblings I am always tickled when readers take time to respond, often to unexpected aspects of my columns. As happened when I received this:
“Thank you for your article The Scent of Color, and thank you for your interest in Crayola Crayons. After I read your article, I told my wife that somehow or someway, I must meet you in person. I can tell by the descriptions of colors you mentioned in your article that you have certainly done your homework.”
That correspondent was Richard Gwyn, and he went on to tell me he was “an avid collector of Crayola Crayons,” and had turned his home into a crayon museum. He invited me to visit.
You know I’m not going to pass up that opportunity. So one Sunday afternoon, I toodled over to meet Richard and his wife, Ginger.
You would think it would be easy to describe a sight so vibrant in color, heady in aroma, and rich in history… but I was not prepared for what I saw. Every vessel, container, cabinet, and cardboard box in their home was overflowing with crayons. They were like little fields of flowers, riotous displays of all shades of pink, fuchsia, blues of the skies, reds, corals, and every band on the rainbow and beyond.
I only had one question. Why?
“I don’t really know for sure,” was his response.
Richard began his journey along the yellow wax road during a visit to Rockport.
“There was this little store on the side of the road, a junk store, really. I was going to go in and look. I had no idea of crayons on my mind.”
But there in front of him stood a shelf displaying two empty tins.
“I had never seen Crayola tins,” he admitted. But they had captured his imagination. He returned home, got on line, and was “boggled” by what he discovered. “I thought we have got to start a collection. And I kept going, and going, and going…”
Like a field of colorful blooms, some of the 60,000 crayons collected in the House of Wax.
Today numbers in his Fortress of Solid Hues are staggering:
-59,615+/- Crayola crayons
-681 boxes/tins/tubs with unique production numbers
-approximately 11,400 individual crayons displayed in 9 vintage soda bottle crates
-approximately 8,900 crayons contained in duplicates of the displayed boxes/tins/tubs
-19 lighted display hutches/cabinets
-assorted bins of teaching supplies and gift items
What you can’t see is the fount of crayon trivia in Richard’s head. For example:
-While there are 200 colors in the system, Crayola manufactures only 18 different colored sleeves. So don’t believe the color on the sleeve–you must put the color on paper to see if it is the color you want.
-One important ingredient in crayons is talc. That is why the sole US manufacturing plant was moved to Easton, PA, to be closer to the talc mines.
-What makes Crayola-brand crayons so different and so special when lined up next to generic wax sticks? It’s the pigment, declares Richard, who has tested them.
-The secret to getting the most out of a crayon is the paper you put it on. He preaches the importance of using sketching paper with a good “tooth,” or rough surface.
The Gywns do more than admire their wax sticks. Richard is also a self-taught artist. He donates his time to teaching coloring techniques at children’s camps at the Museum of Western Art. In his museum you can see many examples of his original work, all done in crayon of course. His wife, Ginger, works alongside him. They have a portable cart loaded up with all their teaching materials, to be ready to show up “in 15 minutes” after they get a call.
So back to the original question: Why? What is the end game?
It’s not for money, because the actual monetary value of his collection is “not that great.” After all, Binney & Smith has made billions of crayons. They are available in every discount and dollar store in every state. The 24-count box is still the #1 seller.
“You know, that question comes to me more often than not, and I don’t really know for sure,” Richard said. “Except I was always a fan of Crayola crayons. Since early in my life, I’ve always had them. But when I look at this, it even boggles my mind sometimes. I was walking through it yesterday, and I was thinking, boy, this is even bigger than I ever thought.”
Which makes his signature sign-off appropriate: “From the house where we have wax to the max!”
XXX
Phil Houseal is a colorful writer and owner of Full House PR. Contact him at phil@fullhouseproductions.net, www.FullHousePR.com.
