From The Archives: A Vintage Jon Gnagy Kit and Drawing

American Painting legend Bob Ross (1942 - 1995) is continuing to have a surge in popularity with 24 hour streaming channels and YouTube. Long before the genial perm sporting PBS artist, there was Jon Gnagy (1907 - 1981). Gnagy pioneered teaching a television audience how to draw begining in 1946 over the historic WNBT station in Washington D.C. His Jon Gnagy "Learn to Draw" Kits have sold millions for decades, and I was delighted to come across a vintage edition in a church mission thrift store.

The biggest surprise was finding that there were still charcoal drawings inside the kit, one of which is posted at the top of this article.

Also included in this kit were original Jon Gnagy drawing pencils, with additional art supplies. 

There is no way of knowing for sure if this drawing or kit belonged to a child, but Gnagy's impact on generations of future illustrators is well documented. One can wonder if Bob Ross watched Gnagy as a kid. 

From The Archives: What TV Show Didn't Have A Coloring Book?

Toys, pendants, games, and other non print memorabilia from vintage media are becoming more scarce each passing year. I may be wrong, but print items seem to be much easier to come by. One unexpected recent find was a "Petticoat Junction" coloring book from Whitman. No one considers Petticoat Junction a children's classic, and that makes this product interesting. 

An image search would show that there were also coloring books for "The Beverly Hillbillies", "The Munsters", "Get Smart", and that is just the 1960s. There were coloring books for celebrities in the Golden Age of Radio like Eve Arden, and movie stars like Esther Williams.

Vintage coloring books are interesting and over looked time capsules of how media for all ages was promoted to kids.

After finding a Petticoat Junction coloring book, I am wondering what radio or TV program didn't have a coloring book.