Vintage Saalfield 22 ACTIVITY BOOKS in Orig Box 1953!

Vintage Saalfield 22 ACTIVITY BOOKS in Orig Box 1953! - eBay (item 310018339884 end time Feb-03-08 18:42:38 PST)

This vintage box of Saalfield Activity Books holds a complete set of twenty books plus two duplicates. The art is utterly charming and each book is marked, "Copyright MCMLIII, The Saalfield Pub. Co., Akron Ohio, Made in U.S.A." and "Mager" who was likely the artist. So this box of books was produced in 1953.

The lid says, "20 Activity Books, 6 to 10 Years, Coloring, Games, Dots, Mazes, Things to Make, Hidden Pictures, Quizzes, Stencils, Cut-outs. Saalfield." And there's a seal: "Commended by the Consumer Service Bureau of Parents' Magazine as Advertised Therein."

I thought the books were new and untouched, but as I opened pages at random for photographing, I hit a page with handwriting. Close examination reveals twelve are untouched, ten have been worked in. Nine are fully worked. One is half worked. Most of it is pencil, some is crayon.

A few pages in one of the two "Connect the Lines" books may have been ironed to make a transfer, as the ink bleeds through the page, showing the art of both sides at once.

12 Untouched Titles:

• Little Zebra and His Pals, Pictures to Color (2 copies, one minty, one with indentations in the cover)
• Connect the Lines
• How to Draw
• Flower Book, Connect the Lines
• Cut and Color on the Farm
• Let's Draw
• Things to Make
• Stencil Play
• Crayon Fun
• Let's Color
• Easy Things to Do

10 Marked Titles:

• Connect the Lines (all pages lightly penciled, several ironed pages)
• Find the Hidden Pictures (blue colored pencil check marks)
• Easy Dot to Dot Pictures (all pages lightly penciled)
• The Dot to Dot Zoo (all pages lightly penciled)
• Dots (all pages have crayon line)
• Mazes (all pages have crayon line)
• Games and Puzzles (half the pages have colored pencil or crayon marks)
• Follow the Dots (all pages lightly penciled)
• Big Quiz (all pages have crayon marks)
• Lots to Do (most pages have crayon marks)

The box is solid. The books are all very nice, even the ones worked in. None of them have been done in ink, just pencil and some crayon. My artist husband recently discovered that crayon can be erased with care. He makes it look easy. I never tried.

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