DAN ROBBINS KNOWS...because he was there. 1949...Detroit...Dan Robbins; fledgling artist, meets Max Klein; larger-than-life entrepreneur. They decide to get into the "paint-by-number" business, and from scratch and literally by hand they bring to America the hobby that became a legend...
	WHATEVER HAPPENED TO PAINT-BY-NUMBERS? A humorous personal account of what it took to make anyone an "artist" By Dan Robbins
	With warmth and wit, Dan takes the "hobby that became a legend" full circle from the early 1950's to the present where it has become part of our cultural heritage.
	Available for $16.95 at bookstores or contact: POSSUM HILL PRESS PO BOX 897 DELAVAN, WI 53115
	PREFACE Andy Warhol once said, "Everyone is famous for 15 minutes." If I have one claim to fame, it is that I am the original artist and creator of Craft Master paint-by-number sets dating back to the early '50's. Those were exciting times and I was lucky enough to be the right guy at the right time at the right place. Most people think paint-by-numbers was an immediate success. Not true! In the beginning we couldn't give our sets away. It took almost two years to get our paint-by-number business off the ground. When we finally did, it took off like a rocket. All we could do was hang on for dear life. Now, after more than three generations, paint-by-numbers are still around and (thankfully) so am I. The only difference is that by this time, paint-by numbers has become part of our national cultural heritage...a memory of those "good old days." So, I figure I better tell my story of how it all happened now, before I, too, become just a memory. This book is more than just a collection of nostalgic memories, anecdotes and personal experiences. It is a behind-the-scene look at what it took to bring a simple idea from near failure to a national craze with millions of people filling in numbered spaces with numbered colors to create all kinds of paintings: from simple still lifes to large detailed landscapes...and everything in between. Hopefully, my story will give readers something to think about, smile about, reflect on and even provide insight into the history of paint-by-numbers. Perhaps in some small way there are lessons to be learned from this American success story. It's for me to tell and for you to discover for yourself. Copyright © 1997 Dan Robbins and POSSUM HILL PRESS