The Saalfield Publishing Company (1899-1977) was a publishing company that specialized in children's books and related merchandise.
A large portion of the surviving merchandise found on eBay tends to fall into the categories of coloring/activity books and box sets or puzzles, generally of the inlaid puzzle variety.
5 banks consolidated their Saalfield loans in the 1970's and decided to put Saalfield into receivership. Artcraft, a division of Saalfield, was spun off into it's own company but outside decisions made determined that it was a company in name only, so it didn't last.
Licensed Merch[]
- Harvey Comics
- Hanna Barbera
- Shirly Temple
- Charles Schultz' Peanuts
- Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse
- Wyatt Earp
- Cisco Kid
- Marilyn Monroe
- Laugh In
- The Beatles
- Queen Elizabeth II
- Bonanza
- Daniel Boone
- Dick Van Dyke
- Ben Casey
- Andy Griffith
- Donna Reed
- Combat
- Six Million Dollar Man
- Star Trek
- Donny Osmond
Some of the final objects featuring the Saalfield logo were various Hanna Barbera coloring/activity books in 1975 and one dated 1976. But those might have been sold by Rand McNally who bought a lot of Saalfield stock and assets, including the Hanna Barbera license. Rand McNally put out Hanna Barbera merch from 1975 through 1981.
Walter Lantz[]
Western Publishing put out Walter Lantz/Woody Woodpecker puzzles and coloring books in the 50's and 70's, but during the 60's Saalfield had the Walter Lantz license for puzzles and coloring books.
Unlike Western Publishing before or after, Saalfield put out merchandise featuring a wider array of Walter Lantz characters. Every Western Publishing puzzle features Woody Woodpecker, but only a quarter or less of the Saalfield merchandise does.
Western Publishing didn't stop publishing Woody Woodpecker comics during the 60's when Saalfield had the merchandise license.
Further Reading[]
If you search google for both "Rand McNally" and Saalfield you can find a page where Rand McNally renewed Saalfield copyrights from 1957.
You can also find an article from the Sep 19, 1976 issue of The Akron Beacon Journal (of Akron, Ohio) titled "120 Workers Lose Pensions At Saalfield". It details the fall of Saalfield. Including the speculation that the greedy bankers didn't have to kill the publisher. The google link dumps you on page 7. The story begins on page 1, but most of that is about a man dying of cancer who lost his health insurance, most of the fall of Saalfield information is on page 7.