A Classic Photo Book Transformed Into an Adult Coloring Book

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Coloring books for adults have exploded in popularity over the past few years, as more and more people are revisiting their childhood activity for fun and therapy. Now one photographer’s classic photo book is capitalizing on the craze by being re-released as an adult coloring book.

Back in the Days by photographer Jamel Shabazz was originally published in 2001 and documents hip hop and street style in the 1980s.

Craig Cohen of powerHouse Books, Shabazz’s editor at the publisher, came up with the idea of turning the photo book — which has never been out of print — into a coloring book for adults to jump into the booming market, PDNPulse reports.

Released on August 2nd, 2016, Back in the Days Coloring Book has already become the #1 best seller on Amazon in the category “Fashion Coloring Books for Grown-Ups.

The 32-page book features 30 original drawings based on Shabazz’s photos and is “fun for ages 1 to 100,” the publisher says. Here are some of the photo-based illustrations found inside:

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“Straight from the old-school streets of NYC at the dawn of the hip-hop scene comes Back in the Days Coloring Book,” reads the book’s description. “Here is your chance to redraw the birth of old-school hip-hop fashion: hangin’ in Harlem, kickin’ it in Queens, and cold chillin’ in Brooklyn.”

If the craze continues and if this book takes off, it seems likely that other classic photo books will soon find their way to the adult coloring book market as well.


Image credits: All images from Back in the Days Coloring Book by Jamel Shabazz, published by powerHouseBooks.

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