Elvira Garner (1886–1956) was an early 20th-century author and watercolor illustrator in the US state of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

Biography

Garner lived in Sanford, Florida, and attended Rollins College in 1903 and 1904, but she wasn't able to graduate because of family responsibilities. Garner published five children's books, the first four of which she also illustrated: ''Ezekiel'' (1937), ''Ezekiel Travels'' (1938), ''Sarah Faith Anderson: Her Book'' (1939) and ''Way Down in Tennessee'' (1941). Her last book was ''Little Cat Lost'' (1943). ''Ezekiel'', her best-known

children's book Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

, won a prize from the Julia Ellsworth Ford Foundation, was published by Henry Holt in 1937, and detailed the story of a black boy who lived in Sanford, Florida with his Mammy, Pappy and sister Emancipation. As noted in a positive review in ''The New York Times'', the book had an unusual format for the time, with "droll little sketches in color scattered lavishly through the printed pages as an integral part of the text" often forming the words of the story, itself. ''Ezekiel'' was advertised heavily with "display material in the form of window sets, sets of dolls illustrating the story and made -- by the author -- out of pipe cleaners, etc." The book is considered by Swann Galleries in an auction description as: Garner, who was white, wrote in what she imagined was African-American dialect of the time. In the book with his name, Ezekiel said "''Hits an ill wind dat blows nobody no good!''" ''Ezekiel'' type was hand drawn, with illustrations inserted into the type. In 1939, ''Sarah Faith Anderson: Her Book'', was published, detailing life of a girl whose father was a missionary to the

Seminole The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, ...

s in St. Augustine, Florida, and capturing the feeling of 19th-century Florida in words and illustrations. In 1941, she published ''Way Down in Tennessee''.

References

External links

Garner's Dolls at Sanford Historical Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garner, Elvira American children's writers 1886 births 1956 deaths American women artists American watercolorists People from Sanford, Florida Women watercolorists