Palmer Cox (April 28, 1840 – July 24, 1924) was a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
illustrator and author, best known for ''
The Brownies
''The Brownies'' is a series of publications by Canadian illustrator and author Palmer Cox, based on names and elements from English traditional mythology and Scottish stories told to Cox by his grandmother. Illustrations with verse aimed at chi ...
'', his series of humorous verse books and
comic strips
A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics ter ...
about the mischievous but kindhearted
fairy-like sprites. The cartoons were published in several books, such as ''The Brownies, Their Book'' (1887). Due to the popularity of Cox's ''Brownies'', one of the first popular handheld cameras was named after them, the Eastman Kodak
Brownie camera.
Life
He was born in
Granby, Quebec
Granby is a town in southwestern Quebec, located east of Montreal. The population as of the Canada 2021 Census was 69,025. Granby is the seat of La Haute-Yamaska Regional County Municipality. It is the second most populated city in Estrie after ...
, the son of Michael and Sarah (Miller) Cox, and became a carpenter and car builder. He moved to San Francisco via
Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...
as a railroad contractor, and he lived in there from 1863 to 1875. In 1874, he began to formally study drawing and contribute illustrated stories to such publications as ''Golden Era'' and ''Alta California''.
After 1875, Cox lived in New York (Pine View House,
East Quogue,
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
). During this time he regularly contributed editorial cartoons to
Oscar Hammerstein's ''
United States Tobacco Journal''.
The earliest publication of Brownie characters took place in 1879, but not until the February 1881 issue of ''
Wide Awake'' magazine were the creatures printed in their final form. In 1883, ''Brownie'' stories appeared in ''
St. Nicholas Magazine'' and as their popularity rose, they were covered in publications such as the ''
Ladies' Home Journal
''Ladies' Home Journal'' was an American magazine last published by the Meredith Corporation. It was first published on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century in the United States. In 18 ...
''.
Cox's Brownies were little men who had mischievous adventures together. Each Brownie had a distinctive physical appearance: Cholly Boutonnière wore a top hat and monocle, while others wore traditional Turkish, Irish, German, Swedish, Russian, and Chinese garb. There was an Eskimo, an American Indian, even an Uncle Sam. "Much of the success of his books can be attributed to his treatment of the characters, who portray human nature with its goodness and strength and also its follies, but never its baseness.".
"As Cox developed his own Brownies, he retained characteristics found in the brownies of folklore, but he made notable changes. Whereas the Scottish brownie is usually a solitary being who remains in one household performing his domestic chores or field work, Cox's Brownies are gregarious, always banding together and moving from place for their frolics and deeds of kindness."
"The legendary brownie of Scotland ... in Cox's words, was 'good natured and harmless, never injuring anyone or doing any damage, and it was thought a very fortunate thing to have a Brownie about the house. No one could see the Brownie, only those gifted with second sight...Cox believed that brownies were so named because of their brown hair and weather-beaten countenances."
Cox died at his 17-room dream home named Brownie Castle at Granby, Quebec, July 24, 1924. His headstone has a Brownie figure and the inscription: ''In creating the Brownies he bestowed a priceless heritage on childhood''.
Bibliography
* ''Squibs of California'' (1874) Later republished as ''Comic Yarns'' (1887)
* ''Hans Von Petter's Trip to Gotham'' (1878)
* ''How Columbus Found America'' (1878)
* ''That Stanley'' (1878)
* ''Queer People, such as Goblins, Giants, Merry Men and Monarchs'' (1888)
* ''Queer People with Paws and Claws'' (1888)
* ''Queer People with Wings and Stings'' (1888)
''The Brownies, Their Book''(1887)
''Another Brownie Book''(1890)
''The Brownies at Home'' (1893)
''The Brownies Around the World''(1894)
''The Brownies in Fairyland''(1894)
''The Brownies Through the Union''(1895)
* ''Frontier Humor'' (1895)
''The Brownies Abroad''(1899)
* ''The Brownies in the Philippines''
* ''The Monk's Victory and other Stories by Palmer Cox'' (1903)
''The Palmer Cox Brownie Primer''(1906)
* ''The Brownie Clown in Brownie Town'' (comics
[ Image] 1907)
''The Brownies Many More Nights''(1913)
''The Brownies and Prince Florimel''(1918)
* ''The Brownie Calendar''
* ''Palmer Cox's Brownies'' (play)
* ''The Brownies in Fairyland'' (
lyrics
Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, a ...
1925)
Homages in other works
* Detroit composer
Effie F. Kamman wrote "The Dance of the Brownies" (1893), inspired by the Cox characters. It was a popular hit.
*
Richard F. Outcault
Richard Felton Outcault (; January 14, 1863 – September 25, 1928) was an American cartoonist. He was the creator of the series ''The Yellow Kid'' and ''Buster Brown'' and is considered a key pioneer of the modern comic strip.
Life and career
...
referenced Cox and ''The Brownies'' (whom he parodied) in a February 9, 1895 cartoon of ''
Hogan's Alley''.
* In the 1943 children's novel ''
Rufus M.
''Rufus M.'' by Eleanor Estes is the third novel in the children's series known as The Moffats. Published in 1943, it was a Newbery Honor book. The title character is the youngest of four children growing up in a small town in Connecticut in 1918 ...
'', by
Eleanor Estes
Eleanor Estes (May 9, 1906 – July 15, 1988) was an American children's writer and a children's librarian. Her book ''Ginger Pye,'' for which she also created illustrations, won the Newbery Medal. Three of her books were Newbery Honor Winners, ...
set during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, young Rufus Moffat and his older sister Jane have a contest involving Palmer Cox's ''Brownie'' books: each new illustration, they compete to see who first spots the Brownie in the top hat.
* The idea of the character of
Dunno
Plot summaries
The three fairy tale novels follow the adventures of the little fictional childlike people living in "Flower Town". They are described to be sized like "medium cucumbers", a quality that has earned them the name "shorties" or "mites ...
(russian: Незнайка, Neznayka that is Don'tknowka) created by
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
children's writer
Nikolay Nosov
Nikolay Nikolayevich Nosov (russian: link=no, Николай Николаевич Носов, uk, Микола Миколайович Носов; in Kyiv – 26 July 1976 in Moscow) was a Soviet and Ukrainian children's literature writer, the ...
comes from the books of Palmer Cox.
References
External links
Palmer Cox biographyat Kodak Brownie Camera - The Complete Overview
*
*
*
Books by Palmer Coxin the
University of Florida Digital Collections
The University of Florida Digital Collections (UFDC) are supported by the University of Florida Digital Library Center in the George A. Smathers Libraries at the University of Florida. The University of Florida Digital Collections (UFDC) comprise a ...
Art by Palmer Coxin the
National Gallery of Canada
The National Gallery of Canada (french: Musée des beaux-arts du Canada), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the l ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, Palmer
1840 births
1924 deaths
Canadian children's writers
Writers who illustrated their own writing
Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada)
People from Granby, Quebec
People from East Quogue, New York