Palmer Cox (April 28, 1840 – July 24, 1924) was a
Canadian illustrator and
author, best known for
The Brownies, his series of humorous verse books and
comic strips 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.
Biography
He was born in
Granby, Quebec, son of Michael and Sarah (Miller) Cox, and became a carpenter and car builder. He moved to
San Francisco via
Panama 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). 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.
Cox's Brownies were little men who had mischievous adventures...
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