Palmer Cox

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Palmer Cox

Palmer Cox (born April 28, 1840 in Québec , † July 24, 1924 on Long Island ) was a Canadian-American children's author and illustrator.

Life

Palmer Cox had worked in other professions before moving to San Francisco in 1863 and beginning to draw. In California, he became a US citizen. From 1874 he sold illustrated stories to California magazines. From 1875 he lived on Long Island; his studio was at 656 Broadway in Manhattan . His most famous characters, the brownies , modeled after Scottish legendary characters, appeared for the first time in 1883 in the children's magazine St. Nicholas; The first Brownie book appeared in 1887, followed by eleven more by 1918. In total, Palmer Cox published 25 books, 16 of them on brownies. According to Cox's own estimation, he drew over a million brownies in his life. These little ghosts had large, pointed ears, wide mouths that usually smiled, bulging eyes, and long, thin legs. They were differentiated according to nationalities or professions; For example, there was a police brownie, an Irish, a Chinese and an Indian brownie in the appropriate clothing and finally also a cowboy brownie, which President Theodore Roosevelt had personally requested. The brownies were also the protagonists in two stage plays, one of which was played five years in a row, and appeared on numerous items of everyday use. Among other things, George Eastman Cox named his popular boxing camera Brownie in honor . From 1890 brownie dolls were sold, from 1891 more toys and from 1892 brownie games. Cookies and soap were also marketed with the help of the brownie figurines. In his later years, Cox himself acquired a prestigious residence near the house where he was born, in addition to his residence on Long Island, which he called Brownie Castle.

The address is 125 Elgin Street, Victoria Park, Granby. It was built according to Palmer Cox's plans between 1902 and 1904 by his two brothers William and George. Brownie Castle has an octagonal tower with a brownie flag raised, six staircases, 17 rooms, a brownie weather vane and a stained glass window with a brownie motif.

In addition to his books and comics for children, Cox has also been a regular contributor to the Ladies Home Journal and a Sunday newspaper.

Palmer Cox was one of the first artists to have their works protected by copyright; however, numerous copyright violations were committed. According to Dorothy Jean Ray, the children's book illustrations by Florence Pretz, whose lucky charm figure Billiken, patented in 1908, also shows features that are already present in brownies, show a certain similarity with brownies .

Memberships

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.freemasonry.bcy.ca/biography/cox_p/cox_p.html
  2. ↑ http://www.phsc.ca/Brownie2007.html
  3. ↑ http://www.freemasonry.bcy.ca/brownies/castle.html
  4. ↑ http://www.churchofgoodluck.com/Billiken_Lore.html
  5. ↑ Famous Freemasons Palmer Cox , Homepage: Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon (Retrieved April 25, 2012)
personal data
SURNAME Cox, Palmer
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian children's author and illustrator
DATE OF BIRTH April 28, 1840
PLACE OF BIRTH Quebec
DATE OF DEATH July 24, 1924
Place of death long Island