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{{Short description|Canadian illustrator and author}}
[[image:Cox_palmer.jpg|thumb|150px|Palmer Cox]]
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2013}}
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
| name = Palmer Cox
| image = Cox palmer.jpg
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1840|4|28|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Granby, Quebec]], Canada
| death_date = {{death date and age|1924|7|24|1840|4|28}}
| death_place = Granby, Quebec, Canada
| occupation = Illustrator, author, poet
| genre =
| notableworks = ''[[The Brownies]]''
| website =
}}
'''Palmer Cox''' (April 28, 1840 – July 24, 1924) was a [[Canadians|Canadian]] illustrator and author,<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Cox, Palmer|magazine=Who's Who|year=1907|volume= 59|page=401|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yEcuAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA401}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|title=Cox, Palmer|magazine=The International Who's Who in the World|year=1912|page=322|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I-wRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA322}}</ref> best known for ''[[The Brownies]]'', his series of humorous verse books and [[comic strips]] about the mischievous but kindhearted [[fairy|fairy-like]] [[sprite (creature)|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)|Brownie camera]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/palmer-cox | archive-url=https://archive.today/20131008011354/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/palmer-cox | url-status=dead | archive-date=October 8, 2013 | title=Palmer Cox | author= CHARLES C. HILL | encyclopedia= [[The Canadian Encyclopedia]] | access-date=October 7, 2013}}</ref>


==Life==
'''Palmer Cox''' ([[April 28]][[1840]]-[[July 24]][[1924]]) was a Canadian born artist, best known for his series of humorous verse cartoons about the mischievous but kind-hearted [[Brownie (elf)|Brownies]]. 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)|Brownie camera]].
He was born in [[Granby, Quebec]], the 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''.<ref name=lambiek-cox>{{Cite web|last=Lambiek Comiclopedia|title=Palmer Cox|url=http://lambiek.net/artists/c/cox-palmer.htm}}</ref> After 1875, Cox lived in New York (Pine View House, [[East Quogue, New York|East Quogue]], [[Long Island]]). During this time he regularly contributed editorial cartoons to [[Oscar Hammerstein I|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|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]]''.<ref name=toonopedia-brownies>{{Cite web|last=Don Markstein's Toonopedia|title=The Brownies (1881)|url=http://www.toonopedia.com/brownies.htm}}</ref>
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. He lived in San Francisco from [[1863]]-[[1875]]. In 1874 he began to formally study drawing and contribute illustrated stories to such publications as ''Golden Era'' and ''Alta California''. After [[1875]] lived in [[New York]] (Pine View House, East Quogue, [[Long Island]]). His ''Brownie'' stories appeared in ''St. Nicholas'' and the ''[[Ladies' Home Journal]]''.


Cox's Brownies are little men who have adventures together. Each Brownie has a distinctive physical appearance: for example, one wears a top hat and monocle, another is dressed as a stereotypical Chinese peasant, yet another is dressed as a Red Indian chief in war bonnet. Cox's text is quite crude, and does not develop individual personalities for the Brownies, aside from the "ethnic" ones speaking in stereotypical dialect. Cox's illustations tend to show a crowd of Brownies jumbled together, with specific Brownies recurring from one illustration to the next, but with no Brownie occupying a predictable location in the picture.
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.".<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Cummins|first=Roger W.|date=September 1975|title=Humorous but Wholesome. A History of Palmer Cox and the Brownies|publisher=Century House |lccn=72097477
|pages=56, 63–64}}</ref>


"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."<ref name=":0" />
In the children's novel ''[[Rufus M]]'', written by [[Eleanor Estes]] and set during [[World War One]], young Rufus Moffat and his older sister Jane have a friendly contest involving Palmer Cox's Brownie books: each time they come to a new illustration, they compete to see who will be first to find the Brownie in the top hat.


"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."<ref name=":0" />
== Works ==

Cox died at his 17-room dream home named Brownie Castle<ref>{{cite web|last=Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon|title=Brownie Castle|url=http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/brownies/castle.html|access-date=6 December 2013}}</ref> 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''.<ref name=fmbio>{{Cite web|last=Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon|title=Palmer Cox biography|url=http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/brownies/cox_bio.html}}</ref>

==Homages in other works==
[[Image:Outcault 4th ward brownies.jpg|right|thumb]]
* Detroit composer [[Effie F. Kamman]] wrote "The Dance of the Brownies" (1893), inspired by the Cox characters. It was a popular hit.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cFxZRg_Z24kC&q=Kamman+Dance+Brownies&pg=PA13|title=Detroit: Ragtime and the Jazz Age|last=Milan|first=Jon|date=2009|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=9780738561134|pages=13|language=en}}</ref>
*[[Richard F. Outcault]] referenced Cox and ''The Brownies'' (whom he parodied) in a February 9, 1895 cartoon of ''[[Hogan's Alley (comic strip)|Hogan's Alley]]''.<ref>{{cite book|author=Gary Cross|title=The Cute and the Cool: Wondrous Innocence and Modern American Children's Culture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nvXhBwAAQBAJ&q=Palmer+Cox+Yellow+Kid&pg=PT63|year=2004|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-190-28886-0}}</ref>
* In the 1943 children's novel ''[[Rufus M.]]'', by [[Eleanor Estes]] set during [[World War I]], 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]] ({{langx|ru|Незнайка}}, Neznayka that is Don'tknowka) created by [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] children's writer [[Nikolay Nosov]] comes from the books of Palmer Cox.<ref>{{cite book|author=Ben Hellman|title=Fairy Tales and True Stories: The History of Russian Literature for Children and Young People (1574 - 2010)|page=528|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zfiZAAAAQBAJ&q=Palmer+Cox+Neznayka&pg=PA528|year=2013|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-9-004-25638-5 }}</ref>

== Bibliography ==
[[Image:Brownie.jpg|thumb|180px|right|A Cox Brownie]]
* ''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)
* [http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/012192705 ''The Brownies, Their Book''] (1887)
* [https://archive.org/details/cihm_17003 ''Another Brownie Book''] (1890)
* [https://archive.org/details/browniesathome00coxp ''The Brownies at Home''] (1893)
* [https://archive.org/details/browniesarondwor00coxp ''The Brownies Around the World''] (1894)
* [https://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00065513/00280/80j ''The Brownies in Fairyland''] (1894)
* [https://archive.org/details/browniesthroughu00coxp ''The Brownies Through the Union''] (1895)
* ''Frontier Humor'' (1895)
* [http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/008888048 ''The Brownies Abroad''] (1899)
* ''The Brownies in the Philippines''
* ''The Monk's Victory and other Stories by Palmer Cox'' (1903)
* [https://archive.org/details/palmercoxbrowni00mosegoog ''The Palmer Cox Brownie Primer''] (1906)
* ''The Brownie Clown in Brownie Town'' (comics<ref name=brownietown>{{Cite web|last= Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon |title=''The Brownie Clown in Brownie Town'' |url=http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/brownies/brownietown.jpg}} Image</ref> 1907)
* [https://archive.org/details/browniesmanymore00coxp ''The Brownies Many More Nights''] (1913)
* [https://archive.org/details/browniesprincefl00coxp ''The Brownies and Prince Florimel''] (1918)
* ''The Brownie Calendar''
* ''Palmer Cox's Brownies'' (play)
* ''The Brownies in Fairyland'' ([[lyrics]]<ref name=fairylandlyrics>{{Cite web|last= Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon |title=Brownies on stage-Lyrics|url=http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/brownies/fairyland01.html}}</ref> 1925)

==References==
{{Reflist}}


*''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''
*''The Brownie's at Home'' ([[1893]])
*''The Brownie's Around the World'' ([[1894]])
*''The Brownie's Through the Union'' ([[1895]])
*''The Brownie's Abroad'' ([[1899]])
*''The Brownie's in the Philippines''
*''[http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/brownies/brownietown.jpg The Brownie Clown in Brownie Town]'' ([[Comics]] [[1907]])
*''The Brownie Primer''
*''The Brownie Calendar''
*''Palmer Cox's Brownies'' ([[Play]])
*''[http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/brownies/fairyland01.html The Brownie's in Fairyland]'' ([[Lyrics]] [[Music]])
* [[Wikipedia:Wikignome]]
==External links==
==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/brownies/cox_bio.html biography]
*[http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/brownies/bibliography.html bibliography]
* [http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/brownies/cox_bio.html Palmer Cox biography]
*[http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/brownies/index.html Palmer Cox's Brownies]
* [http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/brownies/index.html Palmer Cox' ''The Brownies'']
* [http://www.brownie.camera/more/palmer_cox_brownies.htm Palmer Cox] at Kodak Brownie Camera - The Complete Overview
*[http://www.library.mcgill.ca/rarebook/hisbook.htm#palmcox McGill University]
* {{Gutenberg author | id=35178| name=Palmer Cox}}
{{artist-stub}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Palmer Cox}}
* {{Librivox author |id=9337}}
* [http://ufdc.ufl.edu/juv/results/?t=%20,palmer%20cox, Books by Palmer Cox] in the [[University of Florida Digital Collections]]
* [http://www.gallery.ca/en/see/collections/artist_work.php?iartistid=1179 Art by Palmer Cox] in the [[National Gallery of Canada]]

{{Authority control}}


[[Category:1840 births|Cox, Palmer]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, Palmer}}
[[Category:1924 deaths|Cox, Palmer]]
[[Category:1840 births]]
[[Category:1924 deaths]]
[[Category:Canadian children's writers]]
[[Category:Writers who illustrated their own writing]]
[[Category:Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada)]]
[[Category:People from Granby, Quebec]]
[[Category:People from East Quogue, New York]]

Latest revision as of 16:48, 2 November 2024

Palmer Cox
Born(1840-04-28)April 28, 1840
Granby, Quebec, Canada
DiedJuly 24, 1924(1924-07-24) (aged 84)
Granby, Quebec, Canada
OccupationIllustrator, author, poet
Notable worksThe Brownies

Palmer Cox (April 28, 1840 – July 24, 1924) was a Canadian illustrator and author,[1][2] 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.[3]

Life

[edit]

He was born in Granby, Quebec, the 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.[4] 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.[5]

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.".[6]

"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."[6]

"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."[6]

Cox died at his 17-room dream home named Brownie Castle[7] 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.[8]

Homages in other works

[edit]
  • Detroit composer Effie F. Kamman wrote "The Dance of the Brownies" (1893), inspired by the Cox characters. It was a popular hit.[9]
  • Richard F. Outcault referenced Cox and The Brownies (whom he parodied) in a February 9, 1895 cartoon of Hogan's Alley.[10]
  • In the 1943 children's novel Rufus M., by Eleanor Estes set during World War I, 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 (Russian: Незнайка, Neznayka that is Don'tknowka) created by Soviet children's writer Nikolay Nosov comes from the books of Palmer Cox.[11]

Bibliography

[edit]
A Cox Brownie

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Cox, Palmer". Who's Who. Vol. 59. 1907. p. 401.
  2. ^ "Cox, Palmer". The International Who's Who in the World. 1912. p. 322.
  3. ^ CHARLES C. HILL. "Palmer Cox". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on October 8, 2013. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
  4. ^ Lambiek Comiclopedia. "Palmer Cox".
  5. ^ Don Markstein's Toonopedia. "The Brownies (1881)".
  6. ^ a b c Cummins, Roger W. (September 1975). Humorous but Wholesome. A History of Palmer Cox and the Brownies. Century House. pp. 56, 63–64. LCCN 72097477.
  7. ^ Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon. "Brownie Castle". Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  8. ^ Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon. "Palmer Cox biography".
  9. ^ Milan, Jon (2009). Detroit: Ragtime and the Jazz Age. Arcadia Publishing. p. 13. ISBN 9780738561134.
  10. ^ Gary Cross (2004). The Cute and the Cool: Wondrous Innocence and Modern American Children's Culture. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-190-28886-0.
  11. ^ Ben Hellman (2013). Fairy Tales and True Stories: The History of Russian Literature for Children and Young People (1574 - 2010). Brill. p. 528. ISBN 978-9-004-25638-5.
  12. ^ Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon. "The Brownie Clown in Brownie Town". Image
  13. ^ Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon. "Brownies on stage-Lyrics".
[edit]
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