Wisdom in Fable by Palmer Cox -- Anthro Artist!

 

Wisdom in Fable, Advertising story for Pond's Extract with illustrations by Palmer Cox, c. 1885.  This version c. 1905

 

Hi Guys!

Maybe you've heard of Palmer Cox and maybe you haven't, but about 130 years ago, his "Brownies" were a household name on a par with Mickey Mouse and Ronald McDonald!  The Brownies were these little elf-guys who got into all sorts of adventures and mischief.  Cox published the first of his Brownie stories in magazines as early as 1879.  The first Brownie book followed in 1887.  Kids loved this stuff and by the turn of the twentieth century, the Brownies were everywhere!  In fact, they were one of the first popular characters that were widely used in advertising, whether licensed or not.  Kodak's famous Brownie camera comes to mind, but Cox's fun-loving imps also touted dozens of other products ranging from cigars to soap, boots, and sheet music! 

Palmer Cox surrounded by stogie-puffing Brownies.  Cigar box label, c. 1900.  http://museumblog.winterthur.org/2011/11/16/the-brownie-empire-of-palmer-cox/

As it turns out, Cox was also quite the anthro artist!  His favorite sort of anthro seems to have been bears, but he drew a lot of other stuff as well.  Like the Brownies, Cox's anthro characters sometimes appeared in commercial contexts.  And that's where today's offering comes into play!

Sometime around 1885, Pond's Extract Company hired Cox to draw up a little story that would extol the virtues of their main product, a kind of healing salve that was useful for burns, scratches, bee stings, and other minor irritations.  Unlike a lot of the quack medicines that were churned out at this time, Pond's Extract was made from witch hazel and actually did some good.  Pond's is still around today, although for the last century or so, they've mostly been into cold cream and skin care stuff.

Anyhow, that 1885 story, Wisdom in Fable, was first published in black and white.  About 20 years later, it was republished in color.  And this is where we begin! 

Looks like all's well that ends well for those animals that choose Pond's Extract!  But in case you're thinking that this is some kind of veterinary medicine, the last page hastens to inform us that these animals are actually humans!  I dunno about that -- I've studied the pictures pretty carefully, and they look like animals to me.  Well, anthro animals anyway.  And that's way cool!

OK guys, see you next time!

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Keep the buff package in mind...

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