Palmer Cox

Born in Granby, Quebec, in 1840, Palmer Cox became one of the best-known illustrators and writers of children's verse in North America. He moved to the United States as a young man and built his career as a magazine illustrator, combining quick visual humor with light, catchy storytelling.

His lasting fame came from the Brownies, a group of small, magical figures who appeared in poems, picture books, and comic-style panels. Beginning in the 1880s, the Brownies became enormously popular and helped make Cox a household name, with the characters appearing not only in books but also in merchandise and popular culture.

Cox continued publishing and drawing for decades, and his work now sits at an interesting crossroads between illustrated children's literature and the early history of comics. He died in 1924, but the Brownies remain the creation most closely linked to his name.