Margaret G. Hays

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Margaret G. Hays
BornMargaret Parker Gebbie
(1874-07-03)July 3, 1874
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedSeptember 13, 1925(1925-09-13) (aged 51)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Area(s)Cartoonist
Spouse(s)
Frank A. Hays
(m. 1893)
Children2
RelativesGrace Drayton (sister)

Margaret G. Hays (née Margaret Parker Gebbie; July 3, 1874 – September 13, 1925) was an American illustrator, cartoonist, and children's author.

Biography[edit]

Hays was born Margaret Parker on July 3, 1874, to George, an art publisher,[1] and Mary Jane (née Fitzgerald) Gebbie. She was educated by governesses until the age of 13 when she then attended the Convent of Notre Dame.[2][1] Hayes worked with her sister, Grace Drayton, on a number of comic strips and children's books, including The Turr’ble Tales of Kaptain Kiddo.[3] Hays created post cards[1] and paper dolls,[4] and while her sister Grace Drayton is best known for creating the Campbells Soup kids, Hays created jingles for Campbells.[2] Hays best known strip is Jennie and Jack, also the Little Dog Jap,[5][6] a strip that was syndicated in 1908. Along with writing comic strips and children's illustrated books, Hays wrote poetry and was published in a number of magazines.[7]

Personal life[edit]

Hays married Frank Allison Hays (1866–1930) in 1893.[8] He was involved in working with the Children's Novelty Company alongside his wife as a place that published paper dolls.[8] She had two children, Mary A. Huber and William Hays; Mary also was a cartoonist.[9] Hays died on September 13, 1925, in Philadelphia, aged 51 years, and is buried at West Laurel Hill Cemetery.

Vegetable verselets for humorous vegetarians

Legacy[edit]

A concert of music that included pieces from Hays' Vegetable Verselets for Humorous Vegetarians was performed on April 29, 2012 at Virginia Tech.[10][11] Inspired by the poem 'Heart-Beets' from the collection, Tracy Cowden – then associate professor of music at Virginia Tech – worked with composer Daron Hagon to set several poems to music, with soprano Caroline Worra enlisted to sing at the concert.[11]

Resources[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Nuhn, Roy (October 12, 1998). "Margaret G. Hays". Barr's Post Card News. Vol. 24, no. 840. Lansing, IA. pp. 1 & 44.
  2. ^ a b Leonard, John William (1914). Woman's Who's Who of America: A Biographical Dictionary of Contemporary Women of the United States and Canada, 1914-1915. New York: American Commonwealth Company. p. 374. OCLC 654801679.
  3. ^ Robbins, Trina. Pretty in Ink: North American Women Cartoonists 1896–2010 (Fantagraphics Books, 2013), pp. 18-21.
  4. ^ "Artist - Margaret G. Hays". Vintage Valentine Museum. March 29, 2014. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  5. ^ "Margaret G. Hays". Lambiek Comiclopedia. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  6. ^ Holtz, Allan (August 20, 2010). "Obscurity of the Day: Jennie and Jack, Also the Little Dog Jap". Stripper's Guide. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  7. ^ "HAYS, MARGARET PARKER (Gebbie)". The General Fiction Magazine Index. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  8. ^ a b "Hays, Frank Allison (1866 - 1930)". Philadelphia Architects and Buildings. Philadelphia Architects and Buildings. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  9. ^ "Mary A. Hays". Lambiek Comiclopedia. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  10. ^ "Concert features a feast for the ears". Virginia Tech Daily. 10 April 2012. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  11. ^ a b libraryasincubatorproject (2 April 2012). "Vegetable Verselets: Music inspired by poetry". The Library as Incubator Project. Retrieved 25 March 2021.

External links[edit]