by H. A. Rey
In 1924, due to the increasing inflation in Germany, H. A. moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to work as an accountant in his brother-in-law's import-export firm. Among other duties, he sold bathtubs and kitchen sinks up and down the Amazon River for twelve years. The surname of "Rey" was adopted by H. A. when the Brazilians began to address him using the shortened form of his tongue-twister name.
Meanwhile, Margret was still in Germany, where she received formal art training at the Bauhaus in Dessau in 1927, when Paul Klee and Wassily Kandinsky were on the faculty. She also studied at the Düsseldorf Academy of Arts from 1928 to 1929 and held one-artist shows of her art in Berlin in the early 1930s. Margret worked for a British advertising agency in Berlin, where she wrote the lyrics to the first jingle for a radio commercial for Lever Brothers margarine. She also worked as a professional photographer in Berlin and London before moving to Rio de Janeiro in 1935.
Advertising Art
Upon arriving in Rio, Margret became reacquainted with H. A. Rey and persuaded him to leave his brother-in-law's firm. Together they founded the first advertising agency in Rio de Janeiro. They were married on August 16, 1935. They created stories for newspapers and magazines with Margret's writing and H. A.'s illustrations. Margret also continued her photography, and H. A. found steady work with Hoffmann—La Roche, a pharmaceutical firm. He produced many of their direct mail advertising campaigns, utilizing witty illustrations. He also drew maps and posters, illustrated cookbooks, and designed Christmas cards for corporate clients.
Apre's la barbe, le virage en feu?
XYRENE
after shaving lotion
Early Books
Margret and H. A. took a belated honeymoon trip to Europe, and their planned two-week stay in Paris turned into four years. During that happy time, H. A. began to write and illustrate books. Zebrology, published by Grace Hogarth at Chatto & Windus in London in 1937, is Rey's first title in English, although not a children's book. How the Flying Fish Came into Being, a wordless book consisting of eight illustrated panels, followed in 1938. That year also saw the publication of Le Zoo and Le Cirque, toy books complete with paper animals to punch out and assemble. An editor at Gallimard saw Rey's whimsical drawings of a giraffe in a French periodical and suggested that he make them into a children's book. Thus was born Raft et les 9 Singes, published in 1939. An English-language version was also published the same year by Chatto & Windus as Raffy and the 9 Monkeys. Raffy's name was changed to Cecily G. (G. for giraffe, of course) in the subsequent American edition. French children loved the antics of one of the nine monkeys named "Fifi" and begged for more stories about him. Fifi was soon renamed "George" and went on to fame and fortune in his own series of books.
H. A. REY
Rafi et les 9 singes
nrf
Curious George
In June 1940, on a rainy morning before dawn, the Reys left Paris on bicycles just hours before the Nazis entered the city. They took only warm coats and their manuscripts and artwork—among the stories was Curious George. After selling their bicycles at the French-Spanish border, they went by train to Lisbon, on to Rio de Janeiro, and finally arrived in New York City in October 1940. Grace Hogarth, who had published their books at Chatto & Windus and was now at Houghton Mifflin, soon acquired Curious George, which was published in 1941. Curious George slowly became a classic throughout the world, and editions have appeared in every possible language, with George renamed "Zozo," "Bingo," "Nicke," "Coco," and "Piete," among others.
Music Books
In the early 1940s, H. A. Rey began a series of delightful music books, utilizing traditional French children's songs, Mother Goose rhymes, and Christmas carols. They are Au Clair de la Lune (Greystone, 1941), Humpty Dumpty and Other Mother Goose Songs (Harper, 1943), We Three Kings (Harper, 1944), and Mary Had a Little Lamb and Other Nursery Songs (Puffin, 1949). Rey's creativity is evident in these books, in which he replaced the traditional designation of whole, half, quarter, and eighth musical notes with a symbol pertinent to the song.
O little Town of Bethlehem
Books Written by Others
Although H. A. and Margret Rey almost always wrote and illustrated their books together, H. A. illustrated several books for other authors that were published by Harper and Brothers during the 1940s. Rey was fortunate to work with legendary editor Ursula Nordstrom, and together they created several original books. Goodnight Moon author Margaret Wise Brown collaborated with Rey on two books, The Polite Penguin in 1941 and Don't Frighten the Lion in 1942. Other collaborations, all published in 1944, included Katy No-Pocket, by Emmy Payne; Egbert and His Marvelous Adventures, by Paul T. Gilbert; and The Park Book, by Charlotte Zolotow. Don't Frighten the Lion was originally titled "Monkey Business," but the title was changed because Rey had promised his editors at Houghton Mifflin that he would not create books with other publishing firms that would directly compete with their Curious George books. A paper doll and clothing designed by Rey were printed inside the front cover of Don't Frighten the Lion.
Elizabite
Another early H. A. Rey title edited by Ursula Nordstrom is Elizabite, published in 1942. Rey's delightful sense of humor takes center stage in this book about a carnivorous plant. From the jacket flap copy comes the following description: "When asked about the origin of Elizabite, Mr. Rey (who has spent many years in Brazil) told of an evening in Rio when he was dining with friends, among them a botanist who entertained the party with strange tales about carnivorous plants. Ever since, Mr. Rey has looked with suspicion at flower arrangements on dinner tables, and, as the years went by, he often tried to imagine what a carnivorous plant might develop into, under proper care. His thoughts on the subject crystallized into the colorful and energetic shape of Elizabite in the present book."
Tit for Tat
Tit for Tat is an inventive turnabout tale of what would happen if animals did unto us as we do unto them. It was a hit with children and adults alike, as evidenced by the following quotations. From a letter to the Reys from editor Ursula Nordstrom we learn, "The salesmen are all in happy hysterics over Tit for Tat, and so is everyone who has seen the original dummy—the man at Publishers Weekly, for instance." A review in the December 1943 Junior Reviewers relates that "a kindergarten group greeted this with screams of laughter, and you could see the enjoyable visions it started in the darling little heads, such as one comment, 'Oh boy, if I could only play tit for tat with my father!'"
Toy Books
At the same time that Harper and Brothers was publishing Elizabite and Tit for Tat, Houghton Mifflin was busy with several "cut-out-and-play" books created by Uncle Gus. Uncle Gus was, of course, Hans AuGUSto Rey, and his Christmas Manger, Uncle Gus's Circus, and Uncle Gus's Farm, all published in 1942, were instant successes. A May 3, 1942, piece in the New York Times Book Review comments, "The elephants and monkeys and clowns of Uncle Gus's Circus, the pigs and horses and cows ... of Uncle Gus's Farm will push out of the page ... all ready to stand up when folded.... These ingenious books have real charm and will provide solid enjoyment and relief for both children and parents on a long train journey or when a child is ill enough to stay in bed but not too ill to be amused."
LES DÉCOUPAGES REY
LE ZOO
Le Zoo, another toy book created by Rey, was published in 1938 by Hachette in France. Since its design was unique, it was protected by a patent rather than the traditional copyright.
Pretzel
Pretzel was the first book on which Margret Rey's name appeared as author. She often provided ideas and edited the text and illustrations created by her husband, but this was the first time that she actually received credit for her creativity. In the concluding pages of the story, Pretzel finally captures the heart of Greta; they marry and have a litter of five puppies. The sequel, Pretzel and the Puppies, consists of a series of two-page stories presented in a picture strip format similar to that of a comic strip. These short stories also appeared in Good Housekeeping magazine in t
he late 1940s. A balloon replica of Pretzel was featured in a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Katy No-Pocket
What is a kangaroo to do when she has a baby but no pocket? Author Emmy Payne teamed up with illustrator H. A. Rey to provide an exceptional solution to the problem in Katy No-Pocket (1944). Rey explained his creative process for Katy No-Pocket in the Junior Literary Guild's monthly magazine for its young readers, Young Wings: "When I have an idea that seems to me just right for a book, I make sketches and jot down a few words and show them to the boys and girls who are my friends. They tell me what they think and give me very useful suggestions. This showing of my book-in-the-making to my small friends is quite a necessary test, for I am usually so fond of my own ideas that I want to put everything into the book."
Billys Picture
Billys Picture was published by Harper and Brothers in 1948 and was so popular that it was reprinted in Danish, Swedish, German, and Japanese. Despite this worldwide acceptance, the United States sales began to sag in the late 1960S. Upon receiving a royalty statement in 1966, the Reys thought Billy's Picture must be out of print because the sum was so small! Following the adage that a picture is worth a thousand words, H. A. wrote a letter to Ursula Nordstrom at Harper, asking about the book's status. On the letter was a drawing of a tombstone reading "Here Lies Billy, 1948—1965, R.I.P.," with a reclining rabbit in the grass. At the Reys' insistence, Billy was resuscitated with a reprinting of the book using a different color scheme.
The Stars
H. A. Rey was so intensely interested in astronomy that he took a star guide along with him when he served as a German soldier in World War I. He found most guides impossible to interpret and vowed someday to create a more understandable method of constellation recognition. That he did in 1952 with the publication of The Stars: A New Way to See Them, the work of which was triggered by the design of the Reys' 1947 New Year's card, which featured a constellation motif. H. A. spent more than four years creating The Stars, an immediate best-seller. It has since become the definitive star-watching guide, popular with laymen and professionals alike, and is still in print. Many adults who know nothing of Curious George are very familiar with H. A. Rey's name because of The Stars. He later published a children's version entitled Find the Constellations.
Curious George Sequels
After the publication of Curious George in 1941, fans had to wait another six years before more adventures of the mischievous monkey appeared in Curious George Takes a Job. The Reys often made cameo appearances in their books—in this second title of the series, on page 13, one can find Margret with her dog and H. A. with a friend promenading on Fifth Avenue. The third title, Curious George Rides a Bike, was published in 1952. In this series of misadventures, George "sets off on his new bicycle to deliver newspapers, ...builds a whole navy of paper boats, lands in a traveling circus, ...gets an ostrich into trouble, and rescues a runaway bear."
In the fourth title, Curious George Gets a Medal, published in 1957, George goes up in a spaceship and receives a medal for his bravery. Two years later, the United States launched a squirrel monkey named Gordo into space aboard Jupiter AM-13. Gordo was followed in 1959 by Able and Baker, who rode in a nose cone to an altitude of 300 miles and a distance of 1,500 miles. It seemed clear to Margret Rey that their fictional story had inspired the actual events.
Since it was issued as part of a beginning-reader series, Curious George Flies a Kite was written with a restricted vocabulary of only 219 words. According to author Margret Rey, "It was a fad then, and many educators thought first-graders could learn to read quicker that way. Like so many things, it proved to be nonsense and was given up after a while. Luckily, children never noticed that this book was written differently from the other Curious George books."
Margret recalled some difficulty in preparing the British edition of Curious George Learns the Alphabet. "You might think the British use the same alphabet as we do. Far from it! Several pictures had to be changed.... No 'Xmas' there, no 'mailman' (it is 'postman' in England), no 'quarterback,' no 'truck' (it is 'lorry' in England), and so on. So we had to find substitutes."
He got off the bicycle, took a newspaper out of the bag and began to fold it.
First he folded down the corners, like this—
The small t
is a turtle.
You can keep turtles in a tub as pets, they
get quite tame. If you tease a turtle he pulls
his head and feet and tail into his shell.
The final Curious George book written during H. A. Rey's lifetime is Curious George Goes to the Hospital. The story line was suggested to the couple by administrators of Children's Hospital in Boston. They wanted a book to prepare children for their first visit to a hospital. The Reys derived a great deal of satisfaction from this book, since many mothers wrote to tell them how effective it was in reducing their child's trauma.
Whiteblack the Penguin
"Whiteblack the Penguin," never published in the Reys' lifetime, has vibrant full-color illustrations and is complete with beautifully hand-lettered text. According to correspondence in the archive, it was submitted for publication to Ursula Nordstrom of Harper and Brothers. In a letter dated October 27, 1942, Nordstrom commented, "I think Whiteblack can be shortened, sharpened, and improved. I hope you will let me see it again." There is no written evidence that the manuscript was resubmitted. It remained in the Reys' possession and was transferred to the de Grummond Children's Literature Collection at the University of Southern Mississippi, where the entire Rey archive is housed. There, in the fall of 1999, Anita Silvey, publisher of children's books at Houghton Mifflin, discovered the manuscript. Whiteblack the Penguin Sees the World was finally published in 2000.
New Year's Cards
The Reys had a tradition of designing and producing an original card each year to mail to family and friends. They used the cards to inform people of a new address, to comment on the world political situation, or to showcase an imaginative idea.
Lucky Stars for 1941!
Margret & H. A. Rey
Waterville Valley
Although very much at home in their Greenwich Village apartment, the Reys wanted to spend summers in the country, where Margret could garden and H. A. could have a clear view of the heavens. On May 14, 1958, construction began on the Curious George Cottage in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire. Here they spent relaxing summers and drew inspiration from their bucolic existence there. H. A. was well known for rescuing injured animals and nursing them back to health. Coffee, an orphaned chipmunk whom H. A. had hand-fed with an eyedropper and returned to the wild, came back each summer to visit his human friends. Another benefactor of H. A.'s tender care was George the squirrel, whose watercolor image drawn by Rey is shown above.
Other Artwork by Margret
Margret had many interests and accomplishments. She was fluent in four languages and, in addition to writing and editing, she spent her early adult years as a journalist and photographer. When she and H. A. were first married, she put her considerable skills to work supplying newspapers and magazines with photographs.
Another outlet for Margret's creativity was pottery. She trained at the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine, in the late 1960s and early 1970s. She designed and created decorative pieces, as well as functional teapots, bowls, plates, and cups. Among the decorative items are two versions of Jonah and the whale, Aztec-inspired women carrying baskets, a mother elephant and her baby, a pair of dragon candleholders, and two whimsical figures that represent Margret and her husband.
Needlepoint was yet another creative outlet for Margret. She designed, charted, and stitched a number of complex images over the years. Among her needlepoint works are a portrait of H. A. with Curious George in the background, an unfinished self-portrait, a footstool depicting Scoopy (the Reys always had a cocker spaniel, and Scoopy was their third dog), a portrait of Andy (spaniel number four), Jonah and the whale, and a picture of the Wa
shington Square apartment where they lived from 1941 to 1949.
Stuffed Georges
The first stuffed Curious George was produced by Commonwealth Toys in 1971. Margret and H. A. took great pains to ensure that the stuffed toys were accurate representations, with eyes and nose correctly spaced and sized and with the correct colors used in the fur. Various Curious Georges range in height from six inches to six feet. A jogging George was introduced by Knickerbocker Toys in 1982 and came complete with a hooded sweatshirt.
Merchandising
In addition to the stuffed versions of Curious George, there are hundreds of products bearing his image: photo albums, lunch boxes, sweatshirts, and washcloths. There are View-Master reels, rolls of stickers, wooden puzzles, Magic Slates, Colorforms, tennis shoes, a china music box, and a Curious George board game.
Personal Greetings
H. A. was well known for creating personalized greetings for his wife and other relatives and friends. Included in the archive are several original birthday cards given to Margret. The Reys were rarely apart, but, when Margret attended pottery classes in Maine for several weeks each summer from 1969 to 1972, H. A. remained in Waterville Valley. He sent heavily illustrated letters to Margret almost every day, keeping her in touch with his activities.
* * *
The following group of photographs provides a visual history of
the personal and professional lives of Margret and H. A. Rey.
These and many other photographs are a part of the Rey archive
housed at the University of Southern Mississippi.
