Guide to the Ethel Hays collection M2142
Franz Kunst
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
2016
Green Library
557 Escondido Mall
Stanford 94305-6064
specialcollections@stanford.edu
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Title: Ethel Hays collection
creator:
Hays, Ethel
creator:
Brinkley, Nell, 1886-1944
creator:
Wells, Carolyn, 1862-1942
Identifier/Call Number: M2142
Physical Description:
2 Linear Feet
(1 box, 1 flat box)
Date (inclusive): 1923-1929
Date (bulk): bulk
Abstract: 1920s comics by women artists clipped from local newspapers.
Scope and Contents
These 1920s comics and illustrations were clipped from local newspapers by an unknown person. The papers include the
Redwood City Tribune,
San Francisco News,
San Francisco Examiner, and
San Francisco Call, and a few from the
Daily Palo Alto Times. Most comics are by Ethel Hays, but there a several illustrations by Nell Brinkley and a few other artists.
Ethel Hays (1892-1989) was a syndicated cartoonist known especially for her flapper-themed characters. She studied art with
the intention of being a painter, but decided to pursue comics through correspondence courses with the Landon School of Illustration
and Cartooning. In late 1923 the school's founder Charles Landon helped her get hired by the Cleveland Press, where she became
a regular contributor with the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) syndicate. Her first column had been named "Vic and
Ethel" with writer Victoria Benham, but when Benham got married and quit, Hays continued on her own with a cartoon titled
"Ethel," and a little later "Flapper Fanny Says." Her one-panel cartoons with lightly humorous social commentary and crisp,
fashionable line drawings made her extremely popular, and over 500 papers carried her work within the first year of syndication.
Hays later became an illustrator for children's books, especially Raggedy Ann and Andy, as well as coloring books and paper
doll cut-out books.
Nell Brinkley (1886 – 1944) belongs to an older generation of illustrators, with her first published work illustrating a children's
book in 1906. A native of Colorado, Brinkley also was hired to make drawings for The
Denver Post and later the
Rocky Mountain News. In 1907 she began working for Hearst at the
New York Journal-American in New York and quickly rose to fame. Her iconic Brinkley Girl was a likely influence on Hays. Most of the newspaper illustrations
present here are color full page illustrations in the American Weekly magazine section of
San Francisco Examiner, and many are from two running series created with author Carolyn Wells.
Conditions Governing Access
Open for research. Note that material must be requested at least 36 hours in advance of intended use.
Conditions Governing Use
While Special Collections is the owner of the physical and digital items, permission to examine collection materials is not
an authorization to publish. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. Any transmission
or reproduction beyond that allowed by fair use requires permission from the owners of rights, heir(s) or assigns.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
This collection was given to Stanford University, Special Collections at an unknown date.
Preferred Citation
[identification of item], Ethel Hays Collection (M2142). Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University
Libraries, Stanford, Calif.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Comic books, strips, etc.
Women cartoonists -- United States
Hays, Ethel
Brinkley, Nell, 1886-1944
Wells, Carolyn, 1862-1942
1.1 Ethel
Scope and Contents
Most of Hays comics during this time were titled "Ethel," but some running themes were also titled "Then & Now" and "Goat
Getters" or "Doesn't It Get Your Goat?" These are foldered separately but belong in the same chronological sequence as the
other comics. There are also some comics from a small summer-themed series titled "A Summer Girl's Boys."
box 1, folder 7
Goat Getters / Doesn't It Get Your Goat
1926-1929
box 1, folder 9
A Summer Girl's Boys
1927
Scope and Contents
Contains panels numbered 1-6 and 8.
Box 2, Folder 4
1.3 Hays full page spreads, SF News, SF Chronicle
2-12/1929
Box 1, Folder 14
1.4 Allene Summers, "Teaching Art to Uncle Sam's Wounded Veterans Started 'Ethel'" (NEA article, unknown newspaper)
circa 1927-1928
Box 2, Folder 1
various (mostly full page)
1923-1929
Box 2, Folder 2
The Adventures of Prudent Prim (Verses by Carolyn Wells, Drawings by Nell Brinkley)
1925-11-1926-02
Box 2, Folder 3
Fortunes of Flossy (Verses by Carolyn Wells, Drawings by Nell Brinkley)
1926-12-1927-06
box 2, folder 5
Martin - Boots And Her Buddies (2 comics)
1929
box 2, folder 5
Dorothy Flack (2 comics)
1928
box 2, folder 5
Fay King (one panel, torn into pieces)
box 1, folder 15
cover, Life Magazine 8/23/1929 by Raymond Thayer ; unknown magazine cover by Irving Einclair 6/1927
box 1, folder 16
Uncredited drawings (one signed "CR")
