Ellis Parker Butler
Encyclopedia
Ellis Parker Butler was an American
author.
Butler was born in Muscatine, Iowa
. He was the author of more than 30 books and more than 2,000 stories and essays and is most famous for his short story
"Pigs is Pigs
", in which a bureaucratic stationmaster insists on levying the livestock rate for a shipment of two pet guinea pigs, which soon start proliferating geometrically.
Working from his home in Flushing
(Queens
) New York
, Butler was—by every measure and by many times—the most published author of the pulp fiction
era. Amongst others he wrote twenty-five stories for Woman's Home Companion
between 1906 and 1935. The stories in the Companion were illustrated by artists including May Wilson Preston, Frederic Dorr Steele
, Herbert Paus and Rico Le Brun. Between 1931 and 1936, at least seventeen of Butler's stories published in newspapers were enhanced by noted illustrator Ethel Hays
.
His career spanned more than forty years; and his stories, poems, and articles were published in more than 225 magazines. His work appeared alongside that of his contemporaries, including Mark Twain
, Sax Rohmer
, James B. Hendryx, Berton Braley
, F. Scott Fitzgerald
, Don Marquis
, Will Rogers
, and Edgar Rice Burroughs
.
Despite the enormous volume of his work, Butler was, for most of his life, only a part-time author. He worked full-time as a banker and was very active in his local community. A founding member of both the Dutch Treat Club
and the Author's League of America, Butler was an always-present force in the New York City literary scene.
He died in Williamsville, Massachusetts and was interred in Flushing Cemetery
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author.
Butler was born in Muscatine, Iowa
Muscatine, Iowa
Muscatine is a city in Muscatine County, Iowa, United States. The population was 22,886 in the 2010 census, an increase from 22,697 in the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Muscatine County...
. He was the author of more than 30 books and more than 2,000 stories and essays and is most famous for his short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
"Pigs is Pigs
Pigs is Pigs
Pigs Is Pigs is a story written by Ellis Parker Butler. First published as a short story in The American Magazine in September 1905, "Pigs is Pigs" went on to dozens of printings as a book and in anthologies over the next several decades.-Plot:...
", in which a bureaucratic stationmaster insists on levying the livestock rate for a shipment of two pet guinea pigs, which soon start proliferating geometrically.
Working from his home in Flushing
Flushing, Queens
Flushing, founded in 1645, is a neighborhood in the north central part of the City of New York borough of Queens, east of Manhattan.Flushing was one of the first Dutch settlements on Long Island. Today, it is one of the largest and most diverse neighborhoods in New York City...
(Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
) New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Butler was—by every measure and by many times—the most published author of the pulp fiction
Pulp magazine
Pulp magazines , also collectively known as pulp fiction, refers to inexpensive fiction magazines published from 1896 through the 1950s. The typical pulp magazine was seven inches wide by ten inches high, half an inch thick, and 128 pages long...
era. Amongst others he wrote twenty-five stories for Woman's Home Companion
Woman's Home Companion
Woman's Home Companion was an American monthly publication, published from 1873 to 1957. It was highly successful, climbing to a circulation peak of more than four million during the 1930s and 1940s....
between 1906 and 1935. The stories in the Companion were illustrated by artists including May Wilson Preston, Frederic Dorr Steele
Frederic Dorr Steele
Frederic Dorr Steele is an American illustrator best known for his work on the Sherlock Holmes stories.Steele, a descendant of William Bradford , was born on 6 August 1873 at Eagle Mills, Marquette, Michigan, and studied at the National Academy of Design and elsewhere in New York City...
, Herbert Paus and Rico Le Brun. Between 1931 and 1936, at least seventeen of Butler's stories published in newspapers were enhanced by noted illustrator Ethel Hays
Ethel Hays
Ethel Hays was an American syndicated cartoonist specializing in flapper-themed comic strips in the 1920s and 1930s. She drew in an art deco style. In the later part of her career, during the 1940s and 1950s, she became one of the country's most accomplished children's book illustrators.-Early...
.
His career spanned more than forty years; and his stories, poems, and articles were published in more than 225 magazines. His work appeared alongside that of his contemporaries, including Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
, Sax Rohmer
Sax Rohmer
Arthur Henry Sarsfield Ward , better known as Sax Rohmer, was a prolific English novelist. He is best remembered for his series of novels featuring the master criminal Dr...
, James B. Hendryx, Berton Braley
Berton Braley
Berton Braley was an American poet. He was born in Madison, Wisconsin. His father, Arthur B. Braley, was a judge; he died when Berton Braley was seven years old. At 16, Braley quit high school and got a job working as a factory hand at a plow plant.After a few years, Braley went back to school and...
, F. Scott Fitzgerald
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigm writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost...
, Don Marquis
Don Marquis
Donald Robert Perry Marquis was a humorist, journalist, and author. He was variously a novelist, poet, newspaper columnist, and playwright. He is remembered best for creating the characters "Archy" and "Mehitabel", supposed authors of humorous verse.-Life:...
, Will Rogers
Will Rogers
William "Will" Penn Adair Rogers was an American cowboy, comedian, humorist, social commentator, vaudeville performer, film actor, and one of the world's best-known celebrities in the 1920s and 1930s....
, and Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs was an American author, best known for his creation of the jungle hero Tarzan and the heroic Mars adventurer John Carter, although he produced works in many genres.-Biography:...
.
Despite the enormous volume of his work, Butler was, for most of his life, only a part-time author. He worked full-time as a banker and was very active in his local community. A founding member of both the Dutch Treat Club
Dutch Treat Club
The Dutch Treat Club is a society of illustrators, writers and performers based in New York City. Primarily social in nature, the club has had as members such leading literary figures and humorists as Robert Benchley, Rube Goldberg, Robert M. McBride, and Ogden Nash.-Founding:In 1905, Tuesday was...
and the Author's League of America, Butler was an always-present force in the New York City literary scene.
He died in Williamsville, Massachusetts and was interred in Flushing Cemetery
Flushing Cemetery
Flushing Cemetery is a cemetery in Flushing in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York.The cemetery is the final resting place for:*Louis Armstrong, renowned musician and singer*Bernard Baruch, financier, after whom Baruch College is named...
.
External links
- A searchable Ellis Parker Butler bibliography and the texts of hundreds of pieces of his writing, as well as many of the original illustrations and pulp magazine covers.
- ebooks of works by Ellis Parker Butler at Project Gutenberg Australia
- Free audiobook of Pigs is PigsPigs is PigsPigs Is Pigs is a story written by Ellis Parker Butler. First published as a short story in The American Magazine in September 1905, "Pigs is Pigs" went on to dozens of printings as a book and in anthologies over the next several decades.-Plot:...
from LibriVox - Many Ellis Parker Butler stories, including Pigs is Pigs and most of the Perkins of Portland tales, are read in Mister Ron's Basement Podcast, now indexed for convenience
- Online movie of "Pigs is Pigs" produced by the Adam Smith Academy