The Complete Adventures of Curious George (37 page)

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 Washington 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.

L
EFT:
H. A. Rey proudly displaying the cover of
Whiteblack the Penguin
Sees the World,
late 1930s

B
ELOW:
Margret and H. A. Rey relaxing in Rio de Janeiro, where they briefly
lived in the summer of 1940 before moving to New York

Passports issued to H. A. and Margret Rey by the Brazilian Consulate in New York, 1942

H. A. Rey looking out over the New York City landscape from the Reys' apartment window, early 1940s. Photo probably taken by Margret

H. A. Rey with cocker spaniel Charkie, 1944

Margret Rey with cocker spaniel Charkie. 1944

H. A. and Margret Rey pose for the camera in the late 1940s

H. A. and Margret Rey, 1951

Margret Rey as art director. Waterville Valley, New Hampshire, 1954