Florence Kate Upton

Florence Kate Upton (22 February 1873 – 16 October 1922) was an American-born English cartoonist and author most famous for her Golliwogg series of children's books.

Upton was born in Flushing, New York, to British parents who had immigrated recently. She was the second of four children in a creative and slightly eccentric household.

Florence's father, Thomas Harborough Upton, worked as a confidential clerk at the American Exchange Bank in New York. In 1884 the family moved from Flushing to central Manhattan, which was more convenient for her father's daily journey to his office. The National Academy of Design, located near the new home, offered free instruction to anyone who could qualify. This prompted her father to enroll in evening classes and Florence, at 15 years old, joined him for the beginning of her formal art training.

In June 1889 the family was placed in financial difficulty by the sudden death of Thomas Upton. Florence's mother, Bertha, had a trained singing voice and began to give voice lessons in the home. Her older sister Ethelwyn found work, while her younger siblings Alice and Desmond remained in school. Florence, at age 16, obtained work as a professional illustrator. Numerous publications existed at this time, mainly as vehicles for advertising and light fiction of varying merit. Some of the same authors whose stories appeared in the magazines went on to employ Florence to illustrate their novels or books of short stories.

Finances eventually stabilised to such a degree that in 1893 the family was able to pay an extended visit to Bertha's relatives, the Hudsons, who lived in the Hampstead area of London. With an established reputation from her published work in New York, Florence had no difficulty in finding employment with London publishers. When the rest of the family returned to the United States she opted to stay in England and began experimenting with ideas to supplement her income so that she could afford further art training.

Upton began to sketch out ideas for a children's book, using "penny wooden" dolls as her models. However, without a central character on which to hang the tale, progress came to a standstill. Her aunt, Kate Hudson, found an old toy in her attic that had belonged to the Upton children, left behind from an earlier visit. This toy, which she named Golliwogg, provided inspiration, and the first story was completed in 1894. The publishing house of Longmans, Green & Co. offered her a contract and The Adventures of Two Dutch Dolls and a Golliwogg was published for Christmas 1895.

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