Ludwig Bemelmans

• Born 1898-04-27 · Died 1962-10-01

Ludwig Bemelmans was a writer and illustrator primarily known for his series of Madeline children's books. Bemelmans began his career as a painter and artist and eventually became a cartoonist, starting with the New York World in 1926. He created, wrote, and drew the comic, The Thrilling Adventures of the Count Bric a Brac for the New York World's magazine, The World Magazine, in 1926, though it lasted just six months. By the 1930s, Bemelmans was doing cartoons and illustrations for print advertisements and for magazines like Judge (Judge, 1881 series). His first children's book was Hansi (Viking Press, 1934) and the first Madeline book in 1939 by Simon & Schuster. Bemelmans would go on to create and have published a further five Madeline books and another posthumously. He is known for having written and illustrated a text feature for Dell, credited in 1947. Bails' Who's Who records that he also wrote and drew various features for Dell in 1944. Bemelmans wrote and illustrated several books, wrote movie scripts, and painted murals.