Nell Brinkley was born on September 5, 1886 (or 1888), in Denver, Colorado. At the age of seven (or five), she and her family moved to 2425 Gray Street—a small home in Edgewater, Colorado. Her father, Robert, would later become Edgewater’s mayor. In case you were wondering, the current estimated value of 2425 Gray Street is $626,200.
In 1902, a teenage Brinkley earned $7 a week as a cartoonist for The Denver Post. That’s $252 today. After dropping out of high school, Brinkley turned her full attention to building a career in the arts. By the time she turned twenty, she caught the attention of newspaper magnate, William Randolph Hearst. Hearst persuaded Brinkley to work for him, and move to New York.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Notes on Illustration to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.