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The Best of Kin Hubbard: Abe Martin's Sayings and Wisecracks, Abe's Neighbors, His Almanack, Comic Drawings
"This is an absolutely delightful book.... Hubbard is considered to be a regional humorist, but like all really good humorists, he speaks to everyone." --Humor: International Journal of Humor Research
"Now an' then an innocent man is sent t' th' legislature."
"When a feller says, 'It hain't th' money, but th' principle o' th' thing, it's the money."
During the early years of this century, the fictional Abe Martin became one of the most popular cracker-barrel philosophers this country has ever known. First created for the Indianapolis News by Kin Hubbard, the humorous and sometimes painful lines of Abe and his neighbors in the Bloom Center Weekly Sliphorn captured the imagination of Americans everywhere. This collection gathers together the very best sayings, humorous essays, cartoons, drawings, and a representative sample of Abe's "almanack."
"Now an' then an innocent man is sent t' th' legislature."
"When a feller says, 'It hain't th' money, but th' principle o' th' thing, it's the money."
During the early years of this century, the fictional Abe Martin became one of the most popular cracker-barrel philosophers this country has ever known. First created for the Indianapolis News by Kin Hubbard, the humorous and sometimes painful lines of Abe and his neighbors in the Bloom Center Weekly Sliphorn captured the imagination of Americans everywhere. This collection gathers together the very best sayings, humorous essays, cartoons, drawings, and a representative sample of Abe's "almanack."
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First published November 22, 1995
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About the author
Kin Hubbard
87 books4 followersFrank McKinney Hubbard was an American cartoonist, humorist, and journalist better known by his pen name "Kin" Hubbard.
He was creator of the cartoon Abe Martin of Brown County which ran in U.S. newspapers from 1904 until his death in 1930, and was the originator of many political quips that remain in use. North American humorist Will Rogers reportedly declared Hubbard to be "America's greatest humorist."
He was creator of the cartoon Abe Martin of Brown County which ran in U.S. newspapers from 1904 until his death in 1930, and was the originator of many political quips that remain in use. North American humorist Will Rogers reportedly declared Hubbard to be "America's greatest humorist."
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February 6, 2016
Frank McKinney “Kin” Hubbard (1868-1930) was an American caricaturist and humorist who was born in Bellefontaine, OH. His father was editor and publisher of the Bellefontaine Examiner. After quitting school at age thirteen and bouncing around at several jobs, he left Bellefontaine in 1899 at age 31 for a job as a reporter-sketch artist in Indianapolis, IN, with the Indianapolis Sun. Two years later he moved to the Indianapolis News. In 1904, he began daily drawings of a clown-like, rustic character named Abe Martin who lived in the fictional town of Bloom Center located in southern Indiana’s really existing Brown County and who made humorous observations about life. These continued for 26 years.
A couple of years later, Kin decided to capitalize on Abe’s popularity and began publishing a series of annual almanac-like books containing collections of Abe’s sayings, totaling 25 in all. In 1910, the Abe Martin cartoons and epigrams were syndicated nationally in over 300 newspapers after the well-known Hoosier humorist George Ade wrote about them in the American Magazine. The next year, Kin started writing a weekly series of comic essays known as “Short Furrows” which featured stories about Abe as a “cracker-barrel philosopher,” along with others of his friends and neighbors, and these too were soon syndicated. After Hubbard’s sudden death at age 62 from a heart attack, the state of Indiana decided to honor him by naming the new lodge being built in Brown County State Park near Nashville, IN, after Abe Martin.
This hilarious volume, which I picked up at the Abe Martin Lodge gift shop in Brown County State Park when there for a family reunion, is divided into two parts. Editor David S. Hawes, a Professor Emeritus of Theatre and Drama at Indiana University, relates in Part One the life story of Kin Hubbard, including the birth and development of Abe Martin, and then provides in Part Two a sample of Abe's very best sayings, wisecracks, neighbors, almanacks, and comic drawings, supposedly taken from the Bloom Center Weekly Sliphorn. For example, "When a feller says, ‘It hain’t th’ money, but th’ principle o’ th’ thing, it’s the money." And, “It’s no disgrace t’ be poor, but it might as well be.” The kind of home-spun humor of a by-gone era in this book would probably be absolutely lost on a majority of younger people today who likely think only in terms of modern, crass, stand-up comics, but I found it funny and enjoyed reading it.
A couple of years later, Kin decided to capitalize on Abe’s popularity and began publishing a series of annual almanac-like books containing collections of Abe’s sayings, totaling 25 in all. In 1910, the Abe Martin cartoons and epigrams were syndicated nationally in over 300 newspapers after the well-known Hoosier humorist George Ade wrote about them in the American Magazine. The next year, Kin started writing a weekly series of comic essays known as “Short Furrows” which featured stories about Abe as a “cracker-barrel philosopher,” along with others of his friends and neighbors, and these too were soon syndicated. After Hubbard’s sudden death at age 62 from a heart attack, the state of Indiana decided to honor him by naming the new lodge being built in Brown County State Park near Nashville, IN, after Abe Martin.
This hilarious volume, which I picked up at the Abe Martin Lodge gift shop in Brown County State Park when there for a family reunion, is divided into two parts. Editor David S. Hawes, a Professor Emeritus of Theatre and Drama at Indiana University, relates in Part One the life story of Kin Hubbard, including the birth and development of Abe Martin, and then provides in Part Two a sample of Abe's very best sayings, wisecracks, neighbors, almanacks, and comic drawings, supposedly taken from the Bloom Center Weekly Sliphorn. For example, "When a feller says, ‘It hain’t th’ money, but th’ principle o’ th’ thing, it’s the money." And, “It’s no disgrace t’ be poor, but it might as well be.” The kind of home-spun humor of a by-gone era in this book would probably be absolutely lost on a majority of younger people today who likely think only in terms of modern, crass, stand-up comics, but I found it funny and enjoyed reading it.
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