c.1926
Tony Sarg wore many ‘hats’ -
he was a puppeteer, illustrator, toymaker;
a window designer, author and fabric designer.
I discovered him when I saw a few of his
alphabet page designs.
I was immediately enthralled!
These pages are from an Alphabet book
in the permanent collection of
The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Anne Stoddard wrote the verses.
Anthony Frederick Sarg, in Guatemala
to his German consulate father and
his English mother
in 1880.
When Tony was 7 the family moved
back to Germany. (1887)
At age 15, with war coming,
the family moved to England.
By 1915 Tony had a wife and a daughter.
Due to anti-German attitudes,
he moved his family to
New York City, New York USA.
Courtesy Media Storehouse USA
By 1917 Puppetry was his main profession.
Today he is still known as
‘The Father of Puppetry in the USA’
Courtesy Enrico Manino
In 1920 Mr. Sarg became
In 1920 Mr. Sarg became
a naturalized citizen of the USA.
Tony Sarg wrote many books on Puppetry and Marionettes. He loved them,
and wanted to share them with as many as possible.
In addition to Puppetry,
Mr. Sarg was a prolific illustrator,
writing and illustrating children’s books,
magazine covers, guide books and
co-animator for many films (primarily 1921-1923).
And then in 1928 something magical happened.
Macy’s had a Thanksgiving parade.
And…there were balloons!
Huge, flying balloons!
Tony Sarg had created a phenomenon.
He started an ongoing tradition
that is still loved today.
After the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair
he stopped competing with other puppeteers
and focused on his illustrations.
Through Fairy Halls, c.1920
Illustrated by Tony Sarg
Mr. Sarg wrote and illustrated children’s stories.
He designed posters for hospitals and fund raisers.
He created illustrations for newspapers,
magazine covers and billboards.
In 1942 Mr. Sarg had an emergency appendectomy.
3 weeks later he was dead.
However, his legacy lives on through his
books, numerous illustrations,
children’s stories and of course every November
with Macy’s Thanksgiving parade balloons!
‘Til next time,
inkspired
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