HOME BIOGRAPHY BIBLIOGRAPHY READING ROOM
Welcome to www.EllisParkerButler.Info, the best place on the Internet to find information about the life and work of Ellis Parker Butler, American humorist and author.

Ellis Parker Butler is best known as the author of "Pigs is Pigs." Born in Muscatine Iowa in 1869, Butler wrote and published 2,200 stories, books, essays and poems during a career that spanned more than forty years.   >>

** Partial Archive Only **

Welcome to an archived copy of www.EllisParkerButler.Info. Created by the late John Martin, this was the best place on the Internet to find information about the life and work of Ellis Parker Butler, American humorist and author. Mr. Butler was -- by any measure and by many times -- the most published author of the pulp fiction era.

This is a mirror copy of the site as it appeared shortly before Mr. Martin's death and is presented here as a tribute to his excellent work.


Reading Room

572 different books, articles, poems and stories you can read right here, online! The stories, poems and articles on this site have been read more than 609,910 times.

'Geoffrey's Panklaggephone' from Cosmopolitan magazine September 1909

Our online reading room has text and images of many of Ellis Parker Butler's most famous stories. Our favorites include:


Online Bibliography

Try our searchable Ellis Parker Butler bibliography of his published works.

'Here we have Walsingham revolving rapidly' There are 2,069 entries right now, with more coming online as we find them. Most of Butler's work was not indexed at the time, so it's real detective work to rediscover his forgotten stories.

There's a lot of stuff in this bibliography. Poke your nose in and stay awhile! You'll be amply rewarded!


Strong Moral Character

The writings of Ellis Parker Butler were not all just humor and frivolity. These stories each make a strong and direct statement concerning moral character:

CLICK HERE TO READ ONLINE: Alibi

READ IT NOW
Alibi

 

Audio Recording

In 1916 Steve Porter made a 78 r.p.m. recording of Ellis Parker Butler's famous humorous story " Mrs. Dugan's Discovery ."

We've restored the original vinyl recording and converted it to web-friendly audio so you can hear it for yourself, in your choice of three popular formats:

Playing time is 3 minutes : 25 seconds.


Signature on file

After his success with the story in 1905, Ellis Parker Butler would use "Pigs is Pigs" as a marketing tool for the rest of his work.

autograph 1932

When he signed autographs, he'd usually include the title of that book and a little drawing of a pig. (And it's a real "oink oink" pig, not a guinea pig.)

Inscriptions attributed to Ellis Parker Butler:

  • I cannot draw a perfect pig
        But what is that to me?
    Imperfect pigs do just as well
        Since Pigs is Pigs, you see.

  • Pigs is Pigs in China
        And Pigs is Pigs in Cork
    But Pigs Ain't Pigs in frying pans
        Because there Pigs is Pork.

  • I like to think about the air
        It is so very queer;
    It is around us everywhere
        All through the atmosphere. (1921)

  • Girls, boys, millionaires and tramps,
        when asking for autographs should
            send postage stamps. (1931)




Author of more than 30 books and more than 2,000 stories, poems and essays, Ellis Parker Butler is most famous for his short story Pigs is Pigs in which Mike Flannery -- a bureaucratic stationmaster -- insists on levying the livestock rate for a shipment of two pet guinea pigs that soon start proliferating geometrically. His book Philo Gubb: Correspondence-School Detective was picked by none other than Ellery Queen (Queen's Quorum #61) as one of the most important detective books ever written. Butler also had great success with his "Billy Brad" stories, his "Swatty" and "Jibby Jones" series of stories for boys, and his "Betty Bliss" and his "Jo Ann" series of stories for girls.

Ellis Parker Butler was a member and contributor to New York City's Dutch Treat Club and the Pleiades Club. Both clubs were loosely formed gatherings of authors, illustrators and other literary types. Both clubs held weekly meetings and printed annual year books. The Pleiades Club ceased meeting in 1936 or 1937. The Dutch Treat Club is still meeting today.

Most of the stories and articles available on this web site have not been reprinted or reproduced since their original publication.

These web sites have links pointing to this one.

The most recent web site database update was made on Tuesday, September 12, 2007 at 1:55:58pm USA Central.



HOME  |  BIOGRAPHY  |  BIBLIOGRAPHY  |  COVER ART  |  PERIODICALS  |  READING ROOM
ABOUT THIS SITE  |  FOOTNOTES  |  RESOURCES  |  PIGS IS PIGS  |  CONTACT US

Saturday, October 07 at 1:04:05am USA Central
This web site is Copyright © 2006 by the ANDMORE Companies. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Images for viewing only. All copyrights remain with the holder. No covers or publications for sale.
www.EllisParkerButler.Info is a research project of the ANDMORE Companies, Houston TX USA.