From the Editor: Reys of Sunshine

By Paul Kennedy

We are hot and heavy into the gift-buying season. And with that in mind, might I suggest something from Hans and Margret Rey.

If you know of Hans and Margret Rey, it’s probably because you liked to read as a child. It could also mean you have children of your own you like to read to. Or maybe you have grandchildren, books, and a lap with nothing better to do than to be shared with a young one.

Or perhaps, like me, you simply like monkeys. Not the scary flying monkeys of The Wizard of Oz fame, but the non-winged, friendly, yet mischievous scamps we all wanted as a kid. It’s the tail, am I right?

The strange thing is the Reys’ most famous monkey, Curious George, doesn’t have a tail. But he does, however, have a tale. And it’s a good one.

I’d like to say that it all started in 1941, but that’s not exactly true. Yes, the story of Curious George, brought to America by The Man with the Yellow Hat, a stranger in a strange land, a little monkey who can’t stay out of trouble, was first published in 1941. And it, along with the other six George books in the original series—Curious George Takes a Job (1947), Curious George Rides a Bike (1952), Curious George Gets a Medal (1957), Curious George Flies a Kite (1958), Curious George Learns the Alphabet (1963), and Curious George Goes to the Hospital (1966)—has never been out of print, having sold more than 75 million copies.

Curious George is a classic. There have been movies, a PBS series, and merchandise galore. All in all, you could say there’s been a lot of monkey business.

And while that’s impressive, that’s not really the best story. This is.

Hans Reyersbach was born in Hamburg, Germany, in 1898. He lived near a zoo, where he learned about animals, as well as to draw and paint. During World War I, Reyersbach served in the German Army. Later, he painted circus posters for a living. After studying at two German universities, he went to Rio de Janeiro in the mid-1920s, looking for work. He ended up selling bathtubs on the Amazon.

Margarete Waldstein was born in 1906, also in Hamburg. After Hitler began his rise, she left Hamburg to become a photographer in London. In 1935, she, too, went to Rio. As luck would have it, the two met, fell in love, were married, and, in a move that would help them during desperate times, became Brazilian citizens. Hans changed his surname to “Rey,” and Margarete changed her name to “Margret.” For their honeymoon, they sailed to Europe … with their two pet monkeys.

The Reys found their way to Paris, where they began writing and illustrating children’s books. Hans drew the illustrations, and Margret helped write the stories. In 1939, they published Raffy and the 9 Monkeys. That same year, Hans began a story about a monkey who was forever getting into trouble but finding his way out. It was called The Adventures of Fifi.

Those were the good times. They didn’t last long. Not with Hitler near.

It’s June 11, 1940, in Paris. Hans and Margret Rey, both German Jews, need to get out of town, what with a fast-approaching Nazi army heading their way. With no car and with the trains not running, bicycling out of Paris seemed the only possible means of escape. Hans cobbles together spare parts bought from a bicycle shop to build two bikes.

The couple leaves the next morning, joining millions of refugees in an arduous journey heading south as German planes fly overhead. They carry some food, a little clothing and the drawings for a children’s book about a curious monkey.

Hans and Margret make their way into Spain and then to Portugal. From there, they sail back to Rio. Being Brazilian citizens makes the travel slighlty less complicated. In October of 1940, Hans and Margret sail to New York, staying with strangers. Luggage lost and money spent, they have next to nothing except a story.

Fifi, much like Hans and Margret, would be renamed. He, too, would become American. Curious George would be published the next year by Houghton Mifflin. That little story about a rascally monkey opened doors unimaginable just a short while earlier.

Undaunted by their harrowing past and narrow escape, the Reys flourish. Optimism fills their new beginning. A 1944 New Year’s card from them to friends reads: “Let us think of the future; that’s where we shall spend the rest of our lives.”

And what a future it was for the Reys, all because of a little monkey who might not have a tail but who certainly helped fashion a remarkable tale.

Paul Kennedy is Editorial Director of the Collectibles Group at AIM Media. He enjoys Mid-century design, photography, vintage movie posters and people with a good story to  share. Kennedy has more than twenty-five years of experience in the antiques and collectibles field, including book publishing. Reach him at PKennedy@aimmedia.com.

 

 

 

 

 

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