Career[edit]

Early years[edit]

Early in his career, Hubbard held several short-term jobs that included work at a paint shop, as a
postmaster's clerk for his father, and as an engraver and silhouette artist. In 1891 Hubbard began
working as illustrator at The Indianapolis News but he left after three years to return home to Ohio. [15][16]

Before resuming his career as an artist in Indianapolis in 1891, Hubbard continued travels in the South;
found work at Chattanooga, Tennessee, as a mule-team driver; and worked as an amusement
park gatekeeper in Cincinnati, Ohio.[2] Hubbard also wrote and performed for the Grand Bellefontaine
Operatic Minstrels and Professor Tom Wright's Operatic Solo Orchestra. [13][17] In addition, he worked as
an artist for the Cincinnati Tribune and the Mansfield, Ohio, News before the Indianapolis Sun hired him
in 1899 as a sketch artist and caricaturist at a salary of $15 per week. Hubbard stayed at the Sun for two
years, but rejoined the Indianapolis News staff in 1901.[18][19]

Indianapolis News humorist[edit]

Hubbard initially began work for the Indianapolis News in 1891, after a friend showed John H. Holliday,
the newspaper's owner and editor, some of Hubbard's humorous writings and drawings. His initial pay
was a meager $12 per week. After three years at the News, Hubbard became frustrated with his limited
drawing skills and returned to Ohio.[15][20]

Hubbard rejoined the staff of the Indianapolis News in the fall of 1901 and continued to work at the
newspaper for the remainder of his career. Hubbard became well known for his political caricatures,
especially those of Indiana legislators and lobbyists, signing his political drawings as "Hub." Hubbard's
first book, Collection of Indiana Lawmaker and Lobbyists, was published in 1903. [8][18][21]

Hubbard was known for his humor, as well as his practical jokes around the office. He initially worked in
a News department that other newspaper workers dubbed the "Idle Ward" because they thought its
workers had plenty of leisure time to talk. In addition to Hubbard, the department's staff included
reporter William Herschell, best known for his poem, "Ain't God Good to Indiana?," and fellow
cartoonist Gaar Williams. After Hubbard gained notoriety for his Abe Martin cartoon, he was given a
private office, where he continued to maintain a regular daily work schedule. [22][23]

In addition to his famous Abe Martin cartoons, which were a feature in the News and went into national
syndication in 1910, Hubbard wrote and illustrated a once-a-week humor essay for the "Short Furrows"
series in the Sunday edition of the newspaper. These essays had Abe Martin as the by-line and went
into syndicated distribution to other newspapers in 1911. Hubbard also selected essays for his book of
the same title, which was published in 1912. [22][23][24]

Creator of the Abe Martin cartoons[edit]

First Abe Martin cartoon, published December 17, 1904

Hubbard's most famous work was his creation of the cartoon character Abe Martin, "a rustic character
that made a habit of commenting on legislators' foibles." [18] His first Abe Martin drawing appeared in the
Indianapolis News on December 17, 1904.[25] The popular cartoon series, which remained the main focus
of the cartoonist's work for the remainder of his life, was featured six days a week on the back page of
the News for twenty-six years. It also appeared in syndication beginning in 1910. [26][27]

Hubbard moved his Abe Martin character to rural Brown County, Indiana, on February 3, 1905.[28][29] The
scenic locale among the hills of southern Indiana provided Hubbard with additional inspiration to
exaggerate Abe Martin's humorous comments. Over the years, Hubbard slightly changed Abe Martin's
appearance and added more fictional characters to the series. These characters include, among others,
Uncle Niles Turner, Miss Fawn Lippincott, Professor Alexander Tansey, Tell Binkley, and Hon. Ex-Editor
Cale Fluhart.[30] [31][32] Although Hubbard's characters were composites of various people, rather than a
single individual, their characteristics represented stereotypes of local judges, teachers, businessowners
and proprietors, as well as other inhabitants of the fictional town of Bloom Center, and were readily
identifiable to his readers.[31][33] Portions of the names for the characters came from people that Hubbard
knew in Ohio. He also found inspiration for names of his characters from Kentucky jury lists.[34]

The growing popularity of the Abe Martin cartoon lead to annual publications of related books
beginning in November 1906 with the initial publication of Abe Martin of Brown County, Indiana, a
compilation of Hubbard's works from the Indianapolis News.[35] The cartoons also began to reach a wider
newspaper audience in 1910 after Hubbard signed with the George Matthey Adams Syndicate. The
syndicated Abe Martin cartoon series eventually appeared in about 200 cities. [36] The News also
continued to publish Abe Martin's sayings even after Hubbard's death in 1930. [4]
Part of Martin's popularity was his rustic humor and sharp-eyed observations of everyday life. Hubbard
communicated his humor using just a few words. His typical formula was pairing two sentences of
humorous but unrelated observations in each of his daily cartoons. [37] Hubbard's signature style of
writing also included liberal use of colloquialisms and contractions. [38] For example: "When a feller says,
"It hain't th' money but th' principle o' th' thing," it's the money." [4]

Death and legacy[edit]

Hubbard died from a sudden heart attack at his home on North Meridian Street in Indianapolis, Indiana,
on December 26, 1930, at the age of sixty-two. [4][8] He is best remembered as the humorist who created
the Abe Martin cartoon and was described by a fellow News employee as "a genial Dapper Dan with the
soul of an imp."[39] During his career with the Indianapolis News, he made more than 8,000 drawings and
wrote and illustrated about 1,000 essays for the "Short Furrows" column. Hubbard also published Abe
Martin-related books on an annual basis. For years after Hubbard's death, the News and other
newspapers continued to feature his Abe Martin cartoons. [35][40] Hubbard's humor continues to entertain
readers through his Abe Martin books, as well as Hubbard's longer essays and other works that were
published between 1903 and 1930.