The Bray Studios - A Brief History
Foreward by Tommy José Stathes
The Bray Animation Project is decidedly more about documenting the whereabouts of an historic motion picture studio's films and artifacts than about pinning down personal details of its founder and his associates. However, a brief history of the studio is a necessary component of this site. Books already discuss the studio story; but no book discusses all of the animated films Bray produced; how (and by whom!) they were distributed over the decades, or how many of them survive today. Also, please note that this website fully acknowledges the many documentary, topical, and comedy films produced by the studio; however, more research is needed to properly document these other areas of the studios' output, and as such, they are not yet discussed or represented here.
The following is an essay entitled "The Bray Studios of New York City." This text, written by T.J.S., was originally penned in December 2010 as a term paper for a New York City History course at Queens College (Flushing, New York).
The essay is followed by a bibliography, offering information on several animation history books cited in the text. These books are recommended for a more detailed "studio story" of Bray. Donald Crafton's Before Mickey (1982) stands out as the best published Bray recap to date and is a highly recommended read. John Canemaker's interview with J. R. Bray is also recommended; it is the basis for his article "A Day with J. R. Bray" in The American Animated Cartoon (Donald and Gerald Peary, 1980), though a slightly more complete transcript can be found in the January 1975 issue of Filmmakers Newsletter.
The following is an essay entitled "The Bray Studios of New York City." This text, written by T.J.S., was originally penned in December 2010 as a term paper for a New York City History course at Queens College (Flushing, New York).
The essay is followed by a bibliography, offering information on several animation history books cited in the text. These books are recommended for a more detailed "studio story" of Bray. Donald Crafton's Before Mickey (1982) stands out as the best published Bray recap to date and is a highly recommended read. John Canemaker's interview with J. R. Bray is also recommended; it is the basis for his article "A Day with J. R. Bray" in The American Animated Cartoon (Donald and Gerald Peary, 1980), though a slightly more complete transcript can be found in the January 1975 issue of Filmmakers Newsletter.
"The Bray Studios of New York City"
by Tommy José Stathes, ©2010
No history of the entertainment industry in New York City would be complete without mention of the dynamic Bray Studios, a Manhattan film and animation firm founded in 1913. Surprisingly, most New York City and entertainment historians are completely unaware of this historically significant studio, as it is only mentioned in a select few animation history anthologies, which cater to a limited niche of enthusiasts. An early how-to book on animation claims “the history of animated cartoons as a practical form of entertainment really dates from Bray’s first cartoon, The Artist’s Dream, which was released in June 1913. Up to this time cartoons had been little more than a novelty, used only at the end of newsreels or vaudeville acts. But after seeing this film there was a change in the public’s attitude toward cartoons…” (Falk 14). Ironically, the Bray Studios’ product was not only innovative and inventive in a medium that had just been born; it was also far-reaching and well known to moviegoers of the 1910s and 1920s. The weight of this studio’s contributions (Supplement 4) and its unfortunate lack of representation in mainstream historical anthologies are best understood by recognizing the immense contributions Bray made to public entertainment and edutainment in the early twentieth century.
“Now almost forgotten, the New York cartoon studio of Bray…[was] once the industry’s largest, and one of the most pioneering.” (Heraldson 36). Studio founder J.R. Bray, a Detroit native born in 1879 (Supplement 5), had a professional career congruent to many well-known socioeconomic transitions that were occurring in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. In his twenties, Bray entered the field of newspaper comics, which itself was a blossoming art form then becoming more prominent among mainstream media. Bray’s major contributions were first to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle in 1903 and later the McClure Syndicate periodicals Puck, Life, and Judge (Supplement 3).
Bray's subject matter was comical and fictional, but the characters and series he created borrowed heavily from existing pop culture creations already recognized by the public. For instance, Bray's strip “The Quality Kid” (Supplement 1) was a blatant hybrid of The Yellow Kid and Buster Brown, both of which were highly famous early characters created by New York comic artist R.F. Outcault between 1895 and 1902 (Blackbeard 20). Bray's “Little Johnny and His Teddy Bears” series of 1907 for Judge magazine was a direct interpretation of the then-recent Teddy Bear doll craze (Crafton 140-1).
It was not long before Bray pondered the idea of animating his characters for the motion picture screen. “An early source reveals that Bray’s new interest was sparked by a specific film…this film was, of course Porter’s The “Teddy” Bears. It circulated long after it was released in 1907, so the date of Bray’s chance viewing cannot be determined…” (Crafton 142). A look at Bray’s early comics work makes it somewhat clear that he may not have been overly creative nor autonomous in regard to his choice of content. However, as the early 1910s came to fruition, his creativity in forming a new industry would become apparent.
Directly related to the history of the Bray Studios is the year 1911, when Winsor McCay brought his world-famous “Little Nemo” comic strip characters to life in an animated cartoon film of the same title. As was common during that period, the film was presented as part of a vaudeville act in conjunction with a live performance by McCay himself. The film version of Little Nemo was distributed by the Vitagraph Corporation, a Brooklyn firm coincidentally co-owned by J. Stuart Blackton, who is usually credited as the father of American animated films. “When Bray saw McCay’s first animated cartoon, Little Nemo, he started considering the commercial possibilities of animation for movie-theater programs.” (Pointer 16). As had been the case in his artistic past, Bray borrowed the idea and produced his own film of the same nature.
Of this encounter with McCay came J.R. Bray’s first film, The Artist’s Dream; also known as The Dachshund and the Sausage. Bray usually credited himself as having produced this film in 1910 but not having distributed it until 1913. However it is argued that “it was uncharacteristic for Bray or his distributor Pathe to withhold a potentially lucrative item. It was not released until June 12, 1913 and there is no reason to believe that it was completed much in advance of that date.” (Crafton 143). Apparently the film was very popular with the public, and Pathe then asked Bray to produce animated films regularly. Bray’s Colonel Heeza Liar in Africa (1913) is considered the first commercial-cartoon release; it was neither part of a vaudeville act nor a one-time endeavor. It was the beginning of a film series, and this marked a turning point in animation history.” (Maltin 7). Commercial production of animated cartoons still proved to be a challenge, as detailed animation techniques up until that point were incredibly cumbersome and time-consuming.
Bray’s answer to these shortcomings in the fledgling industry was a series of patents secured for processes that sped up the animation production. “In January 1914 [Bray] applied for a patent, which was granted on August 11 of that year, for a labor-saving method of making animated cartoons…Bray used Colonel Heeza Liar in Africa to illustrate [the] method…” (Maltin 7). In 1915, Bray hired Earl Hurd, who had been animating during that year for Universal, and made him a partner in his patents company (Canemaker 27). Animation historian Donald Crafton suggests that how Bray and Hurd met is unknown. “All we know is that together they formed the Bray-Hurd Process Company in [1915], a mutually advantageous alternative to a lengthy battle over rights. Although Hurd’s patent eventually turned out to be more important than Bray’s, the cartoonist was regarded strictly as an employee of the studio and Bray never publicly acknowledged his partner’s fundamental role.” (Crafton 153). In keeping with Bray’s imperialistic tendencies, “there are even persistent stories that Bray personally asked McCay for a demonstration of his techniques, then attempted to sue him for plagiarism…Bray’s Rooseveltian sentiments compelled him to defend himself against charges of unfair restraint of trade…” (Crafton 155).
Bray has been called the Henry Ford of animation. “Like Ford, he did revolutionize a fledgling industry, and he inexorably changed the lives of those associated with it.” (Crafton 139). As has been hinted here, Bray’s ‘technique’ for borrowing ideas and interpreting them into his own art forms or for monetary gain in his business has been seen by the animation industry as imperialistic behavior. “Through his own patents…he was trying to stake out all of animation as his preserve, in effect emulating the Motion Picture Patents Company’s efforts to license all film production and exhibition (efforts that had ended in January 1915 with an adverse court decision).” (Barrier 15). This occasionally controversial way of doing business was not unlike that of many contemporary New York tycoons, and Bray was not without plenty of litigation; legal cases concerning his patents were commonplace. “Assisted by his wife and legal staff, Bray set out to enforce his [patent] claim[s], compelling other animators to buy licenses and pay royalties. In a magazine interview in 1915, he defended his actions, insisting he was not trying to establish a monopoly but rather to ensure a fair salary for animators and to maintain a standard for quality in animation…” (Solomon 25). Despite Bray’s control of such crucial patents in the industry, only highly valuable contracts with large mainstream film distributors helped to make Bray product visible in many territories…even delving into the government instructional film genre.
As animation critic and historian Charles Solomon states so simply, “in 1915, Bray signed a contract with Paramount to produce comedies at the extraordinary rate of one thousand feet per week, beginning in 1916. (Supplement 2). Soon after that contract began, he discovered another lucrative market: instructional films for the military…Although Bray released cartoons through 1928, his interest had shifted to training films by the end of World War I. He continued to make educational, health, safety and travel films for schools, industry and the military until his retirement in the late 1960s.” (Solomon 26). In 1956, Bray received a citation from the Department of the Army for “outstanding patriotic civilian service…The impetus given the training film program by Mr. Bray constitutes a major continuing contribution to the national defense.” (Canemaker 25). J.R. Bray’s success was a result of an eagerly executed methodology, as demonstrated by his fervor to both build his business and to achieve widespread distribution of his films in various venues.
Many prominent figures in the animation industry got their start at Bray Studios. Milt Gross—“America’s Great Yiddish Humorist” (Yoe 9) and occasional animator (Yoe/Stathes 10); Carl Anderson of Henry fame and Louis Glackens (Canemaker 27); Leighton Budd, Leslie Elton and C. Allan Gilbert, a fashion artist (Crafton 149); Walter Lantz of Woody Woodpecker fame, Max Fleischer of Betty Boop fame, Paul Terry of Mighty Mouse fame, and many others were a part of the crew at some point or other (Pointer 17). It goes to show that in this sense alone, Bray Studios was an extremely valuable cornerstone in the early histories of future animation industry movers and shakers. “[Bray] took cartoons seriously and [the studio’s] success spurred others to do the same. Through their efforts animation finally became a recognized art.” (Heraldson 36). It is appropriate to say that many of the highly famous cartoon characters of the mid-twentieth century were indeed merely descendants of crudely-animated caricatures and experimental films produced at the Bray Studios decades earlier. A world of popular cartoon characters existed before Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse came to the forefront, and many of them had their debut at the Bray Studios. Bray’s Colonel Heeza Liar, a Munchausen-like explorer, was actually remembered in the early 1930s as “the Mickey Mouse of his day.”
Some five-hundred-and-forty animated films of the cartoon and educational genres were produced by Bray between 1913 and 1927 (Gifford 17-156). Despite extensive efforts headed by J.R. Bray to market these old films as late as 1960, a newly-organized package aimed at television networks (Supplement 6) was only somewhat successful. In the decades since the early years of television, only around a dozen of the hundreds of Bray animated cartoons have remained in distribution among collectors’ circles. In the same fashion, the Bray shorts have been very poorly represented in the few television retrospectives and documentaries that have been produced on the topic of animation history. In a more general sense, the studio has had no representation whatsoever in histories written or filmed about New York City, the locale of which defines the Bray Studios and helped to make it such a pioneering outlet for a modern art form that has, unfortunately, not received due recognition “…during the teens and twenties—nor does it today.” (Solomon 21). “It was not Hanna and Barbera who discovered assembly-line animation in the television era; J.R. Bray…preceded them by forty years.” (Maltin 10). In consideration of all the points of interests expressed, it can be concluded that an extremely impressive, groundbreaking enterprise in historic New York City—the Bray Studios—has played a worthy role in this city’s vibrant history, however invisible and unknown its achievements may generally be today.
“Now almost forgotten, the New York cartoon studio of Bray…[was] once the industry’s largest, and one of the most pioneering.” (Heraldson 36). Studio founder J.R. Bray, a Detroit native born in 1879 (Supplement 5), had a professional career congruent to many well-known socioeconomic transitions that were occurring in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. In his twenties, Bray entered the field of newspaper comics, which itself was a blossoming art form then becoming more prominent among mainstream media. Bray’s major contributions were first to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle in 1903 and later the McClure Syndicate periodicals Puck, Life, and Judge (Supplement 3).
Bray's subject matter was comical and fictional, but the characters and series he created borrowed heavily from existing pop culture creations already recognized by the public. For instance, Bray's strip “The Quality Kid” (Supplement 1) was a blatant hybrid of The Yellow Kid and Buster Brown, both of which were highly famous early characters created by New York comic artist R.F. Outcault between 1895 and 1902 (Blackbeard 20). Bray's “Little Johnny and His Teddy Bears” series of 1907 for Judge magazine was a direct interpretation of the then-recent Teddy Bear doll craze (Crafton 140-1).
It was not long before Bray pondered the idea of animating his characters for the motion picture screen. “An early source reveals that Bray’s new interest was sparked by a specific film…this film was, of course Porter’s The “Teddy” Bears. It circulated long after it was released in 1907, so the date of Bray’s chance viewing cannot be determined…” (Crafton 142). A look at Bray’s early comics work makes it somewhat clear that he may not have been overly creative nor autonomous in regard to his choice of content. However, as the early 1910s came to fruition, his creativity in forming a new industry would become apparent.
Directly related to the history of the Bray Studios is the year 1911, when Winsor McCay brought his world-famous “Little Nemo” comic strip characters to life in an animated cartoon film of the same title. As was common during that period, the film was presented as part of a vaudeville act in conjunction with a live performance by McCay himself. The film version of Little Nemo was distributed by the Vitagraph Corporation, a Brooklyn firm coincidentally co-owned by J. Stuart Blackton, who is usually credited as the father of American animated films. “When Bray saw McCay’s first animated cartoon, Little Nemo, he started considering the commercial possibilities of animation for movie-theater programs.” (Pointer 16). As had been the case in his artistic past, Bray borrowed the idea and produced his own film of the same nature.
Of this encounter with McCay came J.R. Bray’s first film, The Artist’s Dream; also known as The Dachshund and the Sausage. Bray usually credited himself as having produced this film in 1910 but not having distributed it until 1913. However it is argued that “it was uncharacteristic for Bray or his distributor Pathe to withhold a potentially lucrative item. It was not released until June 12, 1913 and there is no reason to believe that it was completed much in advance of that date.” (Crafton 143). Apparently the film was very popular with the public, and Pathe then asked Bray to produce animated films regularly. Bray’s Colonel Heeza Liar in Africa (1913) is considered the first commercial-cartoon release; it was neither part of a vaudeville act nor a one-time endeavor. It was the beginning of a film series, and this marked a turning point in animation history.” (Maltin 7). Commercial production of animated cartoons still proved to be a challenge, as detailed animation techniques up until that point were incredibly cumbersome and time-consuming.
Bray’s answer to these shortcomings in the fledgling industry was a series of patents secured for processes that sped up the animation production. “In January 1914 [Bray] applied for a patent, which was granted on August 11 of that year, for a labor-saving method of making animated cartoons…Bray used Colonel Heeza Liar in Africa to illustrate [the] method…” (Maltin 7). In 1915, Bray hired Earl Hurd, who had been animating during that year for Universal, and made him a partner in his patents company (Canemaker 27). Animation historian Donald Crafton suggests that how Bray and Hurd met is unknown. “All we know is that together they formed the Bray-Hurd Process Company in [1915], a mutually advantageous alternative to a lengthy battle over rights. Although Hurd’s patent eventually turned out to be more important than Bray’s, the cartoonist was regarded strictly as an employee of the studio and Bray never publicly acknowledged his partner’s fundamental role.” (Crafton 153). In keeping with Bray’s imperialistic tendencies, “there are even persistent stories that Bray personally asked McCay for a demonstration of his techniques, then attempted to sue him for plagiarism…Bray’s Rooseveltian sentiments compelled him to defend himself against charges of unfair restraint of trade…” (Crafton 155).
Bray has been called the Henry Ford of animation. “Like Ford, he did revolutionize a fledgling industry, and he inexorably changed the lives of those associated with it.” (Crafton 139). As has been hinted here, Bray’s ‘technique’ for borrowing ideas and interpreting them into his own art forms or for monetary gain in his business has been seen by the animation industry as imperialistic behavior. “Through his own patents…he was trying to stake out all of animation as his preserve, in effect emulating the Motion Picture Patents Company’s efforts to license all film production and exhibition (efforts that had ended in January 1915 with an adverse court decision).” (Barrier 15). This occasionally controversial way of doing business was not unlike that of many contemporary New York tycoons, and Bray was not without plenty of litigation; legal cases concerning his patents were commonplace. “Assisted by his wife and legal staff, Bray set out to enforce his [patent] claim[s], compelling other animators to buy licenses and pay royalties. In a magazine interview in 1915, he defended his actions, insisting he was not trying to establish a monopoly but rather to ensure a fair salary for animators and to maintain a standard for quality in animation…” (Solomon 25). Despite Bray’s control of such crucial patents in the industry, only highly valuable contracts with large mainstream film distributors helped to make Bray product visible in many territories…even delving into the government instructional film genre.
As animation critic and historian Charles Solomon states so simply, “in 1915, Bray signed a contract with Paramount to produce comedies at the extraordinary rate of one thousand feet per week, beginning in 1916. (Supplement 2). Soon after that contract began, he discovered another lucrative market: instructional films for the military…Although Bray released cartoons through 1928, his interest had shifted to training films by the end of World War I. He continued to make educational, health, safety and travel films for schools, industry and the military until his retirement in the late 1960s.” (Solomon 26). In 1956, Bray received a citation from the Department of the Army for “outstanding patriotic civilian service…The impetus given the training film program by Mr. Bray constitutes a major continuing contribution to the national defense.” (Canemaker 25). J.R. Bray’s success was a result of an eagerly executed methodology, as demonstrated by his fervor to both build his business and to achieve widespread distribution of his films in various venues.
Many prominent figures in the animation industry got their start at Bray Studios. Milt Gross—“America’s Great Yiddish Humorist” (Yoe 9) and occasional animator (Yoe/Stathes 10); Carl Anderson of Henry fame and Louis Glackens (Canemaker 27); Leighton Budd, Leslie Elton and C. Allan Gilbert, a fashion artist (Crafton 149); Walter Lantz of Woody Woodpecker fame, Max Fleischer of Betty Boop fame, Paul Terry of Mighty Mouse fame, and many others were a part of the crew at some point or other (Pointer 17). It goes to show that in this sense alone, Bray Studios was an extremely valuable cornerstone in the early histories of future animation industry movers and shakers. “[Bray] took cartoons seriously and [the studio’s] success spurred others to do the same. Through their efforts animation finally became a recognized art.” (Heraldson 36). It is appropriate to say that many of the highly famous cartoon characters of the mid-twentieth century were indeed merely descendants of crudely-animated caricatures and experimental films produced at the Bray Studios decades earlier. A world of popular cartoon characters existed before Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse came to the forefront, and many of them had their debut at the Bray Studios. Bray’s Colonel Heeza Liar, a Munchausen-like explorer, was actually remembered in the early 1930s as “the Mickey Mouse of his day.”
Some five-hundred-and-forty animated films of the cartoon and educational genres were produced by Bray between 1913 and 1927 (Gifford 17-156). Despite extensive efforts headed by J.R. Bray to market these old films as late as 1960, a newly-organized package aimed at television networks (Supplement 6) was only somewhat successful. In the decades since the early years of television, only around a dozen of the hundreds of Bray animated cartoons have remained in distribution among collectors’ circles. In the same fashion, the Bray shorts have been very poorly represented in the few television retrospectives and documentaries that have been produced on the topic of animation history. In a more general sense, the studio has had no representation whatsoever in histories written or filmed about New York City, the locale of which defines the Bray Studios and helped to make it such a pioneering outlet for a modern art form that has, unfortunately, not received due recognition “…during the teens and twenties—nor does it today.” (Solomon 21). “It was not Hanna and Barbera who discovered assembly-line animation in the television era; J.R. Bray…preceded them by forty years.” (Maltin 10). In consideration of all the points of interests expressed, it can be concluded that an extremely impressive, groundbreaking enterprise in historic New York City—the Bray Studios—has played a worthy role in this city’s vibrant history, however invisible and unknown its achievements may generally be today.
Bibliography
Falk, Nat. How To Make Animated Cartoons. New York: Foundation Books, 1941.
Heraldson, Donald. Creators of Life. New York: Drake Publishers, Inc., 1975.
Blackbeard, Bill. The Smithsonian Collection of Newspaper Comics. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1977.
Crafton, Donald. Before Mickey. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 1982.
Pointer, Ray. “New York Studios.” Animation Art. Ed. Jerry Beck. New York: Harper Design International, 2004. 16-17.
Maltin, Leonard. Of Mice and Magic. New York: Penguin Books, 1980.
Canemaker, John. “A Day with J.R. Bray.” The American Animated Cartoon. Ed. Danny Peary and Gerald Peary. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1980. 24-28.
Barrier, Michael. Hollywood Cartoons. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
Solomon, Charles. The History of Animation: Enchanted Drawings. New Jersey: Random House, 1994.
Yoe, Craig. The Complete Milt Gross Comic Books and Life Story. San Diego, California: IDW Publishing, 2009.
Heraldson, Donald. Creators of Life. New York: Drake Publishers, Inc., 1975.
Blackbeard, Bill. The Smithsonian Collection of Newspaper Comics. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1977.
Crafton, Donald. Before Mickey. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 1982.
Pointer, Ray. “New York Studios.” Animation Art. Ed. Jerry Beck. New York: Harper Design International, 2004. 16-17.
Maltin, Leonard. Of Mice and Magic. New York: Penguin Books, 1980.
Canemaker, John. “A Day with J.R. Bray.” The American Animated Cartoon. Ed. Danny Peary and Gerald Peary. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1980. 24-28.
Barrier, Michael. Hollywood Cartoons. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
Solomon, Charles. The History of Animation: Enchanted Drawings. New Jersey: Random House, 1994.
Yoe, Craig. The Complete Milt Gross Comic Books and Life Story. San Diego, California: IDW Publishing, 2009.