Ginnie Hofmann (September 30, 1920 – December 29, 2014) was an American artist and illustrator most noted for her illustrations in the ''

Joy of Cooking ''Joy of Cooking'', often known as "''The Joy of Cooking''", is one of the United States' most-published cookbooks. It has been in print continuously since 1936 and has sold more than 20 million copies. It was published privately during 1931 by ...

'' and her paper dolls in '' Betsy McCall'' magazine.

Early years

Born as Virginia Ritsman in

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and accordin ...

, she attended the

Art Academy of Cincinnati The Art Academy of Cincinnati is a private college of art and design in Cincinnati, Ohio, accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design. It was founded as the McMicken School of Design in 1869, and was a department of the U ...

from 1938-1942 with

James Flora James Flora (January 25, 1914 ‒ July 9, 1998), best known for his distinctive and idiosyncratic album cover art for RCA Victor and Columbia Records during the 1940s and 1950s, was also a prolific commercial illustrator from the 1940s to the ...

and Richard Staples Dodge. In July 1944, she married Edward Hofmann whom she remained married to until his death in 1990.

Professional life

In early 1944, at the request of Flora who had recently been promoted to Art Director at

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

, she moved to

Westport, Connecticut Westport is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, along the Long Island Sound within Connecticut's Gold Coast. It is northeast of New York City. The town had a population of 27,141 according to the 2020 U.S. Census. History ...

. She worked as an illustrator at Columbia Records for two years. Hofmann illustrated the ''

'', beginning with the Fourth Edition from 1951. Closely associated with the ''Joy of Cooking'' aesthetic, her illustrations continue to be used through the current edition. For 27 years, between 1958 and 1986, Hofmann drew the

paper doll Paper dolls are figures cut out of paper or thin card, with separate clothes, also made of paper, that are usually held onto the dolls by paper folding tabs. They may be a figure of a person, animal or inanimate object. Paper dolls have been inex ...

s feature in Betsy McCall magazine. Throughout her career, Hofmann contributed illustrations to other magazines including ''

Mademoiselle Mademoiselle (abbreviated as ''Mlle'' or ''M'') may refer to: * Mademoiselle (title), the French-language equivalent of the title "miss" Film and television * ''Mademoiselle'' (1966 film), a French-British drama directed by Tony Richardson * '' ...

'' (1946–1951), ''

Parents Magazine ''Parents'' was an American monthly magazine founded in 1926 that featured scientific information on child development geared to help parents in raising their children. Subscribers were notified of the magazine’s dissolution via a postcard maili ...

'', ''

Good Housekeeping ''Good Housekeeping'' is an American women's magazine featuring articles about women's interests, product testing by The Good Housekeeping Institute, recipes, diet, and health, as well as literary articles. It is well known for the "Good Hous ...

'' (1950–1960), and ''

Woman's Day ''Woman's Day'' is an American women's monthly magazine that covers such topics as homemaking, food, nutrition, physical fitness, physical attractiveness, and fashion. The print edition is one of the Seven Sisters magazines. The magazine was fi ...

'' (1950–1960).

Bibliography

Hofmann wrote and illustrated a series of children's books about the comforts and companionship of the

teddy bear A teddy bear is a stuffed toy in the form of a bear. Developed apparently simultaneously by toymakers Morris Michtom in the U.S. and Richard Steiff under his aunt Margarete Steiff's company in Germany in the early 20th century, the teddy be ...

. * 1978 - ''Who Wants an Old Teddy Bear?'' * 1986 - ''The Runaway Teddy Bear'' * 1991 - ''One Teddy Bear is Enough!'' * 1994 - ''The Bear Next Door'' * 1996 - ''The Big Bad Bully Bear'' She also illustrated ''Betsy McCall: A Paper Doll Story Book (A Little Golden Book)''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hofmann, Ginnie 1920 births 2014 deaths Artists from Cincinnati American children's book illustrators American children's writers People from Toledo, Ohio Art Academy of Cincinnati alumni