Margaret Rowlett

Margaret Rowlett (1897-1963) was an American writer of children's book and an artist known for fabrics made for children's clothing.

Biography Rowlett was born in North Carolina, where she attended school in a log house, picked cotton, and by age 14 worked for three dollars a week in a rag mill. "Cricket", a young girl who appears in Rowlett's books and fabric designs, was based partially on Rowlett's childhood ("Cricket" was a nickname given Rowlett by an uncle).

Rowlett graduated from Woman's College (now the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, or UNCG) in 1925, and when she took her illustrations to Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, and the Lord and Taylor's department store, they were received enthusiastically.

In 1944 Lord and Taylor commissioned Rowlett to design children's draperies and bedspreads and to paint murals in their toy shop and milk bar.

Rowlett published two books for children, D is for Daddy (NY: Knopf, 1947) and When Cricket was Little (NY: Aladdin Books, 1948). In addition, she wrote a number of unpublished short stories and poems featuring the character of Cricket. Articles about Rowlett and her work appeared in House Beautiful (January, 1947) and McCall's (October, 1948).

Selected publications