Henry Cuyler Bunner (1855-1896)

H.C. Bunner, Editor, Novelist & Poet, of New York City & Nutley, New Jersey

He was born and educated in New York City. He was a great-grandson of the rakish John Barker Church and his wife, Angelica Schuyler, who features as one of "the Schuyler Sisters" in the hit Broadway musical, Hamilton. As the editor of Puck, Bunner transformed it from an unknown, struggling comic weekly into a popular social and political platform; and, one of the three leading magazines of its day. Bunner published several novels and collections of short stories, all set around life in New York City. As a playwright, he is best known for Tower of Babel (1883). His verse has been praised for its, "technical dexterity, playfulness, and smoothness of finish". Collections of his verse include Airs from Arcady & Elsewhere (1884), Rowen (1892), and Poems (1896). His fiction, notably Made in France: French Tales Retold with a United States Twist (1893), reflect the influence of Guy de Maupassant and other French writers. The Story of a New York House (1887) is set at 7 State Street. He was married and the father of four children, two of whom lived to adulthood. He died at a comparatively young age at his home, 119 Whitford Avenue, at the corner of Nutley Avenue, in Nutley, New Jersey. He was a close friend of Annie Oakley and collaborated with her for the Nutley Amateur Circus in 1894.

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Contributed by Mark Meredith on 06/04/2020 and last updated on 13/04/2020.
Image Courtesy of the New York Public Library, Digital Collections