Fishback, Margaret, 1900-1985

• 1900 Mar. 10: Born Margaret Fishback, Washington, D.C.
• 1917: Graduated from Central High School (Washington, D.C.)
• 1921: A.B. degree, Goucher College (Baltimore, Md.)
• 1921: Teacher, English and History, Columbia Junior High School (Washington, D.C.)
• 1922: Organizational Department, Tamblyn and Brown (New York, N.Y.)
• 1926 - 1930 : Divisional copywriter, R. H Macy & Co. (Macy’s)
• 1930 - 1942 : Institutional advertisement writer, Macy's
• 1932: Published I Feel Better Now, Verses
• 1933: Published Out of My Head
• 1935: Published I Take It Back
• 1935 June 14: Married Alberto Gastone Antolini, chief rug buyer, Macy's
• 1937: Published One to a Customer: Collected Poems
• 1938: Published Safe Conduct: When to Behave--And Why
• 1940: Published Time for a Quick One
• 1940 - 1942 : Copy Chief, Macy's
• 1942 Jan. 25: Son Anthony Frederick (Tony) Antolini born
• 1943 - 1947 : Wrote Woman-Talk column in Liberty magazine
• 1945: Published Look Who's A Mother!
• 1948 - 1950 : Copywriter, Cecil & Presbrey
• 1951: Copywriter, Warwick & Legler
• 1956: Divorced Alberto Antolini
• 1958: Copywriter, Young & Rubicam
• 1959 Oct. 1 - 1961 : Copywriter, Doyle Dane Bernbach
• 1963: Published My Little Library: Dolls, Games, Rhymes
• 1963: Published Poems Made Up to Take Out
• 1968: Published The Animal Parade (translated from German)
• 1969: Published A Child's Book of Natural History
• 1985 Sept. 25: Died, Camden, Me.

Margaret Fishback Antolini was an advertising copywriter and author of light verse and prose. She was known for her wry, cynical attitudes towards domesticity, and her marriage to Alberto Gastone Antolini in 1935 prompted headlines such as Sneerer at Love Engaged to Wed ( The New York American, 17 April 1935). The couple had one son, Tony. Fishback lived in several New York City neighborhoods, settling in Murray Hill in 1941, where she would remain until at least 1976. She spent most summers in Thomaston, Maine.

Fishback contributed light verse and prose to a number of national publications, including Collier's, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Good Housekeeping, Harper's Bazaar, Look, Mademoiselle, New York Times, Reader's Digest, Saturday Evening Post, and Woman's Day . She authored several compilations of light verse, an etiquette book called Safe Conduct: When to Behave--and Why, and two children's books. Common themes in Fishback's work include New York City, womanhood, marriage, and career. Fishback also frequently based her writings on stories and advertisements in newspapers. She published primarily under her maiden name, but also occasionally under her married name and the pseudonyms Marne and Marnie.

Fishback was described in a 1932 New York newspaper article as the highest-paid advertising woman in the world . In addition to her advertising work for Macy's and various advertising agencies, she also did extensive freelance work. Fishback contributed to advertising campaigns for Arrow Shirts, Borden's, Chef Boy-Ar-Dee, Clairol, DuPont, Gimbels, Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P), Hanes Hosiery, Martex, Norsk, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Seagram's, Simmons Beautyrest, and Wrigley, among several others. She was also a member of the professional society Advertising Women of New York (AWNY).

• 1932: I Feel Better Now, Verses
• 1933: Out of My Head
• 1935: I Take It Back
• 1937: One to a Customer: Collected Poems
• 1938: Safe Conduct: When to Behave--And Why
• 1940: Time for a Quick One
• 1945: Look Who's A Mother!
• 1963: My Little Library: Dolls, Games, Rhymes
• 1963: Poems Made Up to Take Out
• 1968: The Animal Parade (translated from German)
• 1969: A Child's Book of Natural History

From the guide to the Margaret Fishback Papers, 1863-1978 and undated, (bulk 1920-1973), (David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University)