Welcome to my blog, featuring various pieces from my collection of Oz books, artwork and memorabilia!

Sunday, May 31, 2009

Denslow's Mother Goose

Here's another wonderful piece that doesn't belong to me, although I have seen it in person. The photo is from an auction house listing from quite a while ago - I'm afraid I've forgotten which one!

This is a clockwork display for Denslow's Mother Goose. It is wound with a key, and the head nods while the beak opens and closes. It dates from around 1901, the year that W. W. Denslow's book was published.

I saw this at a New York Book Fair several years ago, in Justin Schiller's booth. It's a very unique piece, believed to have originated at a Chicago department store. It's the only one of its kind known, and really a lot of fun! I like to think of this as an interesting precursor to L. Frank Baum's clockwork man, Tik-Tok - even though there's no real connection between the two.

3 comments:

Bell-Snickle said...

Gorgeous!

J. L. Bell said...

Nifty!

Blair Frodelius said...

That has got to be the coolest piece of Baum's non-Oziana that I've ever seen! And it looks like it's in MINT condition!