New York Public Library

I was just in New York for a couple days, and visited an exhibit currently on display at the New York Public Library. It is titled The A B C of It: Why Children's Books Matter, and I enjoyed viewing the variety of material that was being shown from the library's collection. Among other things there were:

3 original illustrations by W. W. Denslow for The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. As always, original art is fascinating to view, for the chance of seeing the thought and changes that occurred in the drawing process. The central image of the Tin Woodman is particularly nice; in the original book, the drawing was published with text printed over the background ( which was printed in pale blue), and consequently the details of the trees were far less visible.

The original stuffed animals that inspired Winnie the Pooh. Poor Eeyore is pretty heavily patched, and rumor has it that Roo fell victim to a dog in the distant past!

P. L. Traver's parrot handled umbrella, and the wooden doll that inspired Mary Poppins. (The Poppins costume was a later addition to the doll!)

Four of John Tenniel's original pencil illustrations for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The drawings were reversed when they were engraved onto woodblocks for printing.

It's always great fun to see pieces of this sort, the elements that go into and inspire classic children's books.The show runs through March 23rd, 2014.