Happy 2014! In honor of the 100th anniversary of the book
Tik-Tok of Oz, here's the original artwork for a lovely portrait of the mechanical man himself, by John R. Neill.
Tik-Tok was first introduced by L. Frank Baum in 1907, in
Ozma of Oz. The storyline of the 1914 Oz book,
Tik-Tok of Oz is very reminiscent of that earlier title, due to being adapted from a 1913 theatrical production which was largely based on the 1907 book. The show was reasonably successful in California, but never made it to Broadway. It did provide early work for two well known actors, Charlotte Greenwood and Charles Ruggles.
This particular drawing was used as the heading for chapter 19,
King Kaliko. A number of the illustrations in
Tik-Tok, including
this
one
, had half-tone shading added in the printing process. On the drawing there are notations indicating that the figure was to be filled with dot pattern 433, and some light blue shading on the facets of the jewels showed that these were also to be toned. Sadly, the grey tone in the printed version tends to obscure the illustration, rather than enhance it. It's nice to see the drawing clearly for a change!
Tik-Tok was first introduced by L. Frank Baum in 1907, in Ozma of Oz. The storyline of the 1914 Oz book, Tik-Tok of Oz is very reminiscent of that earlier title, due to being adapted from a 1913 theatrical production which was largely based on the 1907 book. The show was reasonably successful in California, but never made it to Broadway. It did provide early work for two well known actors, Charlotte Greenwood and Charles Ruggles.
This particular drawing was used as the heading for chapter 19, King Kaliko. A number of the illustrations in Tik-Tok, including this one, had half-tone shading added in the printing process. On the drawing there are notations indicating that the figure was to be filled with dot pattern 433, and some light blue shading on the facets of the jewels showed that these were also to be toned. Sadly, the grey tone in the printed version tends to obscure the illustration, rather than enhance it. It's nice to see the drawing clearly for a change!
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2 comments:
Excellent! Wow, and you are right. Tik-Tok looks much more appealing in the original drawing.
Between the size reduction and the dot pattern, the printed version doesn't do him justice!
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