Neill's Bride Book

 I’ve posted in the past about The Bride Her Wedding Book (see here), a lovely little volume illustrated by John R. Neill in 1914, and published by the Reilly & Britton Co. I’ve picked up a few variations of the book since then, showing a couple different binding styles.

The most elaborate seems to be this, a book bound in a pictorial leatherette of some sort. The cover image of orange blossom is different from any of the other bindings I've seen, and the page edges are gilded. The blossom design is taken from a watercolor, presumably by Neill; the lettering is certainly his. This copy also includes the loose certificate that was originally inserted in the book, to be filled out by the wedding officiant.

Next up is this, sold as the “Board Edition”. This book has a padded vellum cover with a lovely drawing of roses, printed in color. This is definitely a Neill drawing - in fact they’re the same roses used on the wedding certificate - and the same lettering from the previous version is used, though in a different arrangement. This copy includes its original striped glassine dustwrapper and cardboard box. It’s interesting to note that the title on the box is The Bride Her Own Book, a slightly shortened version of the cover title. The certificate is present in this copy as well.

Here we have another version, this time the “Cloth Edition”. The book is bound in a fine grey cloth over beveled boards, and another new design is on the cover. This time it’s a single rose, stamped in gilt, with a re-designed title. This copy also retains its dustwrapper and box; the glassine wrapper has a moire pattern, and the box is considerably thinner due to the flat, rather than padded, covers of the book.

When the publisher changed their name to Reilly & Lee, the same basic design continued to be used. The cover is now a cream colored cloth, and the boards are no longer beveled. It’s still a lovely little book, but less luxurious, and by this time the printing of the finely detailed illustrations is a bit less sharp.

I believe there is at least one other variation of this cover. It appears to be bound in a glossy white textured cardboard, using the same imagery as above. The poor photo shown is from an old auction listing. With any luck I’ll run across one of these someday and learn more details!

The simple certificate that was included with the volume is shown on the right.

Baum's Mother Goose

Mother Goose in Prose was the first book I read by L. Frank Baum that was not an Oz book. It's a collection of charming "explanations" of Mother Goose rhymes, filling in gaps and turning the familiar tales into fleshed-out accounts. Sometimes the explanations feel a bit forced, but it's still a fun collection of short stories!

In the mid-1970's there was a burst of popularity for the work of Maxfield Parrish, and I was given a copy of the 1974 edition published by Bounty Books. The popularity of Parrish can be seen by comparing the large elaborate font used for his name on the cover to the much smaller, plainer font used for the author. The original edition didn't even mention Parrish on the cover, but his distinctive artwork may have been advertising enough!

Mother Goose in Prose was the first book illustrated by Parrish, as well as L. Frank Baum's first published children's book. I recently added a later edition to my collection, the last Bobbs-Merrill printing of the title. This was in publication between the 1920's and 1940's.

I find these two versions to be the most attractive printings of this book. The first edition, published by Way & Williams in 1897, is an oversized book with a bold cover printed with a color Parrish image that isn't used within the book itself. The same image is repeated on the rear cover, turning the entire book into an advertising poster. The Bobbs-Merrill edition is reduced to the standard size of an Oz book, but the cover is unique for adding color to one of the illustrations Parrish drew for the interior of the volume. Both are eye-catching, and cry out to be picked up and looked at.

In the original edition the pages are large and well printed, making the most of the detailed illustrations. The later version adds a fun touch by printing the pictures in red on a yellow background, but the print quality is not quite as good. Incidentally, the illustration shown (for The Three Wise Men of Gotham) was printed on an angle in the original edition, giving the image a added dynamic. It was straightened for all editions after that.

Ozzy Letters

Over the years I've picked up several examples of letters from the original Oz creators. Letters are always a fun personal item to view, and can help to give a sense of the author as a person. I've blogged about some of these before, but here's an overview.

The oldest is a note from W. W. Denslow dated 1896, predating Oz. This would have been after his time at the Chicago Times-Herald newspaper, and at the height of his poster career, particularly for the Rand McNally Company. 

The letter is a simple reply to a Mr. Leon Kramer, stating that Denslow would be pleased to see the sender "... at any time you would care to call." I imagine a visit to Denslow would be quite an experience! 

 The letter is headed "302 Herald Building", the home of the Chicago Herald newspaper where Denslow still maintained a studio; though he was no longer on the newspaper staff. The letterhead and envelope are both printed in red and feature a detailed seahorse, or hippocampus, drawing. This of course would evolve into Denslow's standard totem, used as a signature in his drawings.

The next is a letter by L. Frank Baum to one of his fans, from 1908. With the success of the Oz series, Baum was besieged by letters from his fans. He took pains to answer them, though he often apologized for the delay in responding. 

This particular example is on stationary from the Hotel Del Coronado, a favorite vacation spot of the Baum family, and where they stayed while looking for a home on the peninsula. He thanks the author of the letter, Sam Cleag Field, for some drawings of characters as well as ideas for future Oz stories. This would have been shortly before the publication of Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, the 4th Oz book.

The next letter is also from Baum, but with a difference - this was written after the author died. Maud Baum kept up the tradition of responding to young fans, using a rubber stamp of her husband's signature. These ghostly letters must have caused some confusion at the time among the better informed fans! 

This particular example is from 1920, congratulating a girl named Mildred on winning a prize from the Plains-Dealer - presumably a newspaper contest with an Oz related prize of some sort. This letter is written on the attractive Oz letterhead featuring a number of Baum's books.

The next letter jumps over 20 years to 1942 and is from John R. Neill, the third Oz author and prolific Oz illustrator. This letter doesn't feature any custom letterhead, in fact it looks to be hastily written on a plain sheet of paper and posted in an envelope from the International Information Service in Washington, DC. I haven't seen much in the way of letters to fans from Neill, so it's difficult to say if this was standard practice! 

This is written to Bobby Jones, and congratulates him on having read 32 Oz books - also mentioning that the next year's book will be about a wooden whale (Lucky Bucky in Oz). 

Finally, I have a letter from Ruth Plumly Thompson. She was the Oz author between 1921 and 1939, but this particular letter is from 1965. It is written to author March Laumer in Thompson's standard type-written fashion, with various hand notations. This time the letterhead is an example of Thompson's standard Royal Historian of Oz paper. 

The letter is a chatty one, first apologizing for apparently thinking that March was a girl rather than a man, due to the name. At the time Laumer was serving in Hong Kong in the Marines. Thompson touches on a variety of subjects, including the possibilities of having her manuscript Yankee in Oz published; this wouldn't happen for another ten years, when The International Wizard of Oz Club finally published the story. She encourages Laumer to join the club, and mentions that eight out of every ten letters she receives are from men and boys.

 Perhaps I'll eventually acquire letters from the later Oz authors...as a collector, it's always good to have goals!

Denslow's Par-lor Pets

In 1907 and 1908 W. W. Denslow produced a series of comic drawings, illustrating verses written by Dudley A. Bragdon. These are collectively known as the Par-lor Pets series, and the individual panels comment on the various objectionable behaviors of guests. They were published in the Sunday Magazine, a weekly newspaper supplement that was syndicated and issued with a number of papers around the country. Denslow and Bragdon had previously collaborated on the book Billy Bounce, in 1906.

I have found ten examples of the comic on the Library of Congress Chronicling America website. I'm not certain if it is the entire series, but it seems like a good round number that could be a complete set. These ten pieces were published from November 24, 1907 to June 21st, 1908; they were not issued weekly, but vary from month to month. Some months feature one cartoon, others two, and May of 1908 doesn't seem to have any!

(In the comments below, Michael Gessel mentions that Doug Greene catalogued 12 examples from this series - I've since found the examples for July 12 and Sept 6, and included them with the others.)

The series is numbered from I to X, with the subtitle "Extract from Ill Nature Studies", and they were published in numerical order. Click on the images to read the complete text.

 

November 24, 1907 is The Parlor Thanksgiving Turkey:

Oh, look and see! Whom have we here

With coun-te-nance so smirk-y?

He's saying grace. Of course you've guessed.

'Tis a Thanks-giv-ing Tur-key

December 8, 1907 is The Par-lor Li-on:

Oh! see the gen-tle Par-lor Li-on!

Ob-serve his taw-ny mane!

For our de-light he opes his mouth

And roars and roars a-gain.

Jan 5, 1908 is The Par-lor Kit-ten:

The Par-lor Kit-ten next we see.

Ob-serve her cun-ning pose!

What do I think that she’ll do next?

My dear, no-bod-y knows.

January 19, 1908 is The Par-lor Bore:

Of all the beasts that roam the room

Be-ware the Par-lor Bore;

He stalks the so-cial jun-gle and

He lurks be-hind the door;

 

February 16, 1908 is the Par-lor Owl:

 

What is this bird that looks so wise?

Pray name this won-drous fowl

In yon-der sol-emn bird you see

The fa-mous Par-lor Owl.

March 15, 108 is The Par-lor Clam:

 

Ob-serve the silent Par-lor Clam

In clam-my calm-ness sit-ting.

Al-though 'tis sel-fish to be so

A shell-fish fit is fit-ting. 

March 22, 1908 is The Par-lor Bear:

 

Pray note with care the snarl-ing beast

That sulks in yon-der chair;

That fierce out-rage-ous an-i-mal.

So called The Par-lor Bear.

 

April 12, 1908 is The Par-lor Pig:

 

Oh! see the pant-ing Par-lor Pig!

Ob-serve his tense ex-pres-sion! 

How val-iant-ly he fights to lead

The din-ing room pro-ces-sion!

 

April 26, 1908 is The Par-lor Pup-py:

 

Oh see the Par-lor Pup-py! He

Is mouth-ing some one's glove.

He'll steal it if he gets the chance,–

We call that "Pup-py Love."

 

June 21, 1908 is The Par-lor-Fer-ret:

 

Be-hold the Par-lor Fer-ret! See

His black and bead-y eye!

At dig-ging bur-ied scan-dal up

He-s cun-ning, sharp and sly. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As far as I know, this was the last of the series; it even features portraits of Denslow and Bragdon as the two gentlemen fleeing the room!

Below are the two missing episodes mentioned in the comment section:

July 12, 1908 is The Par-lor Shark:

Ob-serve the Wall Street Par-lor Shark -

You won-der what he's say-ing?

Don't spec-u-late on what he says

Be-cause I'm sure he's prey-ing.

September 6 is The Par-lor Cat:

 

Ob-serve the Par-lor Cat my child.

And when you chance to meet her

Be care-ful not to cross her path,

Be care-ful how you greet her.

I recently purchased the original drawing for the fifth pet of the series, The Par-lor Owl. It's possible to think of the Owl as another self-portrait of Denslow, with its parted hair and walrus mustache. Perhaps he identified with this particular pet!

 

As with so much antique illustration art, this piece has some condition issues; but it's a fine large example of Denslow's bold style from that period. The panel measures 15" x 15".

Pulpy Neill

Along with his his regular Oz work and other illustrative endeavors, John R. Neill produced a number of drawings for the adventure magazines, or pulps, of the early 20th century. Although he didn’t do the cover art of the magazines, quite a few issues are filled with his interior illustrations. These inexpensive publications were at their peak from the 1920's -1940's, coinciding nicely with Neill's career. Paper shortages during the second World War helped to bring about the decline of the pulps, and by 1957 the genre was fairly defunct.

I have three examples of this style of work, but I hadn't tried tracking down where the drawings may have been originally used. One is clearly labeled, while the other two have some notations but no definite instructions. Thanks to some swift research by Atticus Gannaway, I now know what my mystery drawings were intended to illustrate.

The labeled drawing was published in the December 20th, 1930 edition of Argosy Magazine. Argosy was the original pulp, starting in 1896 and running until 1942. For the cheap paper of the pulps, drawings were best when bold with strong line work - a style well suited to Neill! This particular illustration was used for the fourth and final installment of Murder on the High Seas, written by George F. Worts. It's shown here together with the magazine containing the first installment.

The back of the drawing bears the information of title, date and author, together with the stamp of the Frank A. Munsey Co., the publishers of Argosy.

As it turns out, the other two drawings were not used for publication, making identification a bit trickier - but Atticus did track them down!

The first was intended for a story in Adventure magazine, from February 15th, 1929. This was titled Off Finisterre, and written by Albert Richard Wetjen. A Neill drawing was used for the magazine, but it appears to be a simpler variation of the one in my collection. In both cases a man is seen on the deck of a ship, shooting a flare into the night sky. The published drawing is tall and narrow, rather than the square proportions of the unpublished version, which may explain why a different drawing was needed. The published version is more dramatic, with large areas of shadow and black sky - which may be another reason for the change. A notation reading "Off Finistere" is written on the unpublished piece.

The other drawing has the hand written caption “with every bit of his strength he swung out”, and “Headhunters p. 15” at the lower left. At first it appeared that this may have been drawn for the September 18th, 1919 issue of Adventure magazine; a story titled Head-Hunters and Gold was published, along with a different Neill illustration. But this was not the case, as Atticus soon found another tale. This was simply titled Head-Hunters, by Sidney Herschel Small, and was published in the June 20th, 1931 issue of Argosy. Once again a Neill drawing was used to illustrate the story, but this time I think it lacks the drama of the unpublished piece.

 

Far more dynamic than the sedate image showing natives filing through the jungle, the unused illustration pictures the hero swinging on a vine, about to attack the cannibals. In case of any doubt regarding its intended use, the handwritten caption precisely matches the printed moment in the story.

Final Denslow

W. W. Denslow experienced many highs and lows during his life and career. High points certainly included his collaborations with L. Frank Baum, and the huge success of The Wizard of Oz on stage.

 

Profits from the show allowed Denslow to lease, then purchase, his own island in Bermuda, where he worked on other projects. His 1904 book The Pearl and the Pumpkin uses the ocean around the islands in its plot; Denslow even slipped in a drawing of his own island. 

But health problems and alcohol issues plagued the artist, and by 1910 the island had been sold. Denslow was primarily illustrating advertising booklets for various companies, a fall back to something he did earlier in his career. But in 1915 a new opportunity beckoned - Denslow designed a cover for Life, the popular humor magazine, which was accepted and due to be published on their July 15th, 1915 issue. Delighted to have landed this prestigious job, Denslow used the profits from the sale of the drawing for a spree, ending in the hospital where he died of pneumonia on March 29th, before the magazine was even published.

The cover illustration is a colorful and delightful drawing, showing the artist hadn’t lost his ability to create fanciful images. It brings to mind the work of John Held Jr., the artist whose drawings would come to typify the 1920s, and who was just becoming recognized in his own career. 

In Denslow’s drawing a fashionably dressed woman laughs at a carved Egyptian image showing the costume of an earlier day, declaring it “How perfectly absurd!” But when looked at with a closer eye, it’s clear that the 1915 fashion is not much different than that from antiquity!

Denslow Compilations

Eighteen picture books were written and illustrated by W. W. Denslow in 1903 and 1904, and published by the G. W. Dillingham company. The series proved popular, and the stories were also released as three hardcover books, each containing 6 stories. Several years later, ca. 1913, the books were reissued by the Donohue company; a reprint house specializing in cheaper editions. I have the Donohue versions of the three books, and it’s interesting to compare the printing of the illustrations in these copies to the original Dillingham printings.

 

The Dillingham versions present the stories in a sophisticated color range. Denslow's carefully considered palette of soft tones of orange, turquoise and olive green has been replaced in the Donohue editions with a more standard red/yellow/blue selection. This, combined with a pulpier paper of lower quality, creates murkier images and removes the cosiness of the muted color tones in the original printings. Presumably the brighter inks were thought to have greater appeal for the child readers. I prefer the original colors, which reflect Denslow's original choices.

 

In this example from Old Mother Hubbard, the new color scheme upsets the balance of the drawing. The blue background may be more colorful, but it overpowers the rest of the image, making the dog more difficult to see.

This page from Tom Thumb shows the poor effect of the new coloration. The colors are dark and unfriendly, calling too much attention to the drawing compared to the text.

And this wizard from Tom Thumb turns a bit garish in his diagonal stripes; the harmony of color seen in the original version is lacking, particularly against the newly dark background.

Finally, even our old friend the Scarecrow suffers in
this drawing from The House That Jack Built. As with the other examples shown, the darker colors make Denslow's masterly line work difficult to see, and the entire image suffers in consequence.

Donahue published editions of several other Denslow books, including The Wizard of Oz, all of which suffered in the print quality of the illustrations.