Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!
.......from the gang!

Tik-Tok

Having done two fabric figures and two wooden figures, I decided it's time to try metal! Actually, Tik-Tok has fallen together more easily than I expected although I'll admit to cheating - he's brass, not copper. But with a little patina work, he's pretty convincing...

He's mostly made from a variety of lamp parts, along with some additional material. He has his winding key, and three winding spots - one under each arm and the middle of the back. Unfortunately, he doesn't actually wind up... Oh well - we'll have to call in Smith and Tinker for that!

Dorothy Doll?

 The other day, I happened to think of a photo I'd seen in the digital gallery of the New York Public Library website. This image shows Anna Laughlin, who played Dorothy in the original 1903 Broadway production of The Wizard of Oz, seated and holding a doll version of herself.

I can't help wondering whether these dolls were ever made available to the public? It would seem to be a likely souvenir to sell in the theater lobby wherever the show was playing. I've never heard of any, but wouldn't that be something fun to run across!

Knave of Hearts

While doing some Christmas shopping, I ran across a lovely new facsimile edition of The Knave of Hearts, by Louise Saunders, with the beautiful illustrations by Maxfield Parrish. This is published by Calla Books, and they've done a very nice job of it - the book is a large hardcover, the same scale as the original 1925 edition, and printed on heavyweight paper. The front cover has a color pastedown, like the original, and the overall effect is very impressive!

The printing quality of the illustrations is not quite as high as the first edition, as they haven't been reproduced from the original paintings, but they are all there in full color. Interestingly, a couple seem to have been reproduced from House of Art prints, rather than book illustrations - these are some of Parrish's best known book illustrations, and several were popular as art prints in their own right.

Maxfield Parrish illustrated L. Frank Baum's first published book for children, Mother Goose in Prose. It might have been interesting had he continued on and illustrated the Oz series - the books would have had quite a different look, I think! Now if someone would publish a full size facsimile of Mother Goose.....

The book is available on Amazon.com, and makes a fine gift for any Parrish lover!

Jack

I'm afraid my postings have been pretty sparse lately, but it's easy to chalk that up to the busy time of year!

Here's Jack Pumpkin- head and the Saw- horse, complet- ed and ready to join their other Ozzy friends. In keeping with trying to create these characters more or less as described in the Oz books, both have been made from found sticks and branches. Jack is pegged at his joints which does make him a bit awkward - and it was a bit of a trick to dress him! As stated in The Land of Oz, the Scarecrow will bend, but not break, whereas Jack will break, but not bend.

The Sawhorse is shown above in a more natural state, but here he is in saddle regalia - ready to trot through the Emerald City!