A Case of Mistaken Identity!

A while back, (2013) I posted a photo of the Scarecrow and Tin Man from the Broadway Wizard of Oz musical.  I identified them as Fred Stone and David Montgomery, the creators of the roles, but it now seems apparent that this isn't the case.

David Maxine contacted me recently with further information on the identity of the performers, from research he has done on the show. It appears that they are actually George Stone (no relation to Fred!) and Charles Wilkins.

In 1906, the theatrical firm of Hurtig & Seamon acquired the rights to the show, and it toured for three seasons, into 1909. The photo on the left shows the stars of the show. Through comparison, particularly of costume details, it's evident that they are the same subjects in my photo - most likely photographed during the same publicity shoot!

Convention 2017

This past weekend I was at the National Convention of the International Wizard of Oz Club. As always, it was an opportunity to see old friends and meet new ones, as well as experience a variety of programming dealing with various aspects of Oz.

This year I did a presentation based on the making of the toy theater I've been working on for the past two years. I spoke about the steps involved in creating the theater and the various scenes of the 1903 Wizard of Oz musical. Below are a few pages of sketches and drawings used to make the different curtains and figures used in the scenes of the show.

I finished with a showing of a simple stop-motion animated version of the show. It's an adaptation based on the script in the Library of Congress, and utilizing bits of music and songs that were in the production - though not necessarily all at the same time! L. Frank Baum makes a cameo appearance at the end of the show. I've never done anything quite like this before, and it was an interesting experience... but I don't think film-making is in my future!

Pearls and Pumpkins

 The Pearl and the Pumpkin was one of the most elaborate children's books W.W. Denslow would illustrate. With 16 color plates, two color illustrations throughout the text, a cover label and decorated endpapers, it was nearly as complex as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

The book was published by G. W. Dillingham in 1904, four years after The Wizard, and was still in print in 1913 due to Donohue reprints. It was originally intended to pave the way for a 1905 musical extravaganza by Denslow and Paul West, in the style of The Wizard of Oz, but the show was a failure. (Note: As David Maxine points out in his comment below, the show wasn't truly a failure - it just wasn't a smash hit like The Wizard.)

Denslow did produce lovely work for the book. An interesting point is the endpapers. There are two variants, one with the illustration printed in blue and the other printed in black and orange. Priority is uncertain, but the blue endpapers are generally considered earlier. For me, the illustration is easier to see in the single color of blue, than in the more elaborate 2 color version - I find the orange distracting!

There is also a definite variation in the printing of the cover on the two copies I own. In the photo at the top of this post, the copy on the right has the blue endpapers and the printing on the cover and spine is a bright green. The other copy, with the black and orange endpapers, uses a much darker green, almost black in person.

Those Marbeau Cousins

The Marbeau Cousins was published by Rand McNally in 1898, and W. W. Denslow's cover for this title went through quite a few changes in color and design. I recently picked up another copy of the book, but I doubt I'll ever have all the variations!

 The original edition had a wraparound cover design. The cover fabric on my copy is a putty/tan color, but there do seem to be other colors. Denslow's seahorse is visible between two of the crows.

This copy has changed to cover and spine only, and a reduced size which resulted in one crow losing his tail! As usual, Denslow's seahorse has vanished from the cover. The cover does still use gilt for the title and author. A version also exists with white lettering rather than gold. There's no indication of when these changes occurred.

The simplest of the batch is this version, which keeps only the lettering and three of the birds. I have seen copies of this binding using white lettering and the pictorial spine design, but this is an even simpler one-color stamping. This copy does have a 1914 inscription, which might indicate when it was published.

It's endless!

Jacket Advertising

The Oz books were one of the jewels of the Reilly & Britton publishing house, and the company was eager to promote the series. I occasionally run across other R & B titles showing ads for the works of their most famous author. Here are a couple examples of ads for Oz books, as well as other L. Frank Baum titles, featured on the jackets of other Reilly & Britton books. These jackets can be rather tattered, but I still find them interesting!

The back cover of Fairy Tales From Shakespeare features what was then the entire Oz series, as published by Reilly & Britton. The Sea Fairies, the start of Baum's new (and short-lived) Trot & Cap'n Bill series is given the front flap, while The Juvenile Speaker is shown on the rear flap, making this a very Baum-ful jacket!

What Happened at Olenberg also featured a pair of Baum books; The Sea Fairies again, and The Daring Twins. This was to be the start of a series of young adult novels written under Baum's own name, but it only lasted for two books. However, Aunt Jane's Nieces was shown on the rear of the jacket. This young adult series, written by Baum under the pseudonym of Edith Van Dyne, was quite successful!

An ad similar to those published within the Oz books was used on the rear of Betty's Policeman. The titles list up to Lost Princess, dating this jacket to 1917. The flaps contain no ads.

Azalea was another Reilly & Britton series, written by Elia Peattie, which ran to four titles. The Daring Twins is featured prominently on the rear cover, this time with both titles in the series, while Aunt Jane is on the rear flap. The front flap of the jacket contains a synopsis of the book. A later title from the series features all ten Aunt Jane books on the rear cover.

And finally, Captain Becky's Masquerade has prominent ads for two of Baum's series written under the Edith Van Dyne pseudonym - Aunt Jane's Nieces and The Flying Girl. The Captain Becky books were written by Margaret Love Sanderson, and only ran to two titles - as did the Flying Girl series!

Groucho in Mo Part 2

 A couple years ago I blogged about a 1960 television version of The Magical Monarch of Mo that was being considered as a vehicle for Groucho Marx. The idea never amounted to anything, and sadly died away. Since then, I've come up with a copy of the script for the show that was written by Gore Vidal. It's an interesting read, especially when combined with the promotional pamphlet that was designed to entice sponsers!

The idea put forth in the pamphlet is that Groucho would play a contemporary family man, who escapes to the Land of Mo when everyday pressures become too heavy. It says that a script is being written by Frank Gabrielson in collaboration with Robert Dwan. Gabrielson had already adapted The Marvelous Land of Oz for Shirley Temple, as well as creating a stage version of The Wizard of Oz that was used for many years by various theaters. Dwan was the director and editor of Groucho's quiz show You Bet Your Life. His role was to "...help tailor the title role for Groucho's unique and flamboyant talents...". A script written by Gore Vidal is mentioned as something that may be integrated into this concept. But the script by Vidal is really a straightforward fairy tale, and fairly faithful to the source material. There's nothing to indicate that it was intended for Groucho, or the concept outlined in the pamphlet.

In the script, we are introduced to the Magical Monarch, who is also referred to simply as Mo. He introduces us to his country, and his daughter Pattycake who has lost her temper. In Mo, we are told, everyone keeps their temper (which resembles a square cut jewel) in a locket. After Pattycake runs off to fetch an axe, in order to cut down a hat tree that has offended her by growing last season's hats, we are introduced to Timtom. He is a young hunter who is in love with the princess. When he declares his love, she cuts off his head with the axe intended for the tree. The Monarch restores Timtom's head, backwards at first, and Timtom declares his intention to marry the princess.

The Monarch's three wise men rush in and and announce that King Scowleyowe (spelt Scowleyow by Baum) has set the Purple Dragon upon the kingdom of Mo, with the demand that the Monarch surrender and grant him Pattycake's hand in marriage. The Wise Donkey is summoned and they all learn that the princess's temper was stolen by King Scowleyowe. The Monarch sets off with Timtom to restore the temper, and both are promptly eaten by the dragon.

In Act 2, the Monarch and Timtom are inside the dragon, which is filled with neatly labeled shelves of things the beast has devoured - including a television set! Scowleyowe appears on the TV and informs the monarch that his white magic will not work inside the Purple Dragon. The Monarch decides he will have to defeat the dragon with Tattletale Gray Magic, better known as psychology. Through flattery and kindness, they manage to escape the dragon.

They head off through the Haunted Forest, where they meet Maetta, the Queen of the Forest. She reveals Scowleyowe's weak point to the Monarch, and he and Timtom set off in disguise to defeat the villain. It turns out that Scowleyowe's weakness is a fondness for riddles, and after the Monarch trades a riddle for the temper, the wicked king is taken off in a straitjacket. Pattycake's temper is returned, and she and Timtom are free to marry. The script is 39 pages long, and dated July 31, 1959.

The original book by L. Frank Baum is actually a series of nonsensical stories, and the script incorporates a number of characters and ideas without accurately following any one tale. Vidal also added a number of his own touches, particularly the methods of defeat for both the dragon and Scowleyowe. There would have been plenty of additional material to draw upon if this version of the show had indeed become a series. But clearly the idea of a show based on Mo had been in the works before the idea of bringing Groucho on board, and catering to his particular talents.

Bouncing Along With Billy

W. W. Denslow covered a lot of ground in his artistic career. Newspaper artist, poster artist, designer of book covers, theater designer, children's book illustrator, and comic postcards are all among his credits. Another was innovative comic strip artist.

In 1901, Denslow created Billy Bounce. This was an early comic strip that made use of a continuing story line, rather than a simple weekly gag. Denslow played with novel layouts in the early pages, and his designs jumped across the paper.

Here is a later episode, from early in 1902. The complete date is missing as the page has been trimmed and is a bit rough. By this time the strip has become much more standard, in layout and concept, than some of the earlier examples. Denslow quit the comic later that year, but it continued for several more years under another artist.  Some of Denslow's Mother Goose characters are included in this particular episode. (Click on the picture for an enlarged image of the page.)

The strip was popular, even after Denslow gave up drawing it in 1902. Buttons were produced to publicize it, and it even inspired a brand of cigars. Two button designs are known, but it is unclear whether they were drawn by Denslow. The one I'm showing does not appear to be his work.

Toys From the Land of Oz

Back in January, I attended the opening of an exhibition at the National Museum of Toys and Miniatures in Kansas City, Missouri. The show is called Over the Rainbow: Toys from the Land of Oz, and was organized by Jane Albright. Her aim, with the assistance of 20 or so other collectors, is to show as many vintage Oz-related toys as possible.

Along with the toys are a number of other rarities, from film costumes to souvenirs from the 1903 Broadway production. The show runs through August 20th and is well worth visiting if you happen to be in the area!

And Another Variation

Here's yet another example of a variation within the Rand McNally covers designed by W. W. Denslow. This is a later printing of Whoso Findeth a Wife, by William LeQueux. The image is the same as the original printing,  but the background is now a rich teal color, and the design has been slightly simplified.


On the original, the letter bears three seals printed in black. The newer version drops the black ink, which was a fourth color, and consequently loses the effect of the seals. The gilt ink seems to be replaced by a duller gold, and Denslow's signature seahorse has vanished.

As I've said before, the variations on these books are both plentiful and mystifying!

Lucky Little People

Here's an odd little item; in 1973 and 1974, Scholastic Publications published a series of sets of finger puppets. These were called Lucky Little People, and consisted of pages of characters that could be punched out together with a simple script for presenting a play.

I became aware of these because the first in the series was a version of Rumplestiltskin, with designs by Edward Gorey. As my partner is an avid Gorey collector, I'd known about that particular item for quite some time. But, since we never ran across any other sets, we wondered if Rumplestiltskin was the only set that had been published; it turns out we were wrong.

I've been unable to track down much information on these fragile pieces, but I now know there were at least five sets. Set #2 is a mystery as I've found no references to it. Set #3 was Famous Americans, set #4 was Hansel and Gretel, and set #5 was The Wizard of Oz. The last two sets were published in 1974.

There is no artist credit on the Oz puppets, which are colorful. A simple script was included with the set, a fairly faithful version of Dorothy's capture and the subsequent defeat of the Wicked Witch of the West.

Baseball with the Scarecrow

In August of 1906, Harper's Weekly published a small piece on a charity baseball game played by a group of prominent New York actors and managers. Among the players was Fred Stone, dressed in full Scarecrow costume, playing catcher with a birdcage over his head serving as a mask!

As can be seen from the photo, the game was a comic affair. The manager Sam Harris is shown at the plate, using the largest bat I've ever seen! Other players included George M. Cohan, Abraham Erlanger, and De Wolf Hopper. The accompanying photo shows quite an array of uniforms.

The game took place at the American League park, and featured the actors taking on the managers - the outcome of the game isn't clear, although the article states "The result of the match was vigorously contested, in spite of the fact that the umpire was attired in a suit of mail." More than $3,000 was raised and donated to a home for destitute and crippled children.

Another interesting point of the magazine is the centerfold photo, which shows Mt Vesuvius after the great eruption that took place in April of that year.

As it happens, L. Frank Baum and his wife Maud spent the first six months of 1906 on a European trip - I believe it was their first and only - and arrived in Naples during the time that Vesuvius was active. Maud writes about the event in her travelogue In Other Lands Than Ours, describing the quantity of ash and destruction everywhere. A photo taken by Baum shows Maud surveying the damage and hot lava, which burnt her shoes.

A Parrish Letter

Last week, Swann Galleries in New York sold an interesting letter written by Maxfield Parrish. It was to Chauncey Williams of the Way & Williams publishing company, and outlined Parrish's thoughts on the design and costs of illustrating Mother Goose in Prose.

Mother Goose in Prose was published in 1897, and was the first children's book published by L. Frank Baum. An earlier title, Adventures in Phunniland, was already written but would not see publication until 1900, when it was re-titled A New Wonderland.

Parrish's letter is a response to previous correspondence from Williams. In it, he strongly discourages the use of small marginal illustrations for the book. His concept was to provide a cover, frontispiece, title page and 23 chapter headings, each pertaining to a particular story. The cost of that would be $650.00, and he apologizes for the cost, which he feels will be too much. But, he points out:

"...do not think that a small thing is one bit easier to do than a big one. Those little marginal illustrations in order to leave this shop, would have to have just as much care put upon them as the gent with the little gun I sent you."

From this it seems he had already drawn the frontispiece of the book - the Little Man with his Little Gun. Another possibility mentioned in the letter was to do cover, frontispiece, title page and 4 illustrations for $250. In the end, the book was illustrated with cover, frontispiece, title page, a small chapter title which was repeated for each story, and 12 full page drawings. Parrish states that to fully illustrate the book would be cost prohibitive - but a compromise seems to have been reached. 

Another interesting point within the letter is Parrish's opinion on two of the stories. He asks that the mention of a Kodak be removed from the Baa Baa Black Sheep story, and objects to the "dime museum episode" in the Jack Sprat tale. There is no mention of a Kodak in the published book, and the Jack Sprat story vanished completely - leaving 22 tales rather than the original 23. It's interesting to note that the things Parrish objected to were the very things that Baum was trying to bring to his stories - a modern American sensibility laid over a traditional tale.

Cursed by a Fortune

I'm afraid my poor blog has been neglected for the past 8 months, but here's a new post starting up right where I left off - another Rand McNally title with a W. W. Denslow cover design.

This time it's Cursed by a Fortune, from 1897, written by G. Manville Fenn. This book has a striking cover image of a woman in a window, overlaid by a sealed will, together with a large English pound sign - all pertaining to the story within. It's a very Victorian tale of a girl who loses her father and inherits a large fortune, surrounded by guardians and relatives intent on obtaining her money through marriage. She is spirited away and kept under lock and key, but of course in the end it all comes right and she marries the poor doctor who loves her. Then she loses the fortune and everyone is happy. Except the bad guys, who are left in broken health to regret their actions.

There is no seahorse emblem on the cover, which makes me suspect this may be a slightly later printing of the book. It still uses gilt stamping and a gilt top to the pages, so it hasn't been drastically changed.