Denslow Odds & Ends

In collecting, it’s always fun to run across items you haven’t seen before. Today I’m posting a couple unfamiliar bits & pieces relating to W.W. Denslow, the original illustrator of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

First we have a booklet illustrated for Berry Brothers Varnish, called Around the World in a Berry Wagon and published in 1909. Denslow illustrated quite a few advertising booklets for various companies, and I’ve seen a number of examples of this one in the past. The interesting thing here is that this particular example still has its decorative mailing envelope! 

The characters are taken from various illustrations within the booklet, and the wraparound design is both fun and attractive. I love the rubber stamps on front and back of the envelope requesting careful handling as it’s a booklet meant for a child! This copy was sent in 1910 to Louise Morgense in Tygh Valley, Oregon, and arrived at its destination unscathed. 

The interior illustrations are colorful and energetic, showing children from around the world playing with different vehicles made from a Berry Brothers wooden crate. The pages facing the illustrations offer information about the various countries shown in the drawings.

Next, I have a piece of sheet music with a cover drawn by Denslow. The title is I Want To Be There, by Grant Clark and Jimmy Monaco, published in 1915. I was aware Denslow designed some music sheets, but I haven’t run across this particular title before; it’s unsigned, but there are too many indicators for it to be anyone else’s work.  

Both the farmer and his dog are clearly Denslow types, and the various details of landscape, house and floral elements are easily identifiable. An additional fun point is the inset photo of Bessie Wynn; Bessie originated the role of Dashemoff Daily in the first stage version of The Wizard of Oz, starting in Chicago in 1902 then on Broadway in 1903. Denslow died in 1915, so this would have been a late piece of work.

My final piece is a silver plated cup which may have been produced without Denslow’s knowledge, but was clearly influenced by his illustrations for Denslow’s Mother Goose. Denslow’s inspiration for illustrating the classic rhyme Jack be Nimble was to illustrate a small dog jumping over a candlestick. This same image is embossed on the cup, produced by the American Silver Plate Co. of Connecticut.

The similarity can easily be seen when compared to the book illustration. This piece fits nicely with the pair of decorative plates made by Haynes Pottery and credited to Denslow, featuring two other images from Denslow's Mother Goose.

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".

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.

Early British Wizards

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was first published in 1900 with great success, and around 1906 the first commercial British edition of the book appeared. Although this version was published by Hodder & Stoughton in England, it is essentially the same as the American Bobbs-Merrill edition from the same period, featuring W. W. Denslow’s two-color text illustrations and 16 color plates. 

But the cover colors are different, making a lighter and brighter book, which seems more appealing for a children’s story. Instead of deep olive green cloth stamped in black and orange, the British edition is bound in a lighter green textured cloth, and stamped in peach, black and dark green. The size of the book is also just a touch larger.

The title page shows both the Bobbs-Merrill imprint, which is part of the hand-lettered artwork, and an additional Hodder & Stoughton identification. Relatively few copies have turned up over the years, making me wonder how much of a success this book was with the Brits!

Around 1926 another edition was published, this time by Hutchinson & Co. As before, the book has the general appearance of the contemporary Bobbs-Merrill version; but it’s a much smaller book.

It’s almost a miniature, being only 5” x 7”, with far fewer of Denslow’s illustrations and no color plates. Perhaps this was done as a tie-in to the Larry Semon film version of the story, which was released in 1925. Semon was quite popular in Europe, particularly in France.

 The rather plain title page is printed in two colors, and lists Hutchinson & Co. as publishers. Hutchinson would go on to print later editions of the book, including the more elaborate version published to tie in with the release of the MGM film in England.

The Perils of Paper Spines

As a book collector, I've always found paper spines to be completely impractical; especially on children's books, which were never meant to be handled with care! The fragile paper is easily rubbed and torn, and more often than not large chunks will be missing at the top and bottom of the spine; but it was a less expensive alternative to cloth for binding a book, and presumably helped to lower the cost of children's books while raising the profits.

A number of the books illustrated by W.W. Denslow were published in this fashion. His first big success with L. Frank Baum from 1899, Father Goose His Book, was published by George M. Hill in paper covered boards with a paper spine. In spite of the book's huge success, a more enduring binding was never used on any of the later editions, even when publication was taken over by Bobbs Merrill. The example shown above has its full spine, but it’s not at all unusual to find copies of the book like the photo on the left, with several inches gone from either end of the spine, or even the entire spine missing.

The follow up volume, The Songs of Father Goose, was also published in paper covered boards, but did have a sturdier cloth spine - until a new edition was printed by Bobbs Merrill, with a new cover design and paper spine. The paper spine on the copy shown in the photo below has been replaced.

Denslow's hit book from 1901, Denslow's Mother Goose, is another example of this fragile style of binding. Early copies were bound with paper spines, but the publisher McClure seems to have quickly changed this to a much sturdier cloth spine. I wasn't aware of the paper spine version until I stumbled across one recently - the bottom of the spine is missing 2 inches, which I've adjusted in the photo. The small advertising card shows the original cover design with paper spine, with the title printed in black and Denslow's seahorse logo printed in brown - the cloth spine version is simply printed in black.

In 1902, Denslow's Night Before Christmas was published by G. W Dillingham. Once again, the publisher chose to use a binding of paper boards and paper spine. In this case, Denslow’s design for the cover takes advantage of the format, with a large image of Santa in his sleigh that spreads across the spine and rear board. But copies today are rarely found with the spine intact, destroying the concept. The book quickly switched to a cloth binding with a new cover design for later printings.

The last major children's book illustrated by Denslow was also bound in paper boards, with a paper spine. Consequently The Jeweled Toad, from 1907, is another title that is difficult to find with a spine in nice condition. This was also published by Bobbs Merrill - they do seem to have liked their paper bindings!

Fortunately the most famous Baum/Denslow title, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, was given the full cloth treatment it deserved in 1900. The same is true of Dot and Tot in Merryland, from 1901. When Dillingham published The Pearl and the Pumpkin in 1904, and Billy Bounce in 1906, they were given full cloth. In 1909, Century published When I Grow Up, bound in cloth. But those early paper spines do add another degree of difficulty to the collecting game!