Graham Rawle Exhibition

I just ran across this, a little late but still in plenty of time to attend. An exhibition at my alma mater of Graham Rawle's artwork for The Wizard of Oz - this should be fun!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 7, 2009
THE WIZARD OF OZ: ACCORDING TO GRAHAM RAWLE
MCAD Gallery | Minneapolis College of Art and Design
May 22–June 28, 2009

MINNEAPOLIS—Explore the extraordinary imagination of acclaimed British artist and author Graham Rawle in the dazzling exhibition THE WIZARD OF OZ: ACCORDING TO GRAHAM RAWLE, opening Friday, May 22 in MCAD Gallery.
Inspired by his vividly re-imagined retelling of L. Frank Baum's original classic The Wizard of Oz (Counterpoint Press, 2008), this exhibition lifts Rawle's breathtaking illustrations from the printed page, presenting them in large scale for the first time anywhere.
Using handcrafted miniature sets, carved sculptures, found objects and other unusual materials (such as Pringles cans and spraypainted asparagus), Rawle's dynamic and oftentimes surreal illustrations include original characters and scenes that will be revelatory to those who are more familiar with the cinema classic.
Rawle's illustrations will amaze children and adults alike. They're endearing yet edgy, delightful yet dark—the same qualities found in only the most treasured and iconic children's fiction. THE WIZARD OF OZ: ACCORDING TO GRAHAM RAWLE is not to be missed!

Meet Graham Rawle in person!

Graham Rawle will join us from London to celebrate the opening of this remarkable exhibition on Friday, May 22, from 6 to 9 p.m. in MCAD's Main Gallery, located on the first floor of MCAD's Main Building. Copies of The Wizard of Oz will be available for purchase and signing by the artist at this event. Don't miss this rare opportunity to meet the artist and get up-close to his work!
Want a sneak peek?
Visit www.mcad.edu/oz for a gallery of some of the amazing images featured in the exhibition, along with a link to Graham Rawle's Web site and a specially animated short film that brings the book's characters to life.

Praise for The Wizard of Oz, illustrated by Graham Rawle

"[Rawle's] illustrations are vivid constructs that come alive in the strangest ways."
— The Los Angeles Times
"Rawle's freakingly cool images definitely [have] me wanting more. ... Trippy stuff."
— Cinematical

Phono-Movies

Today I'm showing something that is not in my collection, although it's some- thing I'd love to have!

This is an example of an early Oz toy, called a Phono-Movie. The concept is simple: a gadget attaches to a phonograph, with a jointed figure which dances to the music as the record rotates. In this particular case, two figures were included: a stereotypical African-American character, and the Scarecrow of Oz! The box states that the toy was patented in 1919, which was during one of the heights of Oz popularity — but I suppose this version with the Scarecrow figure could be from a later date. These pictures are from an old eBay auction, and I've also seen the toy listed in a book on vintage phonographs and related accessories.

This might be a project that L. Frank Baum's eldest son Frank was involved with. Frank Baum did try to capitalize on his father's creations, but didn't seem to have much luck. His Oz Doll & Toy Manufacturing Company didn't succeed with a line of Oz dolls. Oz toys just don't seem to have caught on with the public; an earlier toy Woozy character produced by the family also failed.

Adaptations

I'm afraid I've been neglecting my blog entries, but it's been a hectic few weeks here. We've been moving our studio to a new location after being settled for 20 years, and I've spent more time transporting boxes and painting than anything else!

In 1961, Dick Martin illustrated adaptations of the first 4 Oz books for Reilly & Lee. I have three of these, but I'm missing The Wizard of Oz which seems to be the hardest to find. I've always had mixed feelings toward Martin's work, but these books are energetic and a lot of fun.

The illustration on the right shows Ozma entering the Nome King's ornament room, and is a good example of the colorful style used by the artist. The array of knick-knacks is amusing, and Ozma herself is wearing a slightly bizarre martial cockade of a headdress, very different from what is usually seen. These books were adapted by Jean Kellogg, who also adapted several of L. Frank Baum's Queer Visitors From the Marvelous Land of Oz comic pages for the book The Visitors From Oz. This was published in 1964 with Dick Martin illustrations as well.

I was struck by a drawing in Ozma of Oz of the Scarecrow egging the Nome King. It could be coinci- dental, but the overall layout of the illustration really calls to my mind the unused Dale Ulrey drawing for the same scene. I can't help wondering if Dick Martin was familiar with that piece - considering his connections with Reilly & Lee and the Oz enthusiasts of the time, it would be very possible.

Phoebe Tilson

Phoebe Tilson is another Rand McNally title with a W. W. Denslow cover design. This time around Denslow has created a delicate image, very different from some of the bold covers he came up with for this company. The simple drawing of a highchair, locket and closed window with cobweb and geranium plant wraps around the covers and spine of the book.
This is also an example of a cover without Denslow's seahorse logo, which makes me think it's a later printing.

This is also another title with a poster in the collection of the New York Public Library, shown at the right. It makes an interesting comparison since the poster focuses primarily on the figure of a woman, presumably Phoebe, and the book cover gives the impression of a deserted room. It makes a fascinating contrast. It's clearly the same window and geranium! I'll have to read the book to see how both images relate to the story.

Fifth of November

A while back I featured a W. W. Denslow cover for a book published by Rand McNally called The Fifth of November. I've recently picked up a second copy of this book. This one is a different binding state, as Denslow's seahorse signature is not on the cover. It can be seen on my first copy, (shown above on the right) on the left of the barrel design. I'm surprised by how many of these books seem to have removed Denslow's logo on later bindings/printings - I don't really understand why they would go to the bother.

This later binding is also of a lighter cloth color than the original. The stamping is in brown rather than a deep purple/red, and a small illustration of the headsman's mask and ax has been deleted from the back cover.

The original poster for this book, which I'm showing on the right, is in the collection of the New York Public Library and can be seen online in their digital collection. It's interesting to compare the differences between the poster and the book cover. The book very successfully combines the main elements of the poster into a single simple image.

Aunt Jane's Nieces - Again

A while back, I showed two variations of the cover of Aunt Jane's Nieces at Work. The first was the original cover which included a shield and blue printing, and the second was a later printing that modified the cover and eliminated those details. I've picked up another variation, this time a possible binder's error. Instead of using the At Work paste-down, the design for Aunt Jane's Nieces in Society has been glued to the cover. There are many unusual variations/mistakes of this sort in Reilly & Britton books, and it's always fun to run across fresh examples. I thought this would be appropriate for April Fool's Day!

According to The Books Collectors Guide to L. Frank Baum and Oz, this copy is a 6th printing and would date from around 1915. Label mix-ups of this sort did happen, and I would imagine they might be more prevalent in late copies of the Aunt Jane books if the publishers were using up whatever stock of labels they had on hand. When the company became Reilly & Lee in 1919, they quickly stopped using any cover labels on these titles.

Pseudonyms

L. Frank Baum wasn't the only one to work for Reilly & Britton under a pseudonym. John R. Neill illustrated at least one book under the name Ivin Ney - as to why, I really can't imagine! A Knight of the Wilderness was published in 1909, and contains 6 color plates by Neill under the assumed name. The book deals with Abraham Lincoln's years in Illinois. After a little thought, the pseudonym does make some sense - it's a kind of Russian-ized version of his real name (Ivin/John, Ney/Neill).

I don't know of any other examples of Neill working under this alias. 1909 was a busy year for him, with The Road to Oz and the start of the Neill Gift Book series of poetry books. Maybe Reilly & Britton was worried about too much exposure in various genres for their popular Oz artist. The ink and wash style of the illustrations for A Knight of the Wilderness is very much in line with the poetry books or Neill's magazine work of the time, as opposed to his Oz drawings.

Caroline Siedle Part 2

For more information on Caroline Siedle, visit my Caroline Siedle Costume Designer blog.

This past weekend in New York, I viewed the exhibit Curtain Call at the New York Public Library for Performing Arts. It's an impressive show, with many costume, lighting and set designs as well as actual costumes from theater productions over the past 100 years or so. The exhibition is celebrating the work of women in the technical aspects of the theater, contributions that are often overlooked especially in the early days. Unfortunately, photos were not permitted in the gallery but I did find the image above online at broadwayandme.blogspot.com.

My particular interest was to see costume drawings by Caroline Siedle, who designed the costumes for the 1903 New York production of The Wizard of Oz. There was a nice display of about 16 of her drawings on one wall, as well as a tunic believed to be from an actual costume, although not from Oz. Unfortunately, the information given for Seidle is not terribly good - several costumes are called out as being from The Wizard that I'd be fairly certain are not. A lovely design of a floral costume is labeled as a poppy, when it's clearly a pansy. A costume for a young girl in a large sunbonnet, with a blue-checked dress is labeled as a Wizard design - it's easy to see how this could be confused with Dorothy from the book, but it certainly isn't the stylish young woman that Dorothy was in the musical. A similar design for a country boy in a straw hat is also listed for the Wizard — I think both credits may be wrong.

For those with more current Oz interests, one of the dresses worn by Glinda in Wicked is on display, as well as two of Susan Hilferty's costume drawings for Glinda and Elphaba.

I also picked up a copy of the softcover book written to accompany the show. It can't really be called a catalog since there is no list of all the items in the exhibition, but eight Siedle drawings are shown, including one I don't recall seeing on display. This is a very fun design for a costume and hat with a bumblebee motif, again credited for The Wizard of Oz. Again, I'm doubtful whether this was designed for that particular show.

Siedle designed many costumes for a number of shows, including Babes in Toyland and other extravaganzas. There is little information available on this highly talented woman, and her career was cut short by an early death. Some of the drawings on display bear the stamp of the Metropolitan Opera, where her husband was a prop master. The girl and boy mentioned above and a couple other designs by Siedle, as well as several other women, can be seen at this link - http://www.nypl.org/news/articles/?article_id=255
If anyone is in the area, it's a fascinating exhibit, running until May 2nd.

More Oz Color

While I'm on the topic, here are a couple more examples of color shifts/changes within printings of color illustrations in the Oz books.

One of the best known changes is in The Emerald City of Oz. The earliest printings used an additional color of ink, green metallic, on the color plates to help create an Ozzy feeling. Later printings dropped the extra ink, leaving white areas within the plates. Fortunately, in most cases the green ink was used as a minor embellishment, and the images hold together quite well. In some cases. you actually see more detail without the green ink.


In the case of the illustration to the right, dropping the green ink meant losing the border of the image. This isn't a vital part of the illustration itself, but there is a lot of humor in the missing words. To the best of my knowledge, illustrator John R. Neill devised the nonsense words himself, without the assistance of L. Frank Baum. It reads:

Soandso, and soandso, oh yes, I don't know it might be so I calculate but I don't know, intre mintry cuteycorn appleseeds and fly away Jack. Six sixes are not sixty-six? And we still hold to folderol de doodle all day, if I had a donkey that wouldn't go I'd buy a fiddle for fifty cents and rattle his bones over the stones it's only a beggar whom nobody owns, listen??

The character shown talking to the Wizard is from Rigmarole Town, where people talk in circles. I think Neill grasped this pretty well!

Ozma of Oz was printed with color illustrations for many years, and there is a definite shift towards brighter color in later editions. Shown above are the frontispiece from a first state copy (left) and a 1920's edition (right). Ozma looks like she's been in the sun a little too long in the later printing, and can sometimes be very blotchy. Part of the reason for this is that the early printings were on a smoother paper stock. By the 1920's, the Oz books were being printed on a much pulpier paper which soaked up more ink, resulting in brighter and harsher color.

In the image to the right, a similar result can be seen with the earlier plate on the left and the later on the right.

Oz Color

Later printings of The Wizard of Oz saw more than just changes in color plates; the color printing used throughout the text was also affected. A prime example can be seen in these two images.

The first is from an early Bobbs-Merrill printing, and the second is from a later Donohue printing. The Bobbs-Merrill pages are printed in a darker green ink than was originally used, making the text more difficult to read — but at least the entire image is there.

Donohue was a cheaper reprint house that leased the plates for the book, and turned out less expensive editions. One of their ways of saving money was to minimize the use of color throughout the book — one of the most unique features of the original edition! By dropping the green out of this text illustration, the image no longer makes any sense. Personally, I think they were cheating their customers; perhaps they should have been prevented from turning out such unattractive editions of this book!

Color Plates

It's not strange for color plates to vary in tone in various printings of Oz books. Accidental changes can happen from one printing to the next, and sometimes deliberate changes are made, especially when trying to cut publishing costs.

The example above shows how drastic changes can happen when a book changes publisher. The illustration by W. W. Denslow shows Dorothy and friends meeting the Cowardly Lion for the first time, in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. On the left is the original version of this color plate, as published by George M. Hill in the first edition. The center image shows the change that happened when Bobbs-Merrill began publishing The New Wizard of Oz. The color plates in the new edition lost much of the original clean brightness seen in the Hill edition, and became slightly muddied. The final plate is from a 1939 copy of The Wizard of Oz, also published by Bobbs-Merrill. This plate does have three colors in it, but it hardly seems worth the bother!

An interesting, and I think more unusual, change happened during the print runs of The Marvelous Land of Oz. Around the 4th state, the color plates became much brighter than in earlier issues. Off hand, I don't think any other Oz books published by Reilly & Britton had this kind of dramatic alteration. The publishers must have felt that the brighter colors were more appropriate to the story.

Incidentally, this illustration is another example of John R. Neill using curtains for dramatic effect!

Valentine

This is a little late for Valentine's Day, but I've just purchased another postcard. This was offered on eBay recently, and I couldn't pass it up as it's one of the more unusual valentines I've seen!

This is a handmade card, undated but certainly vintage, perhaps from the 1920's. The creator has cut the figure from one of W. W. Denslow's Thanksgiving postcards and added a heart to make it holiday appropriate.

Something about the leering man with his ax, eyeing up the heart, makes one wonder why someone thought this made a good valentine. Personally, I think it's hysterical; it just needs "or else" added! It gets better on the reverse, as this was apparently given to Will from Jack. I suppose it was an alternative to anything too romantic...or maybe Jack was sending Will a message!

Souvenirs of 1903

Here are a couple more pieces related to the 1903 Wizard of Oz stage production. When You Love, Love, Love is a song with a lyric by L. Frank Baum, which was sung in the show by Dorothy, the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman. It was felt by critics to be one of the hits of the show, and is shown on the right. I think the sheet music cover is surprisingly plain, in spite of the ornate lettering. After all, this was a glittering production with plenty of memorable images!

The program on the left is from the week of February 23rd, 1903 - about a month after the show opened in New York. Theater programs of the period were not the splashy things they are today - the program cover advertises the theater rather than the performance. A synopsis of the show is included inside, together with the cast listings, etc. The synopsis does a good job of condensing the somewhat convoluted plot of the show.

Without the hit Broadway production of The Wizard of Oz in 1903, there might never have been an Oz series. That same year the original book was published in a new edition with a new title, shown at the right, and in 1904 The Marvelous Land of Oz was released. The show had been such a success, it inspired L. Frank Baum to write the sequel, with an eye towards another stage adaptation. The stage version of this second book did not succeed, but the book helped pave the way for future titles.

Scarecrow & Scraps

A while back, I posted images of the Patchwork Girl I made from a couple vintage quilt squares. Since then, I decided to give it another try, making a few changes, and this time creating the patchwork myself from new fabrics which would be much sturdier than the vintage material. Overall, she turned out pretty well, and is much sturdier than my first attempt!

When I posted pictures of the first Scraps, it was suggested that I try making a Scarecrow figure as a companion — so I've given it a shot. His head is basically a painted sack, and raffia has stood in for straw. There are a few things I'd do differently, (he's a little on the thin side), and I've already started on another variation, but he didn't turn out too badly.

It is fun to see these creatures in three dimensions and made as described in the Oz books (more or less). They have an eerie quality that I really didn't expect, and, due to their cheerful personalities in the books, don't personally tend to associate with the characters. I'll have to try another celebrity, possibly the Tin Woodman or Jack Pumpkinhead!

Caroline Siedle

For more information on Caroline Siedle, visit my Caroline Siedle Costume Designer blog.

Caroline Siedle (1867 - 1907) was one of the first women in America to become a well known stage costume designer. From the mid-1890s until her early death in 1908, she designed costumes for many musicals, including the 1903 production of The Wizard of Oz. Julian Mitchell, the director of The Wizard who also worked with her in Babes in Toyland and other productions, is quoted as saying: "Without her assistance I should never have been able to carry out the musical comedy color schemes which have made beautiful stage pictures. Her taste was always good, and her ability to design amounted to genius."

Some of the original costume designs from The Wizard of Oz survive in public collections. I'm excited to have the one which I'm showing, a design for the Cooks in the chorus of the opening number of the third act. It's certainly a whimsical design - note the silverware in the brim of the hat, the kettle on the bodice and the ample display of the chorus girl's legs. Traces of the original pencil sketch remain under the finished painting, showing that the shorts/apron combo was originally a bit longer - down to the knees. On the rear of the drawing is a list of eight actresses who played cooks, including their measurements for costuming purposes. Only four cooks are listed in the program for the show, so perhaps some of these were alternates?

The photo I'm showing is from Mark Evan Swartz's fascinating book Before The Rainbow, which examines early theatrical productions of Oz. The actress shown is Lola Gordan, and her name is among those on the back of the drawing. The cooks were part of the chorus of Waitresses, Cooks and Laundresses that supported the Scarecrow in his rendition of The Traveler and the Pie, one of the songs using a lyric by L. Frank Baum. This number eventually opened Act Three of the show, and was placed in a setting with a color scheme of lilac and silver, reflected in the colors of the costume design.

The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts is currently mounting an exhibition through May 2nd called Curtain Call: Celebrating a Century of Women Designing for Live Performance. Among the pieces being shown is another costume design by Siedle for Act Three of the Wizard, this one for the Witches of the Wind. I've copied it from advertising for the show and posted it on the left - it's a lovely piece. I hope to take a look at the exhibit when I'm in New York in March.
http://www.nypl.org/press/releases/index.cfm?article_id=196&sq=2

New York Public Library

A couple weeks ago I stumbled across the New York Public Library's online Digital Gallery. This is a great site for a number of reasons, but what I was excited to find were good quality scans of original artwork by W. W. Denslow for The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

I knew that many of the original drawings were in one of the print collections of the library, but I didn't realize they were so easily accessible online. And - you can order prints, note cards, tote bags, coffee mugs or ornaments of any of the images!

I ended up trying a coffee mug of one of the drawings, the Deadly Poppy Field chapter title page, and a print of a rare poster drawn by Denslow for Father Goose, His Book. I was surprised that the color of the background on the poster I received is quite a bit browner than the digital image I'm showing, but it is nicely printed. The coffee cup would benefit from having the image centered on the cup rather than on one side - or, by offering the choice of placing 2 images on the cup. Still, it's a fun idea to play with.

There are several Denslow posters in the collection, including a few for Rand McNally books with Denslow covers - I've featured several of the titles in earlier blog entries. To view pieces, go to the link below and enter Denslow in the search box.
http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/index.cfm

1903 Wizard

When The Wizard of Oz is mentioned, most people immediately think of the 1939 MGM movie starring Judy Garland. However, if you were to go back in time to before that film was made, many people would fondly remember the story as a successful stage musical extravaganza bearing little resemblance to the book by L. Frank Baum.

The stage Wizard opened in Chicago in 1902, and traveled to Broadway in 1903 where it was a smash hit and inspired further fantasy extravaganzas, like Babes in Toyland. The show was well publicized and documented with postcards, posters, sheet music, souvenirs and photos. And, I just realized it opened 106 years ago yesterday!

Here I have a songbook that was published featuring a few hits written for the show as well as other popular numbers. The main score was written by Paul Tietjens, with L. Frank Baum contributing lyrics to the musical numbers. In the course of the run of the show, many different songs by a variety of people were interpolated into the story.

The show was a popular success that toured the country and returned to New York several times in the first decade of the 1900s. David Maxine of Hungry Tiger Press has produced a 2 disc CD set featuring vintage recordings of music from the show, as well as a single disc featuring music from The Wizard and other Baum musicals. http://www.hungrytigerpress.com/audio/

Book Collector's Guide

For years, the bible for Oz collecting has been Bibliographia Oziana. This book, which is available from the International Wizard of Oz Club, is still the best guide to identifying early editions of the Oz books, and learning important publication points. Copies may be ordered from the club website: http://ozclub.org/Home_Again.html

I'm very excited about a new book to be published next month called The Book Collector's Guide to L. Frank Baum & Oz. This book is written by Paul Bienvenue and Robert Schmidt, and will feature all of Baum's published titles, as well as later Oz titles and related pieces, with variations and rarities all in color images.
This volume has been in the works for some time – in fact I contributed several pictures 6 years ago or so. I'm curious to see what may have been used.

Copies may be ordered online from Paul's shop, March Hare Books: http://www.marchharebooks.com/?page=shop/disp&pid=page_BaumandOzPg

Another Postcard

Here is another Halloween postcard I've run across that takes inspiration from an Oz illustration. My blog entry for October 31st of 2008 featured a postcard that adapted a John R. Neill illustration for holiday use. This time an unidentified artist has been inspired by W. W. Denslow, rather than Neill.

The pose of the scarecrow is clearly based on Denslow's illustration of the Scarecrow being attacked by the Wicked Witch of the West's crows. Rather than copying the image precisely, the artist has made a number of changes to the scarecrow figure. However, the pose is too similar to be coincidental — also, the crow on the postcard is identical to the second crow above the Scarecrow's head in Denslow's drawing!

I found this image on the internet and don't currently own a copy of this card. It was manufactured by the Metropolitan News Company and dates from around 1907 - 1915.

Darby O'Gill

Happy New Year!

John R. Neill provided a lovely frontispiece illustration for Reilly & Britton's 1915 edition of Darby O'Gill and the Good People. This book was first published in 1903 by McClure, Phillips and Co., and a later edition was published by Reilly & Lee. This Reilly & Britton printing seems to be a bit unusual, as I could currently find no listings for other copies.

Neill's frontispiece is the only illustration in the book, which is unfortunate. This collection of Irish tales would have been right up his alley for inspired imagery. The book was the basis for Walt Disney's 1959 movie Darby O'Gill and the Little People.

The book was written in 1903 by Hermione Templeton, who remarried in 1905 and became Hermione Templeton Kavanagh.