tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89301900654262887112024-03-13T00:47:17.952-07:00Hungry Tiger TalkThis is the official blog of Hungry Tiger Press. We share news about our books and CDs, information on all things Oz, L. Frank Baum, and much more, too!David Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12672089188117065118noreply@blogger.comBlogger517125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930190065426288711.post-332769343057630752024-03-04T06:00:00.000-08:002024-03-04T12:59:19.277-08:00Map of Oz Monday - To Help You Find the Way to Oz<p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisoov_UYMOePE1eiM-vwrs9_O2BzfBb3YMm9UbdCYHi72Nab_9N0XYtk2ksJwLL73hnGGGbTYg40UMoAjjQ5lW527Drr4spUnWknJmsalhisW-p4ldLZQdA973pzWwKLrmNcMj2_tKDSRAlWwM4x6_psTCs35HIAbO2M8Ng2K0aWGvYEO_zNVi28JTwT92/s2048/dotwiz.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1502" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisoov_UYMOePE1eiM-vwrs9_O2BzfBb3YMm9UbdCYHi72Nab_9N0XYtk2ksJwLL73hnGGGbTYg40UMoAjjQ5lW527Drr4spUnWknJmsalhisW-p4ldLZQdA973pzWwKLrmNcMj2_tKDSRAlWwM4x6_psTCs35HIAbO2M8Ng2K0aWGvYEO_zNVi28JTwT92/s320/dotwiz.jpg" width="235" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Circa 1949 to 1959</td></tr></tbody></table>The <b>Map of Oz Monday</b> series has been one of my most followed blog threads. While I have yet to complete my discussion of the various iterations of the Oz Club's maps<i> (I promise I will get back to it!), </i>I am delighted to offer a rather different installment today.<p></p><p>About ten days ago Eric and I were contacted by an elderly woman who wanted to know if we were interested in a book she had to sell. It was a copy of the 1949-1959 edition of <i>Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz</i> with the rather ugly cover label from that era. I actually didn't own a copy of that edition, as I always found it rather, well, ugly. But this copy was in beautiful condition and had its dust jacket. I offered her a fair price and the deal seemed to be complete. </p><p>But then she mentioned she also had a tattered Map of Oz, partially colored in with crayons and pens, and which also had some "writing" on it, which she mentioned, I think, as a possible defect. Being an Oz map buff, I asked for a scan and she kindly supplied one.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieXcnifdKbCsaQC_WHJCdeqJIZGlDj4biSSCZvc2FL8qybJvz2PdRO13kAqmgm7RF3P3WT5wv24BEaYUVze8MbEZdDPulFGqVjmw3QuhOqhpdCd3bPyC7d8neCXGdmvPh-Q262aqbWqZ4izWTllRjQx3YvriUIU1salqtBbQmJSX8bNTBWZ2Tdb-8M2OHx/s1200/MapofOz_CarolynTreadway_side02.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="812" data-original-width="1200" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieXcnifdKbCsaQC_WHJCdeqJIZGlDj4biSSCZvc2FL8qybJvz2PdRO13kAqmgm7RF3P3WT5wv24BEaYUVze8MbEZdDPulFGqVjmw3QuhOqhpdCd3bPyC7d8neCXGdmvPh-Q262aqbWqZ4izWTllRjQx3YvriUIU1salqtBbQmJSX8bNTBWZ2Tdb-8M2OHx/w400-h271/MapofOz_CarolynTreadway_side02.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click to Enlarge</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>This is what used to be thought of as the "<a href="https://hungrytigerpress.blogspot.com/2012/05/map-of-oz-monday-coloring-contest-map.html">Coloring Contest Map</a>," and I originally blogged about it under that name. But a few weeks after my original post I obtained a scan of the <a href="https://hungrytigerpress.blogspot.com/2012/05/map-of-oz-monday-surprise-surprise.html" target="_blank">"ACTUAL Coloring Contest Map."</a> Click on either link to read those earlier posts.</p><p>As you see on the "LAND OF OZ" side, there's a bit of crayoning in the Emerald City. A minor defect, but I already own a fine condition copy of this map. But turn the map over to the "SURROUNDING COUNTRIES" side and one sees a good deal more crayoning and some outlining of the river systems in pen.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_YlZJN42e2hAjrY4X3_8KvvtLjhOpZ30QxWdoSt-VYJY5SZL9PPG_MZMWAnO1p5dkXhRxUT4bDqmBdlJVq7KFB1YMr4GS4GQ7xI90ZVunAQ3GdfBJL05uw0jxZ7Y29mTj0SKUS68Quk-VJsJQU1yHiOF88c0ObT0TA179yaIzjvtTfuBnkr-FMvTndR0I/s1200/MapofOz_CarolynTreadway_side01.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="803" data-original-width="1200" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_YlZJN42e2hAjrY4X3_8KvvtLjhOpZ30QxWdoSt-VYJY5SZL9PPG_MZMWAnO1p5dkXhRxUT4bDqmBdlJVq7KFB1YMr4GS4GQ7xI90ZVunAQ3GdfBJL05uw0jxZ7Y29mTj0SKUS68Quk-VJsJQU1yHiOF88c0ObT0TA179yaIzjvtTfuBnkr-FMvTndR0I/w400-h268/MapofOz_CarolynTreadway_side01.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click to Enlarge</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>But what's that writing in the top right corner? </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE4CIbRrtfKNJktQXgvAjXmfItLQEa1U6uH9xd8VJTZUBH4a1-MNXrb2u4uKRJwlEHFh_l61UVTQT4oW2n5j1kwb_znQDTdwZkuVOIl-IhdjzoFljddV2me-11aYn4FHpSmtLYm17sSWMnsFWEHG74P9GRia6WP72ae-O6kknTyd2XakROaayHf8VAkmtB/s5560/blog_rpt_MapofOz_CarolynTreadway_side01.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="5560" height="78" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE4CIbRrtfKNJktQXgvAjXmfItLQEa1U6uH9xd8VJTZUBH4a1-MNXrb2u4uKRJwlEHFh_l61UVTQT4oW2n5j1kwb_znQDTdwZkuVOIl-IhdjzoFljddV2me-11aYn4FHpSmtLYm17sSWMnsFWEHG74P9GRia6WP72ae-O6kknTyd2XakROaayHf8VAkmtB/w400-h78/blog_rpt_MapofOz_CarolynTreadway_side01.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>Why, it's a cheery and cozy wish from Ruth Plumly Thompson herself! Needless to say, I bought the map, as well as the copy of <i>Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz</i>. Eric and I felt a need to be ethical, so we told the woman what and whose the handwriting was. She was very grateful that we were honest, and we worked out a very fair price.</p><p>It then developed that the woman had a large collection of letters from various children's authors she had written to as a young teen in the mid-1950s. She now wished to find the letters a good home and make some extra money. </p><p>I will be helping her sell that collection over the coming weeks. She has letters, ephemera, and a few photos from the likes of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Ingalls_Wilder">Laura Ingalls Wilder</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lois_Lenski" target="_blank">Lois Lenski</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maud_Hart_Lovelace" target="_blank">Maud Hart Lovelace</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marguerite_Henry" target="_blank">Marguerite Henry</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_W._Meader" target="_blank">Stephen W. Meader</a>, illustrator <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wesley_Dennis_(illustrator)" target="_blank">Wesley Dennis</a>, <a href="https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Helen-Fuller-Orton/332117" target="_blank">Helen Fuller Orton</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marguerite_de_Angeli" target="_blank">Marguerite de Angeli</a>, and early science fiction author and author of many books on dogs and horses <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S._P._Meek" target="_blank">Col. S. P. Meek</a>. There is also a 1934 letter to her father from President Roosevelt, and a long letter from poet <a href="https://archives.tricolib.brynmawr.edu/resources/sfhl-sc-207" target="_blank">Winifred Rawlins</a>, including a hand-written poem called "Winter Solstice."</p><p>I will be selling the letters over the coming weeks on eBay. If you are interested in any of the letters, you can check my eBay seller name: <b>hungrytigerboy</b> over the next month or so - or drop me a message and I'll let you know when any particular letter is listed for sale.</p><p>The kind woman who is selling the letters and who sold me the book and map said she had no recollection of how or when she obtained the map. She didn't know who Ruth Plumly Thompson was and had never written to her. Possibly that copy of <i>Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz </i>was sent to her as a gift from a relative near Philadelphia and Thompson had done a local signing of maps? The map was found folded in quarters, laid inside the book.</p><p>In any case, the map has found a fine home now - mine!</p><p><b>If you would like to read the entire Map of Oz Monday series <a href="https://hungrytigerpress.blogspot.com/2012/03/map-of-oz-monday-fairylogue-map.html" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a> to start at the beginning. Follow thru links appear at the end of each blog post to take you to the next entry.</b></p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;">Copyright © 2024 David Maxine. All rights reserved.</p>David Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12672089188117065118noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930190065426288711.post-35447636696777454792023-10-26T11:45:00.005-07:002023-10-26T14:20:49.441-07:00Part III - 60 Years of MERRY GO ROUND IN OZ<p><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><h3 style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; margin: 0px; position: relative; text-align: left;"><b>Grabbing the Brass Ring<br /></b><b>The Creation of <i>Merry Go Round in Oz</i> - Part III</b></h3><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: start;"><b><i><a href="https://hungrytigerpress.blogspot.com/2023/10/60-years-of-merry-go-round-in-oz.html" target="_blank">Click Here to Read from the Beginning</a></i></b></p></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />The first "authors' copies" of <i>Merry Go Round in Oz</i> were shipped from the publisher on October 24, 1963. The book is dedicated to Christopher, Wagner's son, who had, a month earlier, celebrated his first birthday.</span><div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSe_CgUnTCjMjLICvS5BBVCnuLP3FiXaxUBtTbQ8pcSRlwnTtFYCEqf0EO6FSPeSmrGG-jtpf80XGCWCU3tnP6gUYl4989Oc6t4jrpy4-nxaMQ06uNOdRPjxlaBLeICGbWuA7ILKg4duxMmKOqMF3we3v8uABE69yhZuyGGloXq0F3xmAOw0uSx4GUPaE3/s2378/mgr_mcgrawandchris_color.tif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1752" data-original-width="2378" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSe_CgUnTCjMjLICvS5BBVCnuLP3FiXaxUBtTbQ8pcSRlwnTtFYCEqf0EO6FSPeSmrGG-jtpf80XGCWCU3tnP6gUYl4989Oc6t4jrpy4-nxaMQ06uNOdRPjxlaBLeICGbWuA7ILKg4duxMmKOqMF3we3v8uABE69yhZuyGGloXq0F3xmAOw0uSx4GUPaE3/w400-h295/mgr_mcgrawandchris_color.tif" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eloise McGraw holding her first grandson, Christopher.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">On
November 13, 1963, Rieckhoff wrote to ask McGraw what she thought of the
finished book. McGraw replied on November 24, 1963—two days after the John F. Kennedy
assassination:<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dear Maxine:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;">I am feeling and behaving in
as dislocated a way as 180 million other Americans today, so forgive me if this
letter is abrupt and not very intelligent. I finally decided it was the ACME of
uselessness to do nothing but listen to broadcasts </span><i style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;">all</i><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;"> day, so, since work was out of the question, decided to tackle
some piled-up correspondence. This is hard on the recipients, but anyway that’s
what I’m doing.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;">I should have written before
to say how much I like the Oz book in its final form. I think it’s a honey,
Dick’s illustrations are just right, and everything about it is just keen. I
kind of hope circumstances warrant our going on with some more; it’s been a lot
of fun and an awful lot less work than my other books, about which I tend to
get hag-ridden and insecure for no really good reason.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqb5mrFuitYEhoMkUEBeoAMMS5Qgfa2PbAfANuaDhIU_LKYSlsMqoWSfNPs7f2XMsUAmTg4l1y2V65r_vO3G0MQ6ZAhWakticcRaJ5QB3rjRVeaDxdOw5iscWnuEh09AvcBYuoTn0NnHNugsBf8Y0Iu39UGYRUR2X3pwiHcyCT8pLBrLykB8qa4uPksDxZ/s5783/mgr_inkwell.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3474" data-original-width="5783" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqb5mrFuitYEhoMkUEBeoAMMS5Qgfa2PbAfANuaDhIU_LKYSlsMqoWSfNPs7f2XMsUAmTg4l1y2V65r_vO3G0MQ6ZAhWakticcRaJ5QB3rjRVeaDxdOw5iscWnuEh09AvcBYuoTn0NnHNugsBf8Y0Iu39UGYRUR2X3pwiHcyCT8pLBrLykB8qa4uPksDxZ/w400-h240/mgr_inkwell.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />After
Rieckhoff’s visit to the Ozmapolitan Convention that June, when it had become
public knowledge that there would be a new Oz book, Oz fans began writing
McGraw fan letters. She was amazed at first by how smart and eager Oz fans
were, but quickly became overwhelmed. Toward the end of the above letter to
Rieckhoff from November 24 (a month since the book had been published)
McGraw wrote:<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;"></span></p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;">My Ozzy mail has settled
down to become a plain, simple burden to me. I thought it would stop once I’d
answered all the letters, but it goes right on—some are repeats, some are fresh
ones. I think I’m going to start nagging you to airmail me out a secretary. If
there’s anything a working writer doesn’t have time for (besides book-fairs)
it’s a lot of chatty, voluminous, and continuing correspondence. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguofJcW9Vfw5y29ldtcI7VrjEuKQ8uDFLMBtHIMbHRgIupWtRFusjgVtNNg3o0OFhq_m65Krm5pjcYmxWVP0UiETrw7iMnLCJ-tinz5PBEvt8grxXMdTVqkNt2hLJKA3j1ld3hQS4VGUtmrOs68p6PxzcKfdgwTgwb9pjc6L0Db8id1RBvbCCCJL8Y9l4B/s4544/mgr_mcgraw_bookfair_etching.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4544" data-original-width="2473" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguofJcW9Vfw5y29ldtcI7VrjEuKQ8uDFLMBtHIMbHRgIupWtRFusjgVtNNg3o0OFhq_m65Krm5pjcYmxWVP0UiETrw7iMnLCJ-tinz5PBEvt8grxXMdTVqkNt2hLJKA3j1ld3hQS4VGUtmrOs68p6PxzcKfdgwTgwb9pjc6L0Db8id1RBvbCCCJL8Y9l4B/w217-h400/mgr_mcgraw_bookfair_etching.jpg" width="217" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Book Fair" an etching by McGraw</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;">Yet I can’t
bring myself to ignore these letters entirely, and I am certainly aware that
these people are important to the success of the book. What’s more, I honestly
appreciate their interest and think they’re nice and often quite interesting
people.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Clearly,
McGraw was being overwhelmed by her Ozzy correspondence</span><a href="file:///C:/Users/16195/Desktop/Oz%20Stuff%20MASTER/Eloise%20Jarvis%20McGraw/Merry%20Go%20Round%20article/maxine_merry_go_round_article%20-rewrite%20for%20blog.doc#_edn1" name="_ednref1" style="font-family: inherit;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference">[i]</span></span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">,
but as she finishes the letter she is clearly very distraught over the
assassination: “I see I’m just rambling on, so I’ll let go of your lapel and
find somebody else to bother. What a horrible weekend this has been anyway! Not
only horrible but surrealistic, unbelievable. . . . The grim and persistent
sensation that maybe </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">everything</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> is
coming apart. Absolutely everything.”</span></p><blockquote><p></p></blockquote>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">McGraw
had hoped to jump right in and write another Oz book for Reilly & Lee.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But Rieckhoff wrote on July 10, 1964:<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">About the Oz book—It is almost impossible to get a
decision here on the future of the Oz series. Several of the Baum titles are
out of print, and are gradually being redone. In the meantime, the back orders
that are piling up indicate that there is still a healthy interest in Oz. Some
of the non-Baum titles will be dropped as they go out of print because their
sales do not justify a reprinting. I am mentioning all this to tell you that
our position is rather fluid at this time.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Merry Go Round</i> sold rather well initially,
I thought. However, there have been a discouraging number of returns this
spring. Our sales manager says the returns probably represent a Christmas
over-stocking. He fully expects the books to be reordered. . . . As to whether
we want another Oz book, we simply have made no decision and I don’t think we
will be able to until we have another six months sales to consider. Certainly,
if we decide to add another book to the series, I want you and only you to
write it, but that is as specific as I can be at this time.<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Rieckhoff
goes on to discuss some of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Merry Go
Round</i> reviews:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Make no mistake about it, Virginia Kirkus was
panning the book, but please don’t let it disturb you. She seems to have a
stable of flippant young reviewers. . . . That is not just our experience.
Other editors have told me the same thing.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 31.5pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">You might be interested in what Edward Wagenknecht
said about <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Merry Go Round</i>. I quote:
“I did not think the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Merry Go Round</i>
book terribly ‘Ozzy’—there was too much blending of traditions in it, and I
think it is the only Oz book that includes distinctively Christian references<a href="file:///C:/Users/16195/Desktop/Oz%20Stuff%20MASTER/Eloise%20Jarvis%20McGraw/Merry%20Go%20Round%20article/maxine_merry_go_round_article%20-rewrite%20for%20blog.doc#_edn2" name="_ednref2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference">[ii]</span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>—but
it is a very good story, and I thought it technically the best-written of all
the Oz books, not excluding Baum’s.” Wagenknecht is an intellectual and a
well-known writer. He is also a devoted Ozite.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiasAiZ8DLUQo6jHk0HoxmD8TvqV-ToP5pBsWSYPJF9wr-3e4z_DZ3_iOTttLJe4RhLkdz4YjooH9Mt9IKE1PVRj5rSDMv9ppQeFPUvuclcP0IIt4xWafxhhujD25KQ5JvFtz8bD0lJnzw_KR5vA3N15L1XzNzff5Zy8DQ82T9QjuGPAQ8bN8mafOo5X35v/s1100/mgr_illo.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="796" data-original-width="1100" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiasAiZ8DLUQo6jHk0HoxmD8TvqV-ToP5pBsWSYPJF9wr-3e4z_DZ3_iOTttLJe4RhLkdz4YjooH9Mt9IKE1PVRj5rSDMv9ppQeFPUvuclcP0IIt4xWafxhhujD25KQ5JvFtz8bD0lJnzw_KR5vA3N15L1XzNzff5Zy8DQ82T9QjuGPAQ8bN8mafOo5X35v/w400-h290/mgr_illo.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">In
the spring of 1963, McGraw had written Rieckhoff: “I have no idea whether the
children will think this ms. has the proper and authentic Oz-touch or not. I
will be flattered if they do, but not surprised if they do not. Nobody can
write exactly the way Baum did about Oz, naturally—but Ruth Plumly Thompson
managed to be a worthy successor writing in her </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">own</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> way—and that is all I’m trying for.”</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In
several basics <i>Merry Go Round </i>bears resemblance to McGraw’s favorite Oz book, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Grampa in Oz</i>. Both Ragbad and Halidom
are bedraggled little kingdoms. Objects of great national importance—the King’s
head and the Magic Circlets—have been stolen, and the Crown Princes of each
kingdom—Tatters and Gules—set out on quests to recover the missing objects. McGraw’s
character description of Queen Farthingale could easily describe Mrs.
Sew-and-Sew, Queen of Ragbad: “Stout, dignified, very domestic—but never loses
her dignity while washing dishes or mending curtains . . .” </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Both books contain
small animal mascots, Bill the Weather Cock and the Flittermouse, that pepper
the novel with announcements or poetry. Gorba's sentence-writing flowers
and Winding Stairway are strongly echoed in McGraw’s Sign-Here and Fire Escape.
But that is where comparisons stop. <i>Merry Go Round in Oz</i></span><i> </i>might be viewed as a superbly written Thompson book, but<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">the novel</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> moves from Thompson pastiche to become, by far, the most
tightly-plotted book in the entire Oz series.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Land of Oz Robin </span>encounters<span style="font-family: inherit;"> seems to have been informed by his needs and </span>neuroses,<span style="font-family: inherit;"> by his interests and
subconscious—not unlike the </span>conceit<span style="font-family: inherit;"> of MGM's <i>Wizard of Oz</i> and Disney's <i>Return to Oz </i>in the way that the fantasy of Oz reflects Dorothy's problems at home.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">An unhappy orphan who loves horses and knights goes to Oz on a
merry-go-round horse after grabbing the brass ring from a carousel. He lands himself in an Oz adventure centering on the search for more rings/circles. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Robin feels like he’s
invisible and that no one listens. Merry Go Round wants to be a “real” horse.
They are both looking for acceptance and for a real home. Much as in the
foster-child system in Oregon, Robin is bounced from one well-meaning but
controlling Oz country to another. In both View-Halloo and Roundabout Robin is
well taken care of, but not loved, not free. He is essentially a prisoner.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Circular
imagery fills much of the book, building on the idea of the carousel and its
brass ring. The three Circlets of Halidom echo Robin’s brass ring—and the ring itself
turns out to be the missing third Circlet. The quest for the Circlets is a circle, too,
since the final solution is only found when the questers return to their
starting point. The Oracle in the Coracle is a crystal ball. (Martin’s
illustration makes clear that it sails in circles, but this detail isn’t
actually in the text.) Roundabout, a large city in a giant crystal ball, is
surrounded by a spinning road much like a merry-go-round—and not by accident the word
“roundabout” is a British term for a carousel. And in the end the solution to
all the Oz characters' problems is Pi, a round delicacy that is spelled the same
way as the mathematical constant that is defined as the ratio of a circle’s
circumference.<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Robin’s
interests inform the text in other ways, too. He loves the King Arthur legend,
knights in armor, and, of course, horses. So how appropriate that Halidom and
Troth are essentially pseudo-British medieval monarchies. It seems
especially good luck for a little boy who loves horses to end up in an Oz
adventure containing three: Merry, Fred, and the horse-like Unicorn. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Prince
Gules’s party seems to encounter Robin’s fears and worries even before they
meet him, as when they come to the Land of Good Children (orphans, like Robin) in a
glorified orphanage called, somewhat ironically, “home.” </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">But Robin
is looking for a <i>real</i> home, where he is accepted and loved, not just a place to reside like the McGudgeys' or the Land of Good Children.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Robin's desire for acceptance and love is echoed by Merry herself and by Sir Greves. Merry longs to
fit in. She longs to become a “real” horse—the kind of horse Robin says he has
always wanted.<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sir
Greves is looking for acceptance too. But unlike Robin, Greves has unmet
emotional needs that have festered into a serious problem. Sir Greves is almost written as if he’s deeply in the closet. Sir Greves wants to be accepted as the
jolly, friendly, non-violent cook he secretly is. But he has become neurotic by
living a lie. He pretends to carry on the feud with Sir Gauntlet; he lies to
wriggle out of jousting tournaments (sports); and he feeds his need for recipes and food
through a secret network. It is Greves’s double life and inability to be true
to himself and to find love and acceptance that lead to his betraying Halidom
and facilitating the theft of the last remaining Circlet.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In
the end Sir Greves functions as a mirror image of Robin and Merry—an example of
what can happen to you if you aren’t loved and accepted for who you are. Robin
might not have been very happy with the McGudgeys, with the Fox Hunters in
View-Halloo, or as King of Roundabout—but he was a centered and
self-sufficient little boy. Robin doesn’t fit into the roles these groups try
to force him into, and he repeatedly says so, whether his oppressors listen or
not. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSnS5TS_boAa14hE0kO6hi98Qd7H9lTH2XWO3qFofxynSYA40ArOjO6v_O0d5dc_he1n8KEFkXjZCfqW6ZO3BCq1zegdIGM90XdkyhOlf8MFwe0HN783lGNTTvOllMJmnZxEBSa2cSuv9JphDlnqNGjYXVezqttlktuBpktk_FyU9SE8WGL75pwhI5jLk8/s1201/MGR_DickMartin_SirGreves_pencilrough_300dpi.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1042" data-original-width="1201" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSnS5TS_boAa14hE0kO6hi98Qd7H9lTH2XWO3qFofxynSYA40ArOjO6v_O0d5dc_he1n8KEFkXjZCfqW6ZO3BCq1zegdIGM90XdkyhOlf8MFwe0HN783lGNTTvOllMJmnZxEBSa2cSuv9JphDlnqNGjYXVezqttlktuBpktk_FyU9SE8WGL75pwhI5jLk8/w400-h348/MGR_DickMartin_SirGreves_pencilrough_300dpi.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An unpublished drawing of Sir Greves by Dick Martin</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Poor Sir Greves, on the other hand, can’t speak up for himself. He runs
round and round to avoid exposing himself, but his public life is a hollow suit
of armor. He has become a neurotic liar, spinning in circles, getting nowhere in his life. Luckily Ozma is able to use Pi as a solution for
the unhappy knight’s previously unsolvable problems.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Merry Go Round in Oz</i> is an extraordinarily rich
book. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Too bad Reilly & Lee chose to end the series in 1963—especially since
McGraw and Wagner hoped to write more Oz books immediately to continue the
series. It would be quite some time before they finally returned to Oz in 1980
with the Oz Club’s publication of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Forbidden Fountain of Oz</i> and in 2000 with McGraw’s solo effort <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://hungrytigerpress.store/product/the-rundelstone-of-oz/" target="_blank">The Rundelstone of Oz</a></i> from Hungry Tiger
Press.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">At
least from a stylistic point of view, it’s arguable that the best written books
in the Oz series are the very first, L. Frank Baum’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,</i> and the very last—the book that rounded
out the series in more ways than one—<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Merry
Go Round in Oz</i> by Eloise Jarvis McGraw and Lauren McGraw Wagner. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div style="mso-element: endnote-list;"><!--[if !supportEndnotes]--><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br clear="all" />
</span><hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="edn1" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/16195/Desktop/Oz%20Stuff%20MASTER/Eloise%20Jarvis%20McGraw/Merry%20Go%20Round%20article/maxine_merry_go_round_article%20-rewrite%20for%20blog.doc#_ednref1" name="_edn1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference">[i]</span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Rieckhoff asked Dick Martin if he could tactfully explain to the Oz Club
members that McGraw was under a heavy burden, finishing a book, and that she
simply couldn’t respond to each and every letter she received.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="edn2" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/16195/Desktop/Oz%20Stuff%20MASTER/Eloise%20Jarvis%20McGraw/Merry%20Go%20Round%20article/maxine_merry_go_round_article%20-rewrite%20for%20blog.doc#_ednref2" name="_edn2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference">[ii]</span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> It is
not known where the Wagenknecht quote comes from. Wagenknecht is referring to
the Easter Bunny, but he has clearly forgotten Baum’s own introduction of Santa
Claus into the Oz books.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoEndnoteText" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Bibliography</span></p>
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Eloise and William McGraw Papers. Special Collections
and University Archives. University of Oregon Libraries, Eugene, Oregon.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Martin, Dick. “The Road to Reilly and Lee.” <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Baum Bugle</i> 27, no. 2 (Autumn 1983):
4.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">McGraw, Eloise Jarvis. “On Wearing Well.” <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Baum Bugle</i> 34, no. 3 (Winter 1990):
3-5.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">McGraw, Eloise Jarvis. “The Magic Land.” <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Childcraft: The How and Why Library.</i>
Vol. 13, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">People to Know</i>. Chicago: Field
Enterprises Educational Corporation, 1964.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">McGraw, Eloise Jarvis, and Lauren Lynn McGraw. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Merry Go Round in Oz</i>. Chicago: Reilly
& Lee, 1963.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Thompson, Ruth Plumly. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Grampa in Oz</i>. Chicago: Reilly & Lee, 1924.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">The author would like to thank Inanna McGraw for her
friendship and memories of writing <i>Merry
Go Round in Oz</i>, and Eric Shanower for his critical eye. Special thanks also
to Special Collections and University Archives at University of Oregon
Libraries, Eugene, Oregon, for their assistance and generosity in giving access
to the Eloise and William McGraw Papers.<br /></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</div></div></div>David Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12672089188117065118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930190065426288711.post-86583738707647396522023-10-25T12:30:00.005-07:002023-10-26T14:22:31.351-07:00Sixty Years of MERRY GO ROUND IN OZ - Part II<h3 style="text-align: left;"><b>Grabbing the Brass Ring<br /></b><b>The Creation of <i>Merry Go Round in Oz</i> - Part II</b></h3><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://hungrytigerpress.blogspot.com/2023/10/60-years-of-merry-go-round-in-oz.html" target="_blank"><b><i>Read Part I Here</i></b></a></p><p class="MsoNormal">Rieckhoff’s
biggest criticism was that the chapter where Robin discovers Roundabout and is
made its King did “not flow spontaneously and naturally. I found it confusing
and the action somewhat contrived. I think it needs complete reworking. Some
indication is needed that the new king will restore their prosperity and make
it possible to stay at home.”</p><p class="MsoNormal">After
that point in the manuscript Rieckhoff thought “the pace [was] good and the
action expertly coordinated. It slows in the final wrap-up, but maybe the
children will like the lingering farewell.”<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">On
April 19, 1963, McGraw responded positively that she was cutting the lengthy
introduction to all the Oz celebrities in chapter ten, but wondered if she
should pare down all of Howzatagin’s talk of celebrities, too. McGraw was much
more concerned with the chapter detailing Robin’s arrival at Roundabout, saying
that while the chapter never really suited her either she was greatly concerned
that it had confused Rieckhoff:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;">“I’ve decided the confusing part must be (1) the
fact that Robin and Merry (therefore, the reader) are in the dark for a long
time as to why the Roundheads welcome them so enthusiastically, and (2) the
lack of clarity as to just what this king is going to do to help the country.
Laurie and I talked the chapter over a day or so ago, and have this proposal to
make: Suppose in the rewrite, Robin and Merry encounter one of the
Roundheads—possibly Polkadots, possibly Roundelay—on one of the roads leading <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">toward</i> the city, ask the way to the
Yellow Brick Road, and are invited into the city to look at a map or something.
There are two choices here: (1) this invitation could be a trick, a means of luring
them into the city for the purpose of capturing Robin to be king, in which case
it would probably be Roundelay . . . or (2) the invitation could be an
innocent, helpful invitation, after which, once they were inside the city,
Roundelay could pounce on them and keep them there. In either case, a lot of
the exposition about how they wanted a king and had a prophecy saying they were
going to get one, and just exactly what this king would do for them, could be
brought out in dialogue as they walk toward the city. . . . In other words,
attack the thing in straight-forward style, with no mysterious excitement or
secrets about it.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">McGraw
added that she would try to make the individual Roundheads a little more
entertaining, more distinct characters. “I don’t know why all my inventiveness
suddenly deserted me during this chapter. The Fox-Hunters turned out to be
individual and good for a laugh here and there—why not the roundheads? I
suppose I simply wasn’t quite as interested in them.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">McGraw
also asked if Reilly & Lee would like the chapters titled. “And if I
remember rightly, most Oz books do have chapter titles. Let me know—I can
easily figure out some exciting-sounding come-on names for them.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There
was also some discussion about the title of the book. Rieckhoff had mis-typed
the working title of the book as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Merry-Go-Round
of Oz</i>. “This is,” McGraw responds, “I’m afraid, how everybody will read it
and think of it. Actually we intended it to be <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Merry Go Round of Oz</i>—and to mean Merry, the horse. At one point . .
. she is called “Merry Go Round” as if that were her name—like Eloise Jarvis
McGraw. I thought of spelling it “Merry Goround” or “Merry Go-Round” but
neither seemed right—the first, especially, would be pronounced every which
way. . . . Or would <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Merry Go Round <u>in</u>
Oz</i> do it? Or we could forget all that and call it <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Golden Circlets of Oz</i> or something.”<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><br />Rieckhoff
wrote back on April 24: “I want to tell you a comment on your story that I
received yesterday from the most rabid Ozophile I know, [Dick Martin]. <div><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj27NreIghPXH8XA4pob1fhxbokwADUFaNUeUF6RXa1PpA1D7m2IohXxIqnhn6jEPUq2EZAXEiGSYtvn9leGGMxJkM0cjUhcBZ4mKSi3pBf7nL1oRzh3rkxM7qBrLhrahVdjcplPWX46_UOE93otXywOIUb0mJ540A4p6zB-Iad3qhFDR8ldtG1JhuXuOZL/s1082/dm_1960s.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1082" data-original-width="848" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj27NreIghPXH8XA4pob1fhxbokwADUFaNUeUF6RXa1PpA1D7m2IohXxIqnhn6jEPUq2EZAXEiGSYtvn9leGGMxJkM0cjUhcBZ4mKSi3pBf7nL1oRzh3rkxM7qBrLhrahVdjcplPWX46_UOE93otXywOIUb0mJ540A4p6zB-Iad3qhFDR8ldtG1JhuXuOZL/w314-h400/dm_1960s.jpg" width="314" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dick Martin circa mid 1960s</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br /></div><div>“He is an artist,
steeped in Oz lore, and if his preliminary sketches are satisfactory, he will
probably do the illustrations for the book. He is also an officer in a national
Oz club which has annual three-day meetings, and puts out an Oz newspaper. When
he came in to discuss the illustrations after having read the typescript, he
said: ‘This is superb; it has all the best qualities of Baum and has avoided
all the mistakes the subsequent authors made.’ Coming from a man who has a
passion for Oz—he has a complete set of first editions—I think it is high
praise indeed.”<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">On
editorial matters Rieckhoff said, “I am blushing for my thick-headedness
[concerning the title]. Perhaps if we gave Merry the full name early in the
book, there would be no confusion.” And regarding the rewrite of the Roundabout
chapter Rieckhoff explained her real issue wasn’t being confused, but that, “it
might be difficult to make the children believe the prophecy fits well enough.
If on page 130 [of the ms.] you could have Merry identified as a Thing. . . .
The people could then take up the cry of The Thing and close their ears to
Robin’s explanation. . . . Just a little clarification here and rearrangement
of dialogue should do it so that the reader will sense before Robin realizes it
that Robin is [the king].”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">With
this letter Rieckhoff included a short list of suggestions that Dick Martin had
submitted—even though he had yet to be selected as illustrator of the book.
Most were polite “corrections,” such as pointing out that the Unicorn was not in
fact the only unicorn in Oz. He mentions Loo in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Magic of Oz</i> and Unicorners from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ojo in Oz</i>. He also corrects McGraw’s east/west Oz map directions;
she had been using Thompson’s view of Oz with the Munchkins in the west, and he
explained there was no Yellow Brick Road dividing the Quadling and Munchkin
Countries. But a few comments were more “editorial” as when he suggested that
Ozma’s “positively impish grin” seemed out of character.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">McGraw
was delighted to learn of the Oz Club and impressed by Dick Martin’s knowledge
of Oz lore. “I have followed most of Mr. Martin’s suggestions, because they
seemed good ones, to me. All his geography suggestions are taken care of now,
and Ozma now smiles bewitchingly instead of having an impish grin.” But the
unicorn dilemma was more difficult. McGraw said she was ashamed of herself for
having forgotten Loo, and that alas, she had never read <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ojo in Oz</i> and didn’t know about Unicorners. “At first I thought it
would be easy, even add an amusing touch, if I had somebody call my Unicorn on
her statement that she was unique, point out to her all these other unicorns,
and then have her say defensively, that anyway she was the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">most</i> unique of any of them.” But McGraw found it very difficult to
find anyone to challenge the Unicorn’s statement. “None of the Halidom people
would know about Loo or Unicorners, and if Ozma or Dorothy challenged her late
in the book, it would seem as if they were simply being mean, and would make
the Unicorn seem stuck up and silly.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>McGraw decided to let the contradiction stand.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">With
this letter McGraw also included two revised chapters, the list of chapter
titles, and several pages of revisions, including many changes to Prince
Gules’s dialogue.<a href="file:///C:/Users/16195/Desktop/Oz%20Stuff%20MASTER/Eloise%20Jarvis%20McGraw/Merry%20Go%20Round%20article/maxine_merry_go_round_article%20-rewrite%20for%20blog.doc#_edn1" name="_ednref1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> “I
would appreciate it if you paid close attention to this, and here’s why. Before
the Prince becomes smart, I had him pictured as a certain sort of character,
and had no trouble keeping him exactly as I had conceived him. But this notion
of having the Circlet change him instantaneously from vague and stupid to quick
and bright threw me for a loop; and when I read over the first draft of the few
chapters after the change, I found I’d lost my character. He talked just the
same as Robin or anybody else, and had ceased to be the Prince. This was not at
all what I wanted, naturally, and the result of my cogitations on the matter
convinced me that the only thing that had gone wrong was his manner of talking.
No reason he still shouldn’t sound a bit formal and antique, even though he had
quit being naive and slow-witted. . . . lately, I’ve found myself still
dissatisfied with a lot of his dialogue. . . . Sometimes it’s too racy and
modern, sometimes it’s altogether <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">too</i>
antique.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">McGraw
was eager to see how Dick Martin would interpret her characters. “I’m sure,
fundamentalist that he is, he will see them much as I do. My only slight doubt
is about Flitter, whom I hope he will not see as anything the least bit
Disneyish. To me, Flitter is much more sprite than baby-animal.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In
mid-May McGraw sent Reilly & Lee a finished drawing of the map for the
book’s endpapers. “As it turned out, I drew it myself; Laurie lives twenty
miles or so away from here, doesn’t drive, and has an extremely active
seven-month-old son to take care of. I could see the new version of the map wasn’t
going to get done in time for publication if she had to do it. Anyway, it was
my idea to revamp it and submit it for possible use as endpapers, so it was
really my responsibility.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/16195/Desktop/Oz%20Stuff%20MASTER/Eloise%20Jarvis%20McGraw/Merry%20Go%20Round%20article/maxine_merry_go_round_article%20-rewrite%20for%20blog.doc#_edn2" name="_ednref2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">[ii]</span></span></span></span></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">McGraw
was a trained artist and had begun a career as a portrait painter before she
decided to switch over to writing children’s books. “I had a wonderful time
[working on the map] for a couple days and evenings, doing it—nearly blinding
myself but enjoying every minute of it. I’ve corrected the location of various
places, in line with the ‘official’ Oz map you sent, and of course added all
the places mentioned in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Merry Go Round in
Oz.</i> . . . if possible, I’d like to have the original back when everybody’s
finished with it there. I got rather fond of it . . . and think it would be fun
to have on my study wall. By the way, see what you think of the Halidom
coat-of-arms I invented. Upper left hand corner of the map. Those things in the
left half are a trefoil (fleur de lys), a quatrefoil, and a cinquefoil.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Illustrator Dick Martin contacted McGraw June 12, 1963, after he had completed his illustrations for <i>Merry Go Round in Oz</i>:</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal">Your book is a honey! Reading it was a delight, and doing the illustrations for it was more like fun than a job of work. I enclose some of my pencil layouts, and I hope you'll approve of Flitter in particular. Being neither bat nor mouse, Maxine and I felt that he would probably look like this. (I too was anxious to avoid the "Disney look.")</p><p class="MsoNormal">Lauren's map is a great addition—the Oz fans will be especially pleased with it, I copied the section covered in the story, and the travelers routes, labeling it "Diagram of a Journey —drawn by Robin Brown and helped by Dorothy and Fess." It will be in the front of the book. </p></blockquote><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4nd7In5WX_VmQgxbzSw2YkROxAUGQMrqFU1wdDzE5LmBfbKsyT06kiaAfOsQH1s7Ht6ane28oQy8cNH5DdFg0G5kdEMQggiXnJf6dioJtfolVNy9mEWYTXyDIrVLw74n-AKy9R3ljBw9a/s640/merrygoround.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="442" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4nd7In5WX_VmQgxbzSw2YkROxAUGQMrqFU1wdDzE5LmBfbKsyT06kiaAfOsQH1s7Ht6ane28oQy8cNH5DdFg0G5kdEMQggiXnJf6dioJtfolVNy9mEWYTXyDIrVLw74n-AKy9R3ljBw9a/w442-h640/merrygoround.jpg" width="442" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Martin's redrawn version of the Wagner/McGraw map.</td></tr></tbody></table><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal">By the way, I'd like to include Lauren's drawing in the "Oziana Exhibit" at the Oz convention next week, as it will be of great interest. <a href="https://hungrytigerpress.blogspot.com/2015/10/map-of-oz-monday-merry-go-round-in-oz.html" target="_blank">You can read more about this map here.</a></p></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal">McGraw replied June 30, 1963: "Laurie and I were both more than satisfied, I assure you, with the illustrations—or rather the pencil roughs for the illustrations to be."</p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaB7iK9R0KItkUpROEQujuX_ChLnoo3FF001NiyGruJKjXqnTKz7BnzMmM3psVhOXCVsbtWtPTFHjFYo02j2zfkGc8yZ8nVrmIf1ZuIpwlbbKTrG8sOp5BEjbAVnjKHfUPHCPVRhMhsLUbPN8R5Vb2HjeF2dzedzsbx_8czaWCjAIqBmCSo6eUvI3Dp48u/s1400/dm_sketch.tif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1400" data-original-width="1365" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaB7iK9R0KItkUpROEQujuX_ChLnoo3FF001NiyGruJKjXqnTKz7BnzMmM3psVhOXCVsbtWtPTFHjFYo02j2zfkGc8yZ8nVrmIf1ZuIpwlbbKTrG8sOp5BEjbAVnjKHfUPHCPVRhMhsLUbPN8R5Vb2HjeF2dzedzsbx_8czaWCjAIqBmCSo6eUvI3Dp48u/w390-h400/dm_sketch.tif" width="390" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pencil sketch for illustration on Page 7</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdOccBf9UoaP-9-7Veby7-fHVHrHE3NK-RnJlDeAIDLX5btYyMNq3mNk6tn_ttYQGVd2Ls57_QSP5j5y3fYHBwI0JCJxijiCRcOqLjvSoe8vv1ic4poe-WdEDAMTTGojdHeziRDxOxx6YRPMW8pCBLPkBC_37y-OQiT0l97nG8XpFHJXAa8G4WeojMfKbv/s1400/MerryGoRoundinOz_DickMartin_illustration_p07_300dpi.tif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1400" data-original-width="1025" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdOccBf9UoaP-9-7Veby7-fHVHrHE3NK-RnJlDeAIDLX5btYyMNq3mNk6tn_ttYQGVd2Ls57_QSP5j5y3fYHBwI0JCJxijiCRcOqLjvSoe8vv1ic4poe-WdEDAMTTGojdHeziRDxOxx6YRPMW8pCBLPkBC_37y-OQiT0l97nG8XpFHJXAa8G4WeojMfKbv/w294-h400/MerryGoRoundinOz_DickMartin_illustration_p07_300dpi.tif" width="294" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Final drawing for Page 7 as reworked for the printed book.</td></tr></tbody></table></div><p class="MsoNormal">There
is a gap in the editorial correspondence from May 18 until July 12, 1963, when McGraw,
taking a suggestion from Dick Martin, sent along a footnote to solve the
non-uniqueness of the Unicorn. She also sent a more complicated series of
footnotes to serve as a running gag throughout the book. Part of this time
Maxine Rieckhoff seems to have been hospitalized.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">On
July 22, 1963, Rieckhoff wrote that she will only be allowed to insert the one
footnote about the Unicorn and that Reilly & Lee’s production department
was mailing out galleys. She also asked how McGraw liked Dick Martin’s
illustrations and reported on her visit to the Ozmapolitan Convention in Bass
Lake, Indiana, that June: </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtybhlA32-o01IKALYlRh0vL8OHfw_w2yhvqULdI2tcIlPTRXagJuA5HtZ7vzikURY9zuxG0bm0uXZH3KPOhzAZbbhbVmj8KDbWe3k8xnhdUeCbBANSUrBynWHi4grd65h51T6_VoztToOCzOFYiWmUJWyRgFw0Ei7wCv8iqwXNOLJjbNxF4afwqq3MvRX/s1088/dm_blog_02.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1088" data-original-width="1000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtybhlA32-o01IKALYlRh0vL8OHfw_w2yhvqULdI2tcIlPTRXagJuA5HtZ7vzikURY9zuxG0bm0uXZH3KPOhzAZbbhbVmj8KDbWe3k8xnhdUeCbBANSUrBynWHi4grd65h51T6_VoztToOCzOFYiWmUJWyRgFw0Ei7wCv8iqwXNOLJjbNxF4afwqq3MvRX/w368-h400/dm_blog_02.jpg" width="368" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dick Martin at the Bass Lake Oz Convention early 1960s</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal">“It was quite a revelation to me to see such a
heterogenous group of people bound together by what seems to be complete
dedication to the land of Oz. In age they varied from a very knowledgeable
twelve-year old to some adherents who appeared to be upwards of sixty.” She
added that publication was scheduled for October 21, 1963.<a href="file:///C:/Users/16195/Desktop/Oz%20Stuff%20MASTER/Eloise%20Jarvis%20McGraw/Merry%20Go%20Round%20article/maxine_merry_go_round_article%20-rewrite%20for%20blog.doc#_edn3" name="_ednref3" style="mso-endnote-id: edn3;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">[iii]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">McGraw
sent back galley corrections on July 31. They were primarily simple
corrections, word changes to make things clearer, changes in italicization, as
well as a note to insert the asterisk for the Unicorn footnote, and “. . . an
‘east’ where there should be a ‘west’! The only one Dick Martin didn’t catch
for me. What would the Ozophiles say? I hastened to correct it!”<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">McGraw
had one big quibble with an editorial change Rieckhoff had made: “I don’t
really like this change of ‘a thousand years’ to ‘ever so long’ but I’m sure
you must have had a very sound reason for the substitution. You think the
children won’t like the idea of Ozma being a thousand years old? My idea was to
surprise and amaze them, make Ozma even more mysteriously wonderful, and
underscore the idea of a fairy’s immortality—and the unicorn’s, too. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRce_YrCimmYo-iQodlleVBSsVWsasduZD0ZSynzAUKkFWd5aTM1r4m-Nsy9lWjD_cHlqDb0LViGQqlcgEPlJu7mgxGuwROqqWUTIToY9COey8WKt9Je-T7t1NJMQ1nObm3cJAO7OZQ7nutSwUJf9U32AS9iSsbtlcvYJu326tQnudFnnK24sOrMHU04Md/s5060/mgr_ozma.tif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3761" data-original-width="5060" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRce_YrCimmYo-iQodlleVBSsVWsasduZD0ZSynzAUKkFWd5aTM1r4m-Nsy9lWjD_cHlqDb0LViGQqlcgEPlJu7mgxGuwROqqWUTIToY9COey8WKt9Je-T7t1NJMQ1nObm3cJAO7OZQ7nutSwUJf9U32AS9iSsbtlcvYJu326tQnudFnnK24sOrMHU04Md/w400-h297/mgr_ozma.tif" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Martin's Ozma without her impish grin and undisclosed age.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal">It seems
to me the hint of great antiquity here does this, but maybe it would seem
unpleasant to somebody else. [If you] agree with me, do reinstate the original
wording.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Rieckhoff
wrote back on August 2, 1963, regarding this unwanted revision: “Frankly, I’m
with you in liking the original better than the change. I was persuaded to make
the change by Dick Martin who pointed out in all the Oz books there has never
been any specific reference to age and time—where there has been any mention of
it at all, it has been handled vaguely. He felt rather strongly that to saddle
Ozma with a specific number of years might produce an unpleasant reaction in
the children. I am not sure that he is right, but it did seem wise to give weight
to the opinions of those people who spend half their lives completely submerged
in Ozmania. . . . I discussed it with him again this morning and presented your
objection to the change. He still felt that it would be a mistake to tag her,
that if the children were to see in print that great age it would detract from
the warm human quality she has along with her fairy nature. . . . I have
decided to go along with him because he and his fellow club members discuss the
fine point of these characters ad infinitum.” In the P.S. to the letter
Rieckhoff said she would hold the galleys until Monday. And that if McGraw
still wanted “a thousand years ago” restored, that she would do so. No reply
from McGraw is in the correspondence file, but the published line retained
Martin’s requested rewrite.<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">One
plot point that was never addressed by Rieckhoff or Martin was that of the
mysterious carousel operator at the carnival in Oregon. When asked about him in
1980, McGraw responded: “I originally intended to explain him somehow or other
as an exile or refugee or some such thing from the kingdom of Halidom, but I
simply forgot to work it in until the book was so tightly set in its present
form that I couldn’t find a crack to wedge it into. So I let it remain a
dangling end—something I usually would not dream of.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/16195/Desktop/Oz%20Stuff%20MASTER/Eloise%20Jarvis%20McGraw/Merry%20Go%20Round%20article/maxine_merry_go_round_article%20-rewrite%20for%20blog.doc#_edn4" name="_ednref4" style="mso-endnote-id: edn4;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">[iv]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>Merry Go Round in Oz</i> was published a day or so
late. Dick Martin wrote McGraw on October 24, 1963, saying: “Hooray! Completed
copies of <i>Merry Go Round</i> finally
arrived from the bindery, and I dashed down to Reilly & Lee’s warehouse to
pick up mine. (Yours are already on their way to you.)”<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://hungrytigerpress.blogspot.com/2023/10/part-iii-60-years-of-merry-go-round-in.html" target="_blank">Click Here to Read Part III</a></span></b></p>
<div style="mso-element: endnote-list;"><!--[if !supportEndnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="edn1" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/16195/Desktop/Oz%20Stuff%20MASTER/Eloise%20Jarvis%20McGraw/Merry%20Go%20Round%20article/maxine_merry_go_round_article%20-rewrite%20for%20blog.doc#_ednref1" name="_edn1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The two pages of these dialogue corrections
are not preserved in McGraw’s correspondence files.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="edn2" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/16195/Desktop/Oz%20Stuff%20MASTER/Eloise%20Jarvis%20McGraw/Merry%20Go%20Round%20article/maxine_merry_go_round_article%20-rewrite%20for%20blog.doc#_ednref2" name="_edn2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> The map
was not used as the endpapers in the published book, though a portion of it
appeared in the forematter of the book.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="edn3" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/16195/Desktop/Oz%20Stuff%20MASTER/Eloise%20Jarvis%20McGraw/Merry%20Go%20Round%20article/maxine_merry_go_round_article%20-rewrite%20for%20blog.doc#_ednref3" name="_edn3" style="mso-endnote-id: edn3;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[iii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> By
today’s publishing standards it is pretty phenomenal that the book was written,
illustrated, and published in a little over fifteen months.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="edn4" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/16195/Desktop/Oz%20Stuff%20MASTER/Eloise%20Jarvis%20McGraw/Merry%20Go%20Round%20article/maxine_merry_go_round_article%20-rewrite%20for%20blog.doc#_ednref4" name="_edn4" style="mso-endnote-id: edn4;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[iv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Eloise
Jarvis McGraw in letter to the author, February 2, 1980.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</div></div>David Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12672089188117065118noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930190065426288711.post-21219592951169763922023-10-24T09:42:00.026-07:002023-11-06T09:35:48.344-08:0060 Years of MERRY GO ROUND IN OZ<h3 style="text-align: left;"><b>Grabbing the Brass Ring</b></h3><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b>The Creation of <i>Merry Go Round in Oz</i> - Part I</b></h3><div><br /></div>Today is the sixtieth anniversary of the publication of Eloise Jarvis McGraw's and Lauren McGraw Wagner's <i>Merry Go Round in Oz,</i> the final title in the official Oz series. Publication had been set for October 21, 1963, but delays at the bindery meant that the first copies did not arrive at Reilly & Lee until October 24th — which for today's post I am considering the publication date. <div><br /></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwqHxywcJJvqrs1kq6f-TthzaKzqKtZef1Fu7LeUX2wjv_j9aid_eabAkIw44xAfhTbAofDQa9CfeWaLApeWBJT5qJ-5d7CTBamY_YZso7j72H0NZOcVlBX8t2WaSNePmIPpr0f49oFTJwddCL5YDpxDMuqseB-cQhDvAQdOj-zGRvb2LAN4GAxCYS0p6V/s2845/mgr_cover_best.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2845" data-original-width="2002" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwqHxywcJJvqrs1kq6f-TthzaKzqKtZef1Fu7LeUX2wjv_j9aid_eabAkIw44xAfhTbAofDQa9CfeWaLApeWBJT5qJ-5d7CTBamY_YZso7j72H0NZOcVlBX8t2WaSNePmIPpr0f49oFTJwddCL5YDpxDMuqseB-cQhDvAQdOj-zGRvb2LAN4GAxCYS0p6V/s320/mgr_cover_best.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table>Many children’s series end in a fizzle. Sometimes the original author seems to lose
steam or focus, such as in the Mushroom Planet books by Eleanor Cameron and the
Freddy the Pig books by Walter R. Brooks. Sometimes the sequels are written by
less-talented relatives, like the follow-ups to Robert O’Brien’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mrs. Frisby and Rats of NIMH. </i>And
sometimes ghostwriters simply churn out titles so that the publisher can squeeze a few
more dollars from a dying franchise, as in so many of the boys and girls series
from the early twentieth century.<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">But
occasionally, magic happens. In 1959 the Henry Regnery Company purchased Reilly
& Lee, primarily to obtain the rights to publish the Oz books. Their
efforts at revitalizing the Oz series began small and grew. In 1960 they
published <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Visitors from Oz</i>. In
1961 they brought out four Oz picture book abridgements and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">To Please a Child</i>, the first biography
of L. Frank Baum. By 1962 Regnery/Reilly & Lee were considering adding a
new, full-length Oz adventure to the main series. What better luck could they
have had than to be contacted out of the blue by a highly respected, two-time
Newbery Honor author inquiring if they would like to see an Oz manuscript?</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">That
author, of course, was Eloise Jarvis
McGraw.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Like
Royal Historians Jack Snow and Rachel Cosgrove Payes, McGraw had grown up with
the Oz books.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She read and owned many of
the Baum books, but her favorites were those by Ruth Plumly Thompson<a href="file:///C:/Users/16195/Desktop/Oz%20Stuff%20MASTER/Eloise%20Jarvis%20McGraw/Merry%20Go%20Round%20article/maxine_merry_go_round_article%20-rewrite%20for%20blog.doc#_edn1" name="_ednref1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>.
Which, as we will see, had a strong influence on McGraw’s Oz writing.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfWU8-XhGyBPK0qmqYpTXlO8nmYZsfLfkVJMmfa9YcoFy8bUzQ8KT6F96l-OLzoJiMYY81MTM5BwbBCBM5PBfezrQVZsA6BwpDcTcScqehNXhE8wK67Ce_k55z-5l6RYKfmYfXhR0EmxUMRqG3kX-KwjjWTCCfSixqQFUBxjbSFzP9CcpmXyRE_DtnALcQ/s1124/eloise_dj.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1124" data-original-width="744" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfWU8-XhGyBPK0qmqYpTXlO8nmYZsfLfkVJMmfa9YcoFy8bUzQ8KT6F96l-OLzoJiMYY81MTM5BwbBCBM5PBfezrQVZsA6BwpDcTcScqehNXhE8wK67Ce_k55z-5l6RYKfmYfXhR0EmxUMRqG3kX-KwjjWTCCfSixqQFUBxjbSFzP9CcpmXyRE_DtnALcQ/w265-h400/eloise_dj.jpg" width="265" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eloise Jarvis McGraw circa 1963</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><br />McGraw
was born December 9, 1915, and that made her the perfect age to be a Ruth
Plumly Thompson fan. She was six when the first Thompson Oz book, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Royal Book of Oz,</i> appeared. McGraw’s favorite Oz book was Ruth Plumly Thompson’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Grampa
in Oz </i>(1924), published when McGraw was eight years old. At the time of the writing of <i>Merry Go Round in Oz</i> McGraw was living in Sherwood, Oregon, on a filbert orchard, about twenty miles south of Portland.</span></div><div><br /></div><div>Her daughter, Lauren Lynn McGraw, was born August 15, 1944, and grew up reading the Oz books as well. She was seventeen when she and her mom began writing <i>Merry Go Round in Oz</i> and nineteen when it was published. She had married J. Robert Wagner in February 1962 and the young couple was living across the driveway from her parents' home in a small A-frame that Eloise and her husband, fellow children's author William Corbin, had built a few years earlier.<br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigLMn8BGM-t3DbjGOWrlUW0l1TK6kfAsBwleisQkZM0A0fQU_nMyTy86KrROCT50rvBSeuOosKLBQsvZav-6siOuaB3WE3BEx-xwP-Z10AH2UnRRDr61-PfLHykT2N2sJqeC5lKl2m6ZYXWH5jdV0SwVJPO_UV-C4BeVSyM_gqznB5qC7Q8qr40_9V4d0o/s1096/lauren_dj.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1096" data-original-width="717" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigLMn8BGM-t3DbjGOWrlUW0l1TK6kfAsBwleisQkZM0A0fQU_nMyTy86KrROCT50rvBSeuOosKLBQsvZav-6siOuaB3WE3BEx-xwP-Z10AH2UnRRDr61-PfLHykT2N2sJqeC5lKl2m6ZYXWH5jdV0SwVJPO_UV-C4BeVSyM_gqznB5qC7Q8qr40_9V4d0o/w261-h400/lauren_dj.jpg" width="261" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lauren McGraw Wagner circa 1963</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The
seeds for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Merry Go Round in Oz</i> were
planted when McGraw was asked to write a couple short biographical entries for
the children’s reference series <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Childcraft</i>
in 1961<a href="file:///C:/Users/16195/Desktop/Oz%20Stuff%20MASTER/Eloise%20Jarvis%20McGraw/Merry%20Go%20Round%20article/maxine_merry_go_round_article%20-rewrite%20for%20blog.doc#_edn2" name="_ednref2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>.
McGraw offered to write entries on Vincent Van Gogh and L. Frank Baum. She
could find no information on Baum’s life in the local library, so she wrote an
editor at Baum’s publisher Reilly & Lee: “I introduced myself, and begged
for any crumb of information on Baum. She [the editor] sent me <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">To Please a Child</i>, said she knew my
work, and invited me to send her any homeless manuscripts I cared to. I wrote a
grateful ‘thank you’ and that was the end of it until Lynn and I got to playing
‘Oz books should be like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">this’</i> one
day a year or so later. Knowing precisely where this unwritten manuscript might
find a home played a large part in my decision to try writing it.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/16195/Desktop/Oz%20Stuff%20MASTER/Eloise%20Jarvis%20McGraw/Merry%20Go%20Round%20article/maxine_merry_go_round_article%20-rewrite%20for%20blog.doc#_edn3" name="_ednref3" style="mso-endnote-id: edn3;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[iii]</span></span></span></span></a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">That
game of “Oz books should be like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">this”</i>
began during the summer of 1962 when McGraw’s daughter, Lauren McGraw Wagner, was
pregnant with her first child and decided she would reread the Oz books. At some point, Lauren picked up <i>The
Scalawagons of Oz</i>, a title she had never read as a child. The McGraw family had somehow acquired it from Lauren's cousin Gayla McCreight. Wagner was
shocked at how bad and un-Ozzy <i>Scalawagons </i>was. Soon she and her
mother were picking the book apart, dissecting and analyzing, ending with the
realization that “we could write a better Oz book!” </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">McGraw remembered the offer
from Reilly & Lee and sent an inquiry about their interest in an Oz
manuscript. The publisher responded that they’d be very much interested—and
McGraw and her daughter began writing <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Merry
Go Round in Oz</i>. Despite the <i>Scalawagons</i> incident, McGraw said later,
“It never occurred to us to go back and reread the few tattered [Oz books] in
my attic to make sure we’d do it right. We knew what an Oz book was like—what
one <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ought</i> to be like. The Oz books
had merged in both our memories into a sort of happy blur—the generic Oz book.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis6WSY_RiUzWyq-eoMOgZTfNKGOGqYZ-XmNBBY7i_iRwk_iag9GXiZIFZDHaXfw9rwzbsgG9TOvtIZdS9Lwi5rVs3l2vctXnJ-dm6X34Y2REudt7cXd4t2P5push6LC4zm8cpMLMDVQlZRtgyEjPjvzY9UIcNrlevzAXpKHWGWFhyphenhyphenocLEFxafQ368NhiRk/s4221/blog_mgr_mcgraw_and_daughter_1949.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4221" data-original-width="3965" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis6WSY_RiUzWyq-eoMOgZTfNKGOGqYZ-XmNBBY7i_iRwk_iag9GXiZIFZDHaXfw9rwzbsgG9TOvtIZdS9Lwi5rVs3l2vctXnJ-dm6X34Y2REudt7cXd4t2P5push6LC4zm8cpMLMDVQlZRtgyEjPjvzY9UIcNrlevzAXpKHWGWFhyphenhyphenocLEFxafQ368NhiRk/w376-h400/blog_mgr_mcgraw_and_daughter_1949.jpg" width="376" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eloise Jarvis McGraw & Lauren Lynn McGraw circa 1950.</td></tr></tbody></table><span><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span>McGraw
had published her first book, </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sawdust in
his Shoes,</i><span> in 1950. By 1963 McGraw had written four additional children’s
books (two of which were Newbery Honor titles), an adult novel, and a book on
fiction writing. McGraw and Wagner had never collaborated before—indeed, Wagner
was only seventeen when they began writing the book. Wagner explains how they worked together:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-color: white; color: #242424;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;">I was living in the A-frame during at least most of the time we were writing the book. We’d get together every few days to brainstorm; figure out the plot and the characters, names of the countries and people (we had great fun with Halidom; I’d been reading about heraldry, and was full of terms like “bar sinister,” Annelet, Gules, Wyvver, Flittermouse, and so on). I think I’m the one who suggested a country of fox hunters, but I could be wrong about that.</span></blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;">Anyway, after we got all that figured out, we did an outline of the plot—that was Mom’s method at the time, though she got a bit looser eventually. Then we’d rough out each chapter, making sure that our three groups were getting closer to each other but not running into each other before it was time—I think that might have been why we had to have a map, which I drew: first rough, then eventually the version that appears in the book.</span></blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;">Whenever Flitter had to recite one of his poems, I wrote it, making them smarter after the first circlet was discovered. Essentially, we’d get together to brainstorm and outline, then Mom would go to her typewriter and write the chapter. Then I’d read it, and we’d meet again to discuss it. Living just across the driveway from each other was very handy.</span></blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent;">I’d say the plotting process was about 50/50. My mother [did] most of the actual writing; I [did] a lot of editing and critiquing.</span><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span><a href="file:///C:/Users/16195/Desktop/Oz%20Stuff%20MASTER/Eloise%20Jarvis%20McGraw/Merry%20Go%20Round%20article/maxine_merry_go_round_article%20-rewrite%20for%20blog.doc#_edn4" name="_ednref4" style="background-color: transparent; mso-endnote-id: edn4;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[</span></span></span></span></a><a href="file:///C:/Users/16195/Desktop/Oz%20Stuff%20MASTER/Eloise%20Jarvis%20McGraw/Merry%20Go%20Round%20article/maxine_merry_go_round_article%20-rewrite%20for%20blog.doc#_edn4" name="_ednref4" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; mso-endnote-id: edn4;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">iv]</span></span></span></span></a></span></blockquote><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">In September 1962, Wagner took a short break from working on the Oz book to give birth to her first son, Christopher. </p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Unlike
the other writers of the Oz books, McGraw preserved most of her manuscript
materials: outlines, character studies, and manuscripts. So, with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Merry Go Round in Oz</i> we have a unique
opportunity to explore the writing and editorial processes of one of the
official Oz titles.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The
earliest surviving notes I’ve been able to examine are the fifteen pages of
character studies and place descriptions. All is pretty much as in the book, save a few details. Fess’s age is given as twelve to thirteen, Queen
Farthingale is originally Queen Martingale, and the Unicorn is Fess’s pet. Also, Halidom was pretty well developed before McGraw created the adjoining country,
Troth. McGraw describes ten-year-old Robin Brown as “. . . self-sufficient,
quiet, noticing (like Oliver [Twist]) . . .”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The
earliest draft of the story I’ve examined is McGraw’s undated chapter
breakdown. The three-page breakdown shows how economically McGraw has worked
things out, mapping out exactly what she needs to accomplish in each chapter,
as in her description of chapter two:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Robin and Merry get acquainted, look around them,
try to figure out what happened. Characterize Merry, Robin, bring in more about
Robin’s background, his love of King Arthur tales and horses. Robin starts
training Merry to go in straight line; she is catching on nicely when
Fox-hunters appear; before the two can get away they are surrounded.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The
chapter breakdown follows the published book very closely, though some of the
elements are arranged a little differently. McGraw stays with Robin and Merry
for the first four breakdown chapters—only introducing us to the Halidom storyline in breakdown chapter five, after Robin and Merry have already escaped View-Halloo. In the
published book McGraw leaves Robin and Merry captives of the Fox hunters
(keeping the reader in suspense) while she introduces us to the Halidom
storyline—only returning to View Halloo to free Robin and Merry after the
Halidom group is already off on their adventure.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">McGraw
developed a tight timeline for the story. She wanted the actions of Robin and
Merry breaking free of the merry-go-round in Oregon to coincide with the theft
of Circlet Two in Halidom. She also needed the story to end on the Saturday
night before Easter so the Oz celebrities could return to the Emerald City for
the Easter Egg Hunt the next morning. There are many notations in the chapter
breakdown marking the time of day and number of nights on the road—even
including a small calendar showing that the story begins on a Wednesday
morning. Eventually McGraw found she needed one extra night in Oz and she
changed the McGudgeys’ visit to the carnival in chapter one from Wednesday morning to Tuesday
night. These notations are likely from late in the writing process, as in one
of the complete manuscripts the action still begins on “a fine April Saturday.”
McGraw changed it to “a fine April evening” in the published book. This
timeline is verified by a careful reading of the book, marking down nights on
the road, and by Sir Greves’s mentioning that his betrayal of Halidom had
occurred “last Tuesday.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/16195/Desktop/Oz%20Stuff%20MASTER/Eloise%20Jarvis%20McGraw/Merry%20Go%20Round%20article/maxine_merry_go_round_article%20-rewrite%20for%20blog.doc#_edn5" name="_ednref5" style="mso-endnote-id: edn5;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[v]</span></span></span></span></a></span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">There
is also a forty-page outline that closely follows the book as we know it. Many
times sentences of description in the outline are repeated without change in the published
book. But there are a few subtle differences between this outline and the book:
in the outline Robin’s training in View-Halloo was administered by a Whip (the
Prime Minister) who seems to be human; in the published book the trainer has
become Spots, the dog. In the outline Troth’s chief industry was making musical
instruments, training musicians, composition, etc., and Halidom’s specialty was
the Science of Genealogy, which morphed briefly into manuscript illumination;
in the published book Troth has become a maker of Blue Armor and Halidom a
designer of Coats of Arms (though Halidom still has a University of Genealogy).
Fess’s friend and fellow page, Barry, was originally two stable boys named
Bodkin and Scutcheon, Sir Greves had a wife, and at the end of the outline King
Herald gave the Unicorn to Fess as a present. And the Roundabout delicacy, Pi,
was originally called, rather clunkily, pi R<sup>2</sup>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The
manuscript was submitted to Reilly & Lee through McGraw’s agent, Marilyn
Marlow<a href="file:///C:/Users/16195/Desktop/Oz%20Stuff%20MASTER/Eloise%20Jarvis%20McGraw/Merry%20Go%20Round%20article/maxine_merry_go_round_article%20-rewrite%20for%20blog.doc#_edn6" name="_ednref6" style="mso-endnote-id: edn6;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[vi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>,
and the editorial correspondence begins on March 27, 1963, when Reilly &
Lee editor Maxine Rieckhoff<a href="file:///C:/Users/16195/Desktop/Oz%20Stuff%20MASTER/Eloise%20Jarvis%20McGraw/Merry%20Go%20Round%20article/maxine_merry_go_round_article%20-rewrite%20for%20blog.doc#_edn7" name="_ednref7" style="mso-endnote-id: edn7;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[vii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
writes McGraw: “Congratulations to you and Lauren on the fine job you did on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Merry Go Round of Oz!</i> [<i>sic</i>] I am
delighted with the manuscript.” Rieckhoff continues, “The most urgent problem
facing us now is the selection of an illustrator. Our sales manager insists
that the illustrations must be in the classic Oz style, but there is some
dissension about that.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcW1RGrxDTMmF4WCIse_6CSYSkJ-Dk0DTasB5FGMzUaQkvz8oWEE748P4lk1lZf5qYDjgmVvU4tb3ZrdUllYM0LZVigmfWMmcLuu5kuKXjD7J2wTEWIefLvg4GL6_MIE73zxH5nOIy7KDzUKjxn7XquK-708Kr3EX13TWziFgx1QVqqcjWG1rMRg1wLDak/s1553/littlest%20star.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1553" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcW1RGrxDTMmF4WCIse_6CSYSkJ-Dk0DTasB5FGMzUaQkvz8oWEE748P4lk1lZf5qYDjgmVvU4tb3ZrdUllYM0LZVigmfWMmcLuu5kuKXjD7J2wTEWIefLvg4GL6_MIE73zxH5nOIy7KDzUKjxn7XquK-708Kr3EX13TWziFgx1QVqqcjWG1rMRg1wLDak/s320/littlest%20star.jpg" width="247" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cover of The Littlest Star (1961)</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><br />The
dissension was in part Rieckhoff’s strong dislike of the work of Dick Martin,
especially the four 1961 Oz abridgements, which according to Martin she found
“a little too wild and wooly.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/16195/Desktop/Oz%20Stuff%20MASTER/Eloise%20Jarvis%20McGraw/Merry%20Go%20Round%20article/maxine_merry_go_round_article%20-rewrite%20for%20blog.doc#_edn8" name="_ednref8" style="mso-endnote-id: edn8;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[viii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Jean Kellogg, who had written the adaptations of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Visitors from Oz</i> and the four Oz abridgements, interceded for
Martin, suggesting that Rieckhoff look at Martin’s more delicate work in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Littlest Star</i> (1961). Martin did a
few sample illustrations that in his own words, “curbed [his] natural tendency
toward slam-bam flamboyance . . .”<a href="file:///C:/Users/16195/Desktop/Oz%20Stuff%20MASTER/Eloise%20Jarvis%20McGraw/Merry%20Go%20Round%20article/maxine_merry_go_round_article%20-rewrite%20for%20blog.doc#_edn9" name="_ednref9" style="mso-endnote-id: edn9;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[ix]</span></span></span></span></a></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">But
before Martin was hired, the McGraws weighed in on the illustrator debate on April
1, 1963: “Laurie and I both side with your sales manager on the matter of
illustrations. As old Oz fans, we find it impossible to imagine Ozma or the
Cowardly Lion or Dorothy pictured in some new (possibly improved) way. In this
we are reacting as children, who are rock-ribbed conservatives in such matters.
. . . It seems to me the book wouldn’t seem like a real Oz-book if the pictures
were very different. I have not even seen any of the ‘new’ Oz-books (later than
the Ruth Plumly Thompson ones) except Neill’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Scallywagons of Oz</i> [<i>sic</i>].”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">McGraw
goes on to discuss the title of the book, which she explains is merely her
working title. And gives Reilly & Lee a free hand at retitling the book.
McGraw also mentions that “a couple of years ago my daughter, Laurie, drew a
map of Oz.” The map was an “illustrated” map, Ragbad indicated by a patchwork
quilt, Pumperdink by a portrait of Kabumpo, Monday Mountain by blue hills and a
washtub, etc. “It’s charming and gave me the notion that just such a thing
would be fun for the endpapers of the book. . . . Laurie’s map reverses the
positions of the Munchkin Country and the Winkie Country<a href="file:///C:/Users/16195/Desktop/Oz%20Stuff%20MASTER/Eloise%20Jarvis%20McGraw/Merry%20Go%20Round%20article/maxine_merry_go_round_article%20-rewrite%20for%20blog.doc#_edn10" name="_ednref10" style="mso-endnote-id: edn10;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[x]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
and contains a few other errors . . . [but] she or I can easily draw an
accurate one.”</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">On
April 12, 1963, Rieckhoff wrote back with the first round of editorial
suggestions. Rieckhoff felt they “could do with a little less of Howzatagin’s
activities. . . . Perhaps his animal infirmary could be cut since it adds
nothing to further the plot and the reader already has a good idea of the loneliness
and kindliness of the old man.” She also thought the “sign bit” was a little
overdone. In this letter we also find it is Rieckhoff who suggested merging the
original two Emerald City chapters into one (the current Chapter Ten). This
involved cutting a large section where McGraw introduced a number of Ozian
celebrities that don’t otherwise figure in the book.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><b><a href="https://hungrytigerpress.blogspot.com/2023/10/sixty-years-of-merry-go-round-in-oz.html" target="_blank">To Read Part II Click Here</a></b></span></p>
<div style="mso-element: endnote-list;"><!--[if !supportEndnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Special thanks to Lynn McGraw for sharing her memories of writing <i>Merry Go Round in Oz;</i> and thanks to Atticus Gannaway for sharing an image of the dust wrapper of <i>The Littlest Star</i>.</span><hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="edn1" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/16195/Desktop/Oz%20Stuff%20MASTER/Eloise%20Jarvis%20McGraw/Merry%20Go%20Round%20article/maxine_merry_go_round_article%20-rewrite%20for%20blog.doc#_ednref1" name="_edn1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Eloise
Jarvis McGraw, “On Wearing Well” in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Baum Bugle</i> 34, no. 3 (Winter 1990): 3-5.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="edn2" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/16195/Desktop/Oz%20Stuff%20MASTER/Eloise%20Jarvis%20McGraw/Merry%20Go%20Round%20article/maxine_merry_go_round_article%20-rewrite%20for%20blog.doc#_ednref2" name="_edn2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Eloise Jarvis
McGraw, “The Magic Land” in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Childcraft:
The How and Why Library,</i> vol. 13, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">People
to Know</i> (Chicago: Field Enterprises Educational Corporation, 1964): 218-225.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="edn3" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/16195/Desktop/Oz%20Stuff%20MASTER/Eloise%20Jarvis%20McGraw/Merry%20Go%20Round%20article/maxine_merry_go_round_article%20-rewrite%20for%20blog.doc#_ednref3" name="_edn3" style="mso-endnote-id: edn3;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[iii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Eloise
Jarvis McGraw in a letter to the author, September 9, 1995.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="edn4" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/16195/Desktop/Oz%20Stuff%20MASTER/Eloise%20Jarvis%20McGraw/Merry%20Go%20Round%20article/maxine_merry_go_round_article%20-rewrite%20for%20blog.doc#_ednref4" name="_edn4" style="mso-endnote-id: edn4;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[iv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Lauren
Lynn McGraw in an email to the author, October 24, 2023. Lauren Lynn McGraw in a letter to the author, March 7, 1980.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="edn5" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/16195/Desktop/Oz%20Stuff%20MASTER/Eloise%20Jarvis%20McGraw/Merry%20Go%20Round%20article/maxine_merry_go_round_article%20-rewrite%20for%20blog.doc#_ednref5" name="_edn5" style="mso-endnote-id: edn5;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[v]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Sir
Greves mentions this on page 276 of the book. Easter in 1963 fell on April
14th—thus Robin Brown's adventures (and the book) begin on April 9, 1963.
McGraw likely shortened the story by several days—changing Saturday to the
following Tuesday—because Robin can reach Roundabout only after the oracle
gives Prince Gules’s party the verse about the “future” king.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="edn6" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/16195/Desktop/Oz%20Stuff%20MASTER/Eloise%20Jarvis%20McGraw/Merry%20Go%20Round%20article/maxine_merry_go_round_article%20-rewrite%20for%20blog.doc#_ednref6" name="_edn6" style="mso-endnote-id: edn6;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[vi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Marilyn
E. Marlow was a highly respected and influential literary agent. Her other
clients included Robert Cormier, Jane Yolen, and S. E. Hinton, among many
others.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="edn7" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/16195/Desktop/Oz%20Stuff%20MASTER/Eloise%20Jarvis%20McGraw/Merry%20Go%20Round%20article/maxine_merry_go_round_article%20-rewrite%20for%20blog.doc#_ednref7" name="_edn7" style="mso-endnote-id: edn7;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[vii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Maxine
Rieckhoff, born October 31, 1905, died May 19, 1986.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="edn8" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/16195/Desktop/Oz%20Stuff%20MASTER/Eloise%20Jarvis%20McGraw/Merry%20Go%20Round%20article/maxine_merry_go_round_article%20-rewrite%20for%20blog.doc#_ednref8" name="_edn8" style="mso-endnote-id: edn8;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[viii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Dick
Martin, “The Road to Reilly and Lee” in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Baum Bugle</i> 27, no. 2 (Autumn 1983): 4.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="edn9" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/16195/Desktop/Oz%20Stuff%20MASTER/Eloise%20Jarvis%20McGraw/Merry%20Go%20Round%20article/maxine_merry_go_round_article%20-rewrite%20for%20blog.doc#_ednref9" name="_edn9" style="mso-endnote-id: edn9;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[ix]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Ibid.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="edn10" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/16195/Desktop/Oz%20Stuff%20MASTER/Eloise%20Jarvis%20McGraw/Merry%20Go%20Round%20article/maxine_merry_go_round_article%20-rewrite%20for%20blog.doc#_ednref10" name="_edn10" style="mso-endnote-id: edn10;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[x]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Wagner’s
map, in fact, had the positions correct, with the Munchkins in the east and the
Winkies in the west. But McGraw, following Thompson’s compass directions,
assumed her daughter’s map was in error.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</div></div>David Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12672089188117065118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930190065426288711.post-61977348747186624182021-05-22T11:56:00.003-07:002021-05-22T12:16:22.899-07:00Denslow Draws Again!<p>I have discovered some wonderful things in my research for my forthcoming book on the 1903 Broadway <i>Wizard of Oz</i> musical, and today's blog shares two of them. Though, to be fair, it was my husband, Eric Shanower, who actually discovered these a couple years ago while he was helping me track down some information on the production of the stage show. </p><p>So, voila! I'm delighted to share two previously unknown <i>Wizard of Oz</i> illustrations by W. W. Denslow. These fine drawings were published in a newspaper interview with Denslow in the summer of 1904 about the forthcoming <i>Pearl and the Pumpkin</i> musical. In the interview Denslow also discussed his contributions to <i>The Wizard of Oz</i> musical, how he developed his character designs and sold the show to Fred Hamlin. Whether these were pre-exisiting drawings shared with the newspaper, or whether Denslow drew them specifically for the paper is unclear -- though the paper also printed a drawing from <i>Denslow's Scarecrow and Tinman </i>comic page. But now, on to the treasures!<br /></p><p>The first new drawing is a playful picture of the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman pulling the Cowardly lion's whiskers. This trio was the hit of the show - the lion was one of the favorite characters with audiences; only Fred Stone's Scarecrow and David Montgomery's Tin Man were more loved.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiun2mEEhMpExUGKRfborw1FiYeOzubEsi-50AQaWln_Kt75wRrDlVOeBZ03YfqzNNZTAMm5RqXjJAdEN3Ovo3_8HTKBNgA1PPhtJXLLh_83FFEEPryRIUsg42-W8NAIYqe3V_P37SRvepn/s1200/blog_unknown_Denslow_illustration_trio.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="855" data-original-width="1200" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiun2mEEhMpExUGKRfborw1FiYeOzubEsi-50AQaWln_Kt75wRrDlVOeBZ03YfqzNNZTAMm5RqXjJAdEN3Ovo3_8HTKBNgA1PPhtJXLLh_83FFEEPryRIUsg42-W8NAIYqe3V_P37SRvepn/w400-h285/blog_unknown_Denslow_illustration_trio.jpg" title="Unknown WIZARD OF OZ illustration ob W. W. Denslow circa 1904" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid_RL8Zn2LaqB7M8I4_9Xdjb_9M_z7Cux9v_KAnJxGM6zDILWZMxezT3UuZHsEwzz83Ot-qEzCR3QZXmdDs7v9Twu2XTop0iJ0VExU2NP02cHzyHG35sC2aQc2M8NkFeqijv2grzG3Vk5B/s902/songbook.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="692" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid_RL8Zn2LaqB7M8I4_9Xdjb_9M_z7Cux9v_KAnJxGM6zDILWZMxezT3UuZHsEwzz83Ot-qEzCR3QZXmdDs7v9Twu2XTop0iJ0VExU2NP02cHzyHG35sC2aQc2M8NkFeqijv2grzG3Vk5B/w153-h200/songbook.jpg" width="153" /></a></div><br />This whisker-pulling might actually be a moment from the musical; there was similar playful banter among the three characters at several points in the show. The lion's pose is similar to one of Denslow's posters for the show. It's also reminiscent of Denslow's lion drawing on the cover of the <i>Wizard of Oz </i>souvenir song book. The Scarecrow's anatomy is more humanly proportioned, a'la Fred Stone,
than the character's appearance in the book. The head is more oblong,
the legs longer, etc. <p></p><p>The other new drawing is this fine portrait of the Cowardly Lion. Like the Scarecrow above, the Lion seems a bit more inspired by Arthur Hill's Cowardly Lion costume than real lion anatomy: i.e. the lion's rather saggy rear.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgKhZRIevfdfckVoPUQsNkMo7EcGkruU23qWnhtV96xmM0Tgd8dZziV_zNy9-RaGDko9Qfrolo922xbQMZIdFEj_DrRWZFolI1g8XtwL3EuFW7k55R0yHsjSFxV60OLtzZLVRDO84Vtiu4/s942/blog_unknown_Denslow_illustration_lion.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="942" data-original-width="698" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgKhZRIevfdfckVoPUQsNkMo7EcGkruU23qWnhtV96xmM0Tgd8dZziV_zNy9-RaGDko9Qfrolo922xbQMZIdFEj_DrRWZFolI1g8XtwL3EuFW7k55R0yHsjSFxV60OLtzZLVRDO84Vtiu4/w296-h400/blog_unknown_Denslow_illustration_lion.jpg" width="296" /></a></div><p>The other new Denslow illustration was a picture of <i>Pearl and the Pumpkin</i> composer John W. Bratton and librettist Paul West driving a water wagon, inspired by one of their earlier song hits. I'll share it in a future blog post.</p><p>And that ends today's post on some new drawings of our favorite threesome!<br /></p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;">Copyright © 2021 David Maxine. All rights reserved.</p>David Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12672089188117065118noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930190065426288711.post-3243191623670800792019-08-29T23:08:00.001-07:002019-08-29T23:14:33.400-07:00The Royal Book of Oz!<i>The Royal Book of Oz</i> is making a triumphant return to the bookshelves of the world!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYkr2QuheoPadCs2UQg7_Lriek0RQ3VHKrqNAmAQcecqMa-UdiOM-n94XD48-_HAnxZweRCLSWSuMFLc29fTxq6H_Y5LNPoGEb8rDwl-wk5Mwd6tpBtfWfoarbdbEcgaXcimYfjxterEVh/s1600/rpt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1021" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYkr2QuheoPadCs2UQg7_Lriek0RQ3VHKrqNAmAQcecqMa-UdiOM-n94XD48-_HAnxZweRCLSWSuMFLc29fTxq6H_Y5LNPoGEb8rDwl-wk5Mwd6tpBtfWfoarbdbEcgaXcimYfjxterEVh/s640/rpt.jpg" width="408" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ruth Plumly Thompson circa early 1960s.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
There's a super new publishing project beginning by the newly founded Clover Press. They are repackaging the Ruth Plumly Thompson Oz books, with new illustrations. <i>The Royal Book of Oz</i> is the first entry, of course - and<i> you</i> can be a part of it through <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cloverpress/the-royal-book-of-oz/?fbclid=IwAR2uQiFmDb_gv-9SwFwiKEpluRm_xChkkMy_lMZkysyuOhlDhJ5BqzwmCdQ" target="_blank">their Kickstarter campaign</a>!<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cloverpress/the-royal-book-of-oz/?fbclid=IwAR2uQiFmDb_gv-9SwFwiKEpluRm_xChkkMy_lMZkysyuOhlDhJ5BqzwmCdQ" target="_blank"><b>Click here to check out the project!</b></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg985c4WnVtm7Iv36-w9OMcNfMoWx49rLG0RrDyFnVpQ1zFa05avBE06GvCg1zPC-gfbICXH75yoILQQrrzTKdIdJhvdVgZCUMVJPtPkKLeNzbPCahuTn09g02uMIKVGn5ZK9ma-dADRnmf/s1600/royal+book.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="942" data-original-width="680" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg985c4WnVtm7Iv36-w9OMcNfMoWx49rLG0RrDyFnVpQ1zFa05avBE06GvCg1zPC-gfbICXH75yoILQQrrzTKdIdJhvdVgZCUMVJPtPkKLeNzbPCahuTn09g02uMIKVGn5ZK9ma-dADRnmf/s640/royal+book.jpg" width="460" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New cover design by illustrator Sara Richard.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
Eric Shanower has written a new foreword and there are lots of cool premiums, too: signed boxed editions, lunch boxes, postcards, lapel pins, and more. Come on, help bring the second Royal Historian of Oz to a whole new generation of kids! </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Oz about it?</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cloverpress/the-royal-book-of-oz/?fbclid=IwAR2uQiFmDb_gv-9SwFwiKEpluRm_xChkkMy_lMZkysyuOhlDhJ5BqzwmCdQ" target="_blank">Click here to support the project!</a></b></div>
David Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12672089188117065118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930190065426288711.post-88942044782754163182019-07-09T22:22:00.001-07:002019-07-13T10:16:54.862-07:00Martinizing History - the Story of a Poster<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuGwPfTreFdIicTkWrD2lIeT-u51H-BjSuGanxQmk6Bg2a9lytTP-lDtPgVIJzbhyphenhyphenpKAhFXKL43sJXD8UOBX-Bz-SjU6bJD7ZbMGGRcMSdXB6j-ADkBqOroQP164Uevfo2ogM8OrE3Dr-U/s1600/blog_version_large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="438" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuGwPfTreFdIicTkWrD2lIeT-u51H-BjSuGanxQmk6Bg2a9lytTP-lDtPgVIJzbhyphenhyphenpKAhFXKL43sJXD8UOBX-Bz-SjU6bJD7ZbMGGRcMSdXB6j-ADkBqOroQP164Uevfo2ogM8OrE3Dr-U/s640/blog_version_large.jpg" width="172" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NYPL poster - click to enlarge.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I was recently offered what was believed to be an original poster from the 1903 Broadway <b><i>Wizard of Oz </i></b>musical (see below).
As a plus, this poster had come from the OzCot Lodge owned by Harry Baum (L. Frank's son) and Harry's wife, Brenda. What fun provenance! From the seller's description I thought it was going to be another copy of a well-known <b><i>Wizard of Oz</i></b> poster at the New York Public Library (seen at left). Indeed, I've had a black-and-white photocopy of the NYPL poster for over twenty years, which used to hang in my studio in San Diego. Oddly, the poster I'd been offered was mounted to a piece of green-painted plywood with a wooden frame around it. Hmm... that's kind of curious.<br />
<br />
The original NYPL poster is quite large - approximately a foot wide and about four feet long. This poster has been reprinted in a number of scholarly publications. It is reproduced in Mark Evan Swartz's <i><b>Oz Before the Rainbow</b></i> (2000) and in Allan Eyles's <i><b>The World of Oz </b></i>(1985). It is an interesting poster, being essentially line art printed in green on white paper. A little more color was added by printing two boxes of type in red and adding red fields of color behind the portraits of the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and Dorothy at the top. The words "WIZARD OF OZ" are printed in overlapping green and red resulting in a rather unattractive brown color. The poster is also very time specific. Directly under the words "WIZARD OF OZ" it says "Now in its 23d Week of Phenomenal Success."<br />
<br />
Although the poster I was recently offered (see below) is identical in size to the NYPL poster, it has several oddities. The first is that it was printed in black and white, NOT green and white with red enhancements. Well, I reasoned . . . maybe the show's producers decided to print this poster more cheaply as the show progressed in its run after "its 23d Week of Phenomenal Success."<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihQzGKIZLjvQquGN5DNffhg_uH0NqKZhdBB2lfHurBnVQ3wwn-Fyn6gL7Kpb2waSZ_0Len97XE4wq6prHw0njL2hW40wKNrk5Ng8Q5LLb7VzPUNdNjD0oX0se14Kx6fT5FY9qMwHWxf_Vm/s1600/mark_poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="582" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihQzGKIZLjvQquGN5DNffhg_uH0NqKZhdBB2lfHurBnVQ3wwn-Fyn6gL7Kpb2waSZ_0Len97XE4wq6prHw0njL2hW40wKNrk5Ng8Q5LLb7VzPUNdNjD0oX0se14Kx6fT5FY9qMwHWxf_Vm/s640/mark_poster.jpg" width="232" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Poster that was offered for sale.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I asked the owner of the poster (and long time Oz Club member) Mark Frederic Dereng for a more detailed photo and on receipt found a most curious thing. The black-and-white poster had <i>exactly </i>the same date as the green-and-white NYPL original: "Now in its 23d Week . . ."<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4BgDItuBeAkDssZQmF2HOUv6kdwekxT2osF3I3fAZagYNTWrFm-ojElFBjRfkHG-_yBLb_9V-CVB77-7Oxg_HLm5Oocppst9hGo10sf4HA9ExgYnzCuKa1mF8wo3YW72ok6XfQ31kPIeB/s1600/mark_detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="906" data-original-width="720" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4BgDItuBeAkDssZQmF2HOUv6kdwekxT2osF3I3fAZagYNTWrFm-ojElFBjRfkHG-_yBLb_9V-CVB77-7Oxg_HLm5Oocppst9hGo10sf4HA9ExgYnzCuKa1mF8wo3YW72ok6XfQ31kPIeB/s640/mark_detail.jpg" width="507" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Detail of the poster that was offered for sale. Courtesy of owner Mark Frederic Dereng.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<i>Why?</i> Why on earth would the producers have produced a green, red, and white version AND a black-and-white version for the same week of advertising? I noticed that there was another significant difference between the two posters. The NYPL version has the names of the characters printed in a typeface similar to "Courier." It looks a lot like a typewriter font. It's actually rather ugly and the lettering is crooked in places and is a detriment to the NYPL poster. The offered black-and-white poster had the character names hand-lettered as white text against a black background.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0oEDNsnGfKD8TZlYCbHD69kuKQh65ASEJnBounnJw131k2iSiAiLPa-M0Vmtv9yCvhTvOUXa1JtWQkT21KHk5xzSO1CJwv9Oo8BTF5uqc36YoECbHFUc_loP4HgXhQ5gsvf0hTdkRmaWB/s1600/dash_lettering_nypl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="193" data-original-width="600" height="127" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0oEDNsnGfKD8TZlYCbHD69kuKQh65ASEJnBounnJw131k2iSiAiLPa-M0Vmtv9yCvhTvOUXa1JtWQkT21KHk5xzSO1CJwv9Oo8BTF5uqc36YoECbHFUc_loP4HgXhQ5gsvf0hTdkRmaWB/s400/dash_lettering_nypl.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Character Lettering from original NYPL Poster.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4zBJrMlKJ60HMLlj9uJqF7uH6c9JmyC8PacpAYO2Lx3uismhqXwmHswpW67_n1AwqMlbDC30hRuoKN7IowPVjVJ5Vl1U0YyM1L_0S_OlxVXpa-_LjeijNPbJLp7-iFBfgRLBsXin18yAT/s1600/dash_lettering_dm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="185" data-original-width="600" height="122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4zBJrMlKJ60HMLlj9uJqF7uH6c9JmyC8PacpAYO2Lx3uismhqXwmHswpW67_n1AwqMlbDC30hRuoKN7IowPVjVJ5Vl1U0YyM1L_0S_OlxVXpa-_LjeijNPbJLp7-iFBfgRLBsXin18yAT/s400/dash_lettering_dm.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Character Lettering from black-and-white version.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhvWAM_aZx4X32fGxBO-l4c5t5exMIVb5c5ibiCTCnbWr17d8YsjDiSUjD6mpu5SKwK7rcKZYp7hnErHk0iYDSDLaxdW-h6Wp1S-_RdCreSw-giqQ12OuktGWA1QLwwsGJnRylV_HVVm6W/s1600/bandw+version.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="387" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhvWAM_aZx4X32fGxBO-l4c5t5exMIVb5c5ibiCTCnbWr17d8YsjDiSUjD6mpu5SKwK7rcKZYp7hnErHk0iYDSDLaxdW-h6Wp1S-_RdCreSw-giqQ12OuktGWA1QLwwsGJnRylV_HVVm6W/s640/bandw+version.jpg" width="153" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The ABC version.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
On the one hand, the white-on-black lettering seems an improvement of the boring and ugly typeface of the NYPL poster. On the other hand, the new lettering got me kind of worried, as it really looked a lot like Oz illustrator Dick Martin's lettering. It is also forced in places - such as the crude way the black wraps around Sir Dashemoff's foot. <i>Hmmm . . .</i><br />
<br />
This poster is said to have belonged to Baum's son, Harry. Could that be confirmed? I asked friends who had attended the old OzCot conventions in
the 1960s if they recalled the poster being at OzCot. One long-time
friend quickly replied: he had first seen the poster in the December
1962 issue of<i><b> American Book Collector</b></i> and then on exhibit
at OzCot in 1963. He attached high-res scans of the poster from the
magazine. (The <i><b>American Book Collector</b></i> version of the poster can be seen at right - click to enlarge.) They matched the poster I had been offered. The poster's
provenance as belonging to Harry Baum was now verified. <br />
<br />
I received several phone camera photos of the poster I had been offered. In every way the photos match
the <b><i>American Book Collector</i></b> version of the poster. <br />
<br />
But that black-on-white lettering really looked so Dick Martin-like! And Dick helped procure the graphics for the 1962 <i><b>American Book Collector</b></i>. Had Dick modified the poster for reproduction in the <b><i>American Book Collector</i></b> and then, perhaps, given his photostat to Harry Baum to adorn the Ozcot Lodge? My friend had verified that the poster was at Ozcot by June 1963 - but had Harry
Baum owned the poster for sixty years or six months?<br />
<br />
As I mentioned up above, once that lettering started shouting Dick Martin, the entire history of the poster became suspect to me. You see, Dick Martin often tweaked, altered (and sometimes completely invented) graphics back in the late 1950s and '60s, usually to make them reproduce more easily. <br />
<br />
Below is an example of a 1903 <i><b>Wizard of Oz</b></i> poster Dick Martin "invented." It is printed in <i><b>T</b><b>he Musical Fantasies of L. Frank Baum</b></i> (1958). The Tin Woodman and Scarecrow drawings are Dick Martin trying to be Denslowesque. The poster is based on nothing I have ever found in my very in-depth research into the show.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc3MWirJP9-l5cBsRx-K7friA97Y-wtCv4LtbIApp3IntRCcHRs7MX3ITCY6IHnWasiDtZj-O58KUrqKkg2hH145_IEk-Can1QBlY5cO3p5hXa7rbOu9dHY9ju8sxpG_LK03_YadTkXsev/s1600/dm_WIZARD+POSTER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="994" data-original-width="1334" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc3MWirJP9-l5cBsRx-K7friA97Y-wtCv4LtbIApp3IntRCcHRs7MX3ITCY6IHnWasiDtZj-O58KUrqKkg2hH145_IEk-Can1QBlY5cO3p5hXa7rbOu9dHY9ju8sxpG_LK03_YadTkXsev/s400/dm_WIZARD+POSTER.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dick Martin's poster from MUSICAL FANTASIES OF L. FRANK BAUM.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
To top it off, Dick Martin pulled the photos of Montgomery and Stone from the cover of their <i><b>Chin-Chin</b></i> sheet music circa 1914!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYArJOaAJU3IJgJM0jCTgp40LEmeZe8wNpG1i9hqmhjDP8oJhYyd9HdQRRJ1RuqR7l0iec1jWZ9vHKyG-XznyA4DklnZoNsNtQ-vxFbk5_h1U0zGNxqUF8ZiBH5CNVQZh01XUpsoLLVX6F/s1600/chinchin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1567" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYArJOaAJU3IJgJM0jCTgp40LEmeZe8wNpG1i9hqmhjDP8oJhYyd9HdQRRJ1RuqR7l0iec1jWZ9vHKyG-XznyA4DklnZoNsNtQ-vxFbk5_h1U0zGNxqUF8ZiBH5CNVQZh01XUpsoLLVX6F/s640/chinchin.jpg" width="489" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sheet Music from CHIN-CHIN (1914).</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
But let's look at Dick Martin's lettering on his "invented" poster:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1gXYgoHGFAFrL-MMkFrGLpX8KSvbBDrpspSRRzkq_wLawg3wHKu4jPY4OuaF0iC6eje8WhAS0gskVIB4-fziVMgjlsmhqKm5F2dOa5kda5-r4Sl2R_XclxoRX5M5qaU5-qYys_URhTLXs/s1600/dm_letterin_sample.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="151" data-original-width="1121" height="53" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1gXYgoHGFAFrL-MMkFrGLpX8KSvbBDrpspSRRzkq_wLawg3wHKu4jPY4OuaF0iC6eje8WhAS0gskVIB4-fziVMgjlsmhqKm5F2dOa5kda5-r4Sl2R_XclxoRX5M5qaU5-qYys_URhTLXs/s400/dm_letterin_sample.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dick Martin lettering circa 1958.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
It is very similar to the white on black lettering of the poster I was offered. Using letters from Dick Martin's invented poster from<b><i> Musical Fantasies,</i></b> I pieced together most of a name to use for comparison. I chose General Riskitt as an example, as he has more letters in common than the other names:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFcoZUNkoA06ycTOK6tOA0LqEj5Mm7nmESq4YfWFgkixhc_BmgEWdm67ewfzRsIH7nDNX-eWy3Vkaum2JpsP8-yWXTkSiQuWwMETCAZWQj1TBuf6rC35QRBlRmSJsZXIOI5YAKv2DANJoV/s1600/dm_lettering+example_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="198" data-original-width="580" height="109" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFcoZUNkoA06ycTOK6tOA0LqEj5Mm7nmESq4YfWFgkixhc_BmgEWdm67ewfzRsIH7nDNX-eWy3Vkaum2JpsP8-yWXTkSiQuWwMETCAZWQj1TBuf6rC35QRBlRmSJsZXIOI5YAKv2DANJoV/s320/dm_lettering+example_1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
In my opinion the clear similarity in lettering style clinches it. The black-and-white version of the poster I was offered seems to have been heavily modified by Dick Martin. It is, in my opinion, a modified photostat of the NYPL original, which, you'll recall, was printed in green and red and celebrates the 23rd week of the run. Here's what I suspect Dick Martin did and some of the reasons why.<br />
<br />
Dick Martin certainly knew how important the 1903 show was to the
history of Oz and its impact on Baum's life and career. Including a
poster in the <b><i>ABC</i></b> article would have been a good idea. I suspect
Dick chose this poster as it was line art and would reproduce well
in the black-and-white magazine. So it seems Martin obtained a photostat
of the poster from the NYPL. A stat would have reproduced the line art
beautifully - but there was a catch. Red ink reproduced as black in many
photostatting techniques and indeed still does on many photocopiers. My
physical copy of the NYPL poster (the one that used to hang in my studio) was made by taking the poster to the
NYPL copystand and simply making a few photocopies. The red ink went totally black,
obscuring the drawings of the Tin Woodman, Dorothy, and the Scarecrow. Note, too, in the image below the sort of ugly original Courier typeface of the names "Imogene, the Cow" and "The Cowardly Lion." Why do I point out the ugly Courier type? Because I think the
typed names are what Dick Martin found to be so ugly - on an otherwise
handsome and reproducible poster - that he felt he ought to redo the lettering for the reproduction in the <i><b>American Book Collector</b></i>.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJDHSgJ9xFHzJmW8MvvgQtssB8BryIjdEDliX1UjxfZqfI1yzyo-AJL_ELIUBBwHC9m3MD8UIx-YAjiZkp5OI1BAgvgVrTR1SU8aehWaEdBrhTXAwKKbO4xHbxuzrS6I3BGDLBEuS0uB6q/s1600/evan_copy_top.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1353" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJDHSgJ9xFHzJmW8MvvgQtssB8BryIjdEDliX1UjxfZqfI1yzyo-AJL_ELIUBBwHC9m3MD8UIx-YAjiZkp5OI1BAgvgVrTR1SU8aehWaEdBrhTXAwKKbO4xHbxuzrS6I3BGDLBEuS0uB6q/s640/evan_copy_top.jpg" width="540" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photocopy of poster at NYPL showing how the red ink copies as black.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
You can see the red ink reproducing as black is a problem. To get around this, Dick probably traced the obscured sections from the original, then cut out the black rectangles and redrew the three character faces.
Martin's redrawn versions are much cruder than those on the original NYPL poster. He has also added the names of the performers in his distinctive lettering style.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhadNJWDskb5IdRzhy8LJGIN3j6otZC1XzmoZPmI7VIVPxB8FB1bOziVfIiv9c07eEXGgPXhFDirAm4laOcHpKh8WNtrY0rTA4oBTROMBaqpXzbeNYlEy3RI2wvC987hYnt4HLRjp4xTHWr/s1600/hay_comparison.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1294" data-original-width="1582" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhadNJWDskb5IdRzhy8LJGIN3j6otZC1XzmoZPmI7VIVPxB8FB1bOziVfIiv9c07eEXGgPXhFDirAm4laOcHpKh8WNtrY0rTA4oBTROMBaqpXzbeNYlEy3RI2wvC987hYnt4HLRjp4xTHWr/s400/hay_comparison.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NYPL original on left, redrawn version on right. Click to enlarge.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTsCSKBROH_m7S-CdCSo86yj-BTtrqzz2VIPMeflJoaFBafTUo7klIhH3tTIF3FPkRnn64d2UXobgphVNts_LKWZe123X0x-44XC0JT5YaXwazyN0k4zLE8YKhG_RM8lanWgbkNZpueODZ/s1600/ann_comparison.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1221" data-original-width="1557" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTsCSKBROH_m7S-CdCSo86yj-BTtrqzz2VIPMeflJoaFBafTUo7klIhH3tTIF3FPkRnn64d2UXobgphVNts_LKWZe123X0x-44XC0JT5YaXwazyN0k4zLE8YKhG_RM8lanWgbkNZpueODZ/s400/ann_comparison.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NYPL original on left, redrawn version on right. Click to enlarge.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
Note especially the bottom of the picture of Dorothy. Dick Martin
has only left the part of the vegetation that is not overlapping the
red because that part of the vegetation was obscured in the photostat
and he'd apparently not traced it in such detail as to preserve the
entire image.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBdBCJdrzHiloYq910WcxOTNwGa4RIVBH31XGYf5Y-BIGVOntHebAQ84YP6UuOlattzK6K6cEHswsxHTnS4E7gxzAKl4PWH5q-gQ04sDalc4syDo8tlqL5r_ly-c1PKoQFa2hea70C0Uk0/s1600/nick_cvomparison.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1256" data-original-width="1584" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBdBCJdrzHiloYq910WcxOTNwGa4RIVBH31XGYf5Y-BIGVOntHebAQ84YP6UuOlattzK6K6cEHswsxHTnS4E7gxzAKl4PWH5q-gQ04sDalc4syDo8tlqL5r_ly-c1PKoQFa2hea70C0Uk0/s400/nick_cvomparison.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NYPL original on left, redrawn version on right. Click to enlarge.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Here's another example: the title THE WIZARD OF OZ was printed in
both red and green - producing a rather ugly brown. But the original
NYPL poster is not in perfect registration and the title lettering is quite unattractive.
But in a photostat of the NYPL poster, both red and green will reproduce
as black so the text of THE WIZARD OF OZ is thicker and blobbier. You
can see below that the Martin version of the poster for <i><b>American Book Collector</b></i>
is reproduced directly from the NYPL version of the poster, as the shape of
his lettering matches the shapes of the combined red AND green inks. I
have digitally prepared a version of the word OF showing only the green
ink. If the offered poster had been printed in 1903 the printer could have
simply used the green printing plate with black ink and gotten a crisp,
accurate reproduction of the original typography.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT5pdizqq05lCTJD8ogSwHl3aZy1undNqsrdqY-aa3oXLDH6SrItQFlFs-VKJN5vNTSQeoFbGMjichguSMxwQM3KJmqAO86HzBw8r1Ws_LcDaKKrUWysdGcUHwOq_pAqUFsE_593kZxgMN/s1600/OF_sample.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1252" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT5pdizqq05lCTJD8ogSwHl3aZy1undNqsrdqY-aa3oXLDH6SrItQFlFs-VKJN5vNTSQeoFbGMjichguSMxwQM3KJmqAO86HzBw8r1Ws_LcDaKKrUWysdGcUHwOq_pAqUFsE_593kZxgMN/s400/OF_sample.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Comparison of the word "OF" - NYPL version, Martin version, then NYPL green ink only.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
If the show's producers had wanted to do a black and white version of the poster in
addition to the green, red, and white version, all they really had to do
was use black ink on the green printing plate (and move the red text
block over to the new plate). There is ZERO reason to redraw the
sections backed by the red unless you're working from a black and white
photostat of the green and red poster. It is the incredibly time-consuming workaround to achieve a clean
drawing that most proves the poster a 1960s era creation by Dick Martin.<br />
<br />
So, in my opinion, that's it - Dick Martin modified the poster, fancied up the lettering of the character's names, and after he was finished with his modified artwork, he presented it to Harry Baum as a decoration at Ozcot Lodge.<br />
<br />
But to end on a more up note, I'd like to explore a bit more history in how the original poster came to be. The source of the artwork for these posters is a drawing printed in the February 2, 1903, <b><i>New York Evening Telegram.</i></b><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghO3816WciC4PYOBVXcEN3cmL_k2FZglgV6xRgngGSj9Q2zPoNcxqXMuX4hO0fEZQPmGZdvXC2celdRXWdNAJ2F5n3TTJCTDDg75plcBANyFblV_OpchdXJHekbWYMVcuYyNz_4uhUk3E0/s1600/1903Feb02_NewYork%255BNY%255DEvening_blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghO3816WciC4PYOBVXcEN3cmL_k2FZglgV6xRgngGSj9Q2zPoNcxqXMuX4hO0fEZQPmGZdvXC2celdRXWdNAJ2F5n3TTJCTDDg75plcBANyFblV_OpchdXJHekbWYMVcuYyNz_4uhUk3E0/s1600/1903Feb02_NewYork%255BNY%255DEvening_blog.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Original version of artwork in February 2, 1903, <b><i>New York Evening Telegram.</i></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
This artwork was drawn by Henry C. Coultaus (1862-1923), a cartoonist for the<i><b> New York Evening Telegram,</b></i> who specialized in drawing illustrations for that paper's Drama section.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKqHvtL0WatU6KEzqCknW1GXjm8VAp0hyV_ity86SSveIN2S8iyey7E33_VPbQrkjQGE0SqtDaMntwx7Q7B8XsLBUu0cLy5k43K4j9vmy03kHjbGdz7DU1ZLtedsI_QW-TBgUo4Af9o62e/s1600/HenryCoultaus_illustration.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="551" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKqHvtL0WatU6KEzqCknW1GXjm8VAp0hyV_ity86SSveIN2S8iyey7E33_VPbQrkjQGE0SqtDaMntwx7Q7B8XsLBUu0cLy5k43K4j9vmy03kHjbGdz7DU1ZLtedsI_QW-TBgUo4Af9o62e/s400/HenryCoultaus_illustration.jpg" width="343" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cartoonist Henry C. Coultaus (1862-1923),</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Coultaus's <b><i>Wizard of Oz</i></b> illustration is for the paper's<i> "What the Playhouses Offer"</i> listing. Note that in this original version of the artwork it is the names of the actors that appear under the character drawings - not the names of the characters themselves.<br />
<br />
Quite probably, the <i><b>Wizard of Oz's</b></i> producers were taken with the newspaper artwork and asked to turn it into an inexpensive poster. <i>But those actors names! </i>Some of them were not even with the show anymore by the 23rd week when the poster is first known to have appeared. And besides, the cast changed frequently enough that there would be little accuracy or even point in saying who played whom. So the producers modified the original design - probably having gotten a photostat from the<i><b> Evening Telegram</b></i> and (perhaps in a rush) they painted out the actor names and simply "typed" the character names onto the<i><b> Evening Telegram's</b></i> photostat.<br />
<br />
This is interesting, I hope, and not too confusing: the newspaper version is about HALF the size of the poster as it was eventually printed. If the "typing" to replace the actors' names with character names was done on the paper's photostat by an actual typewriter it would explain why the Courier lettering of the poster looks so much like it was done with a typewriter - it was! At first, I'd assumed it couldn't be because it was too large to have come from an actual typewriter - but blowing up the newspaper sized stat (with normal typing on it) would result in the oversize courier font found on the poster.<br />
<br />
I really do wish the offered poster had been genuine. Owning an original poster from the show is still a dream of mine. And you know, a large 56-year-old photostat, mounted on green plywood, created by an official Oz illustrator,<i> and</i> from the personal collection of Harry Baum isn't a bad thing! But it's not the hundred and sixteen year old poster I had so very much wanted it to be.David Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12672089188117065118noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930190065426288711.post-83580482226112580392019-04-03T18:03:00.003-07:002019-04-03T20:52:43.637-07:00Original Art by John R. Neill!Greetings! We now have a sister blog called <a href="https://johnrneill.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">"The John R. Neill Collection"</a> which is connected to our new sister website called <a href="http://johnrneill.com/">JohnRNeill.com</a>.
I'm very excited to announce that we will be offering a
fine collection or original artwork by John R. Neill for sale! <a href="http://johnrneill.com/" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a> to see our first offerings <br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirCNYHLg5jwhHSwBXS6N-FIVKJudppFjJPzYxjZF3noTq6FL1C_G6XBcwiJahcjpL3SzEVsXphhOV65yLSWP5WDdZbuiOzf2SoX8ITnw1ck8oMPRPxyNeTE-FK9PzjjaZa2ZPf46rl3Zc/s1600/jrn_portrait_laurie.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1177" data-original-width="928" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirCNYHLg5jwhHSwBXS6N-FIVKJudppFjJPzYxjZF3noTq6FL1C_G6XBcwiJahcjpL3SzEVsXphhOV65yLSWP5WDdZbuiOzf2SoX8ITnw1ck8oMPRPxyNeTE-FK9PzjjaZa2ZPf46rl3Zc/s320/jrn_portrait_laurie.jpg" width="252" /></a></div>
<span data-offset-key="eil9n-0-0"><span data-text="true">These wonderful
drawings, paintings, and illustrations which we are offering for sale
come directly from the family of John R. Neill (1877-1943). After his
death, Neill's second wife, Margaret Carroll Neill (called Moy by the
family), carefully preserved and treasured her husband's art work in
Neill's final home, "Endolane," in Flanders, New Jersey.</span></span><br />
<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="46c1" data-offset-key="5t33g-0-0">
<div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="5t33g-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="5t33g-0-0"><br data-text="true" /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="46c1" data-offset-key="8fae6-0-0">
<div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="8fae6-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="8fae6-0-0"><span data-text="true">Mrs. Neill died
in 1984 and the Neill archive was distributed among Neill's three
daughters, Natalie, Annrea, and Joan. This youngest daughter, Joan Neill
Farnsworth, dutifully preserved her share for many years, making it
available to researchers and scholars as needed. Joan died in 2011 and
the Neill archive was split, yet again, between Joan's four children.</span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="46c1" data-offset-key="furae-0-0">
<div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="furae-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="furae-0-0"><br data-text="true" /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="46c1" data-offset-key="6m2p7-0-0">
<div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="6m2p7-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="6m2p7-0-0"><span data-text="true">The wonderful
pieces offered here are all from the collection of one of the
granddaughters of John R. Neill. Each piece of art sold at <a href="http://johnrneill.com/">johnrneill.com</a> comes with a letter of provenance. </span></span>This is a rare chance to own one of Neill's original drawings. We
will be featuring some of his exquisite pen-and-ink work, sumptuous
paintings, original magazine art, and of course some very rare Oz
material. Keep checking our store - more drawings will be added weekly.<br />
<br />
One of the treasures of the collection is this magical rabbit painting from <i>Pictorial Review</i>! <a href="https://johnrneill.com/shop?olsPage=products" target="_blank">Click here to see the sale page.</a></div>
</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAYttWTJq2eONmCSbmqMVRHLd6BMvNtNSbGmIjyhr6THlmt8Ra5hyphenhyphenKLU0FYhbG6c1KGZTzPaE9xaBIrVjLzjpTu99G1J6IbvrIiydLV-QeuEybCSv2D7jhhuDoMzst2mkZLXLcfztwIVQ/s1600/display_Bunny+Band_website_full.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="870" data-original-width="1402" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAYttWTJq2eONmCSbmqMVRHLd6BMvNtNSbGmIjyhr6THlmt8Ra5hyphenhyphenKLU0FYhbG6c1KGZTzPaE9xaBIrVjLzjpTu99G1J6IbvrIiydLV-QeuEybCSv2D7jhhuDoMzst2mkZLXLcfztwIVQ/s400/display_Bunny+Band_website_full.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"The Bunny Band" Original painting by John R. Neill $10,000.00 SOLD!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
We also have some of Neill's exquisite pen-and-ink work such as this jaunty illustration of a dapper young couple out for a ride in their sporty automobile. <a href="https://johnrneill.com/shop?olsPage=products" target="_blank">Click here to see the sale page.</a><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcmbTLLW17CZwwDjyCgcxcZR6h-a19WcSO_wggqjBNuuPEGmViPbz5IkY8zp2r7r4RP5zuSReI-_AOQninKfgux2Jy8mba92qjyIaxuu4UjhmdxUil_pS-3dQhUIQYHcsqOdNwM1KVppg1/s1600/auto_color_1200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="842" data-original-width="1600" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcmbTLLW17CZwwDjyCgcxcZR6h-a19WcSO_wggqjBNuuPEGmViPbz5IkY8zp2r7r4RP5zuSReI-_AOQninKfgux2Jy8mba92qjyIaxuu4UjhmdxUil_pS-3dQhUIQYHcsqOdNwM1KVppg1/s400/auto_color_1200.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Out for a ride! Pen-and-Ink by John R. Neill $1250.00</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
There is much more to see at our online gallery store so come on over and explore this wonderful collection!<span data-offset-key="986l0-0-0"><span data-text="true"> We
hope, too, that you will find much enjoyment in owning a piece of original
art by one of America's most extraordinary, but under-rated illustrators
from the golden age of illustration.</span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span data-offset-key="986l0-0-0"><span data-text="true">Come check it all out at</span></span></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span data-offset-key="986l0-0-0" style="font-size: x-large;"><span data-text="true"><a href="https://johnrneill.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>www.johnrneill.com </b></span></a></span></span></div>
David Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12672089188117065118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930190065426288711.post-32423056320883866512018-09-03T20:45:00.000-07:002019-12-03T15:45:47.222-08:00The First Oz Fan FictionToday's post shares what is almost certainly the earliest Oz fan fiction. This rare find was discovered by Eric Shanower in 2017 while he was helping me with research on my book about the 1903 <i>Wizard of Oz</i>.<br />
<br />
The story published June 5, 1909, in the <i>Syracuse Post-Standard</i>, was called <i>Ozma of Oz, Continued</i>; or <i>The Quest for the Magic Belt</i>. It was written by two boys, Henry Kutz, age ten, and Max Stolz, age nine.<br />
<br />
The heading states that the story was begun July 7, 1908, and finished on July 9, 1908, and is dedicated with love to Uncle Joe--who is Rev. Dr. Joseph Stolz of Chicago, who came to Syracuse to visit his relatives on July 9, 1908.<br />
<br />
The two boys seem to have written the story "round-robin" style, one boy writing a paragraph, the other boy writing the next, and so on. Each section is signed by the initials of the boy that wrote it.<br />
<br />
What is especially fascinating is that the two boys combine Baum's non-Oz fantasies <i>John Dough and the Cherub</i> and <i>Queen Zixi of Ix</i> and place them in the Oz universe before L. Frank Baum united his fantasy novels in <i>The Road to Oz</i>. The article clearly says (twice) that the story was written in summer 1908. The boys are also the first to introduce the wireless telegraph into the Oz universe, well before Baum does so in 1913's <i>The Patchwork Girl of Oz</i>.<br />
<br />
Henry Kutz, the elder boy, also introduced a new group of villains called the "Hollywogs," described as "monster green giants with axes." These also seem like a precursor to future Baumian villains, the Growleywogs, again not introduced until 1910's<i> The Emerald City of Oz</i>.<br />
<br />
Given that this fan fiction was published in Syracuse, it would seem quite likely someone sent a copy to Baum and that he found the two boys' idea of uniting all his fantasies in one universe a good one and promptly wrote it into the next Oz book. Perhaps, too, the Hollywogs and the wireless telegraphy. There is no way to know for sure, but Baum often talked of using his young fans' ideas.<br />
<br />
Max Stolz's last section seems a bit garbled. He has the Oz group go to see King Bird of Noland. This would seem either a typo on the part of the typesetter, who couldn't read the boy's handwriting, or young Mr. Stolz misremembered King Bud's name as King Bird. The author has also turned Princess Fluff (from <i>Queen Zixi of Ix</i>) into Queen Fluff of Ax [sic], now married to King Azma.<br />
<br />
This is a fun little story written by two boys who very much loved the Oz books and Baum's non-Oz fantasies. Enjoy the very first Oz fan fiction!<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqQ0W9OWIJNtDwvv0ImU8Q64mOHQSof4oJT0hEpnSW0z2pSRr2FWt7HUtylqlfU38zIBdHRwgxvjWJYqJxgJhzap3Km83yVxbw_g05fTRr04ug3xnoi9MIHmxZ9KR7aq5aKhJraB8VstZy/s1600/_1909Jun05_Syracuse%255BNY%255DPost-Standard_Ozfanfiction_OzmaofOz-Con_QuestoftheMagicBelt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="443" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqQ0W9OWIJNtDwvv0ImU8Q64mOHQSof4oJT0hEpnSW0z2pSRr2FWt7HUtylqlfU38zIBdHRwgxvjWJYqJxgJhzap3Km83yVxbw_g05fTRr04ug3xnoi9MIHmxZ9KR7aq5aKhJraB8VstZy/s1600/_1909Jun05_Syracuse%255BNY%255DPost-Standard_Ozfanfiction_OzmaofOz-Con_QuestoftheMagicBelt.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<br />David Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12672089188117065118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930190065426288711.post-19063077586830953952018-07-26T19:45:00.003-07:002018-07-26T19:54:14.623-07:00Dorothy Gale "Edition De Luxe"My fellow blogger Bill Campbell over at <a href="http://theozenthusiast.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The Oz Enthusiast</a> is almost as obsessed with the 1903 <b>Wizard of Oz</b> musical as I am. He's a fellow collector of stage-oriented Oz material and he's even built a tremendously fun<a href="http://theozenthusiast.blogspot.com/2017/08/convention-2017.html" target="_blank"> toy-theatre version</a> of the show.<br />
<br />
In researching for the toy theatre, Bill became quite interested in Carolyn Siedle's costume sketches for the 1903 <b>Wizard of Oz</b>. On a recent trip to New York, Bill took photos of most of the surviving costume sketches and assembled them all in <a href="http://theozenthusiast.blogspot.com/2018/05/the-shubert-archive.html" target="_blank">a blog post</a>. He later did <a href="http://theozenthusiast.blogspot.com/2018/05/design-vs-reality.html" target="_blank">another blog</a> comparing and contrasting the sketches with the finished costumes as seen in assorted production photos. But at least one of the sketches was rather a stumper for Bill - an unknown Act III dress for Dorothy.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvdND0_w9iMH2kI5_0wommYzCBVsZJZi_A4o_8tm5V6JgAfGR9al_W6qV9yakVrJC7-0KGKvAN_Iz3AvyUEtWMo4bN-iH0psko955w4HnUKD_J-DqBMl5sitRh8_bJyov4qP2k6dUqLGch/s1600/blog_sketch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1058" data-original-width="786" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvdND0_w9iMH2kI5_0wommYzCBVsZJZi_A4o_8tm5V6JgAfGR9al_W6qV9yakVrJC7-0KGKvAN_Iz3AvyUEtWMo4bN-iH0psko955w4HnUKD_J-DqBMl5sitRh8_bJyov4qP2k6dUqLGch/s640/blog_sketch.jpg" width="473" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carolyn Siedle's original costume sketch.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The image shows Dorothy in a sort of "baby-doll" dress. It's short, like a very young girl's would be at the time, all white, with assorted ruffles and bands of applied ribbon, and most oddly, black knee-socks with little white shoes. It's not a look we've associated with Dorothy in that show and doesn't match any of actress Anna Laughlin's Dorothy dresses that we know from the Broadway stage photos.<br />
<br />
Bill wondered if it was a preliminary design, perhaps cut from the show. But I had an idea it might be something else. I had a sneaky suspicion that a number of the sketches were not from the Broadway version of the show but from the revised version of the show dubbed "Edition de Luxe" prepared in the Spring of 1904. The show got many new songs, many new costumes, and a general freshening. So I started digging through my photo archive trying to prove my theory. Finally I remembered a photo from Act III of the Hurtig and Seaman touring production circa late 1906. Lo and behold we get a picture of Dorothy Gale kneeling during the finale, and I think she is wearing this mystery frock!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi82fC9XE4lwCoWixYsYLC-CAWXw3MEO757xNAJwvEYhWdsWBNzxKDEBMA_55M231FtselCEFDGmCNO_tquVL4Dkpbagm5X8GDzEfqAT2sh8TiD0NBoKWpvANAuy5rGUqzbrfO7QJJ31ss/s1600/blog_hurtig.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1204" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi82fC9XE4lwCoWixYsYLC-CAWXw3MEO757xNAJwvEYhWdsWBNzxKDEBMA_55M231FtselCEFDGmCNO_tquVL4Dkpbagm5X8GDzEfqAT2sh8TiD0NBoKWpvANAuy5rGUqzbrfO7QJJ31ss/s640/blog_hurtig.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dorothy at the end of Act III in the Hurtig and Seaman production circa late 1906.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The hat seems similar enough, but the banding on the hem seems spot on. The Hurtig and Seaman production is also just a bit dowdier than the original Julian Mitchell version, too. Hence the slightly frumpy look (though she is kneeling and pleading for help from the Witch of the North). Below you can see Anna Laughlin in the original Act III dress at the same moment from the show.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAOpRthyphenhyphen-qabR00nU_xcCWj1wBnEbvDH9bY2tRPbCrWQruzrsU7DToNWDFHH8MnpvGst6F67RH0KFitNWqxqw0pP3igOjJJSOzTN-HgqG2R2JdFKOJz8IE5lT7y5IkiCeECqLz2kyHGQLI/s1600/blog_anna_III.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1278" data-original-width="960" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAOpRthyphenhyphen-qabR00nU_xcCWj1wBnEbvDH9bY2tRPbCrWQruzrsU7DToNWDFHH8MnpvGst6F67RH0KFitNWqxqw0pP3igOjJJSOzTN-HgqG2R2JdFKOJz8IE5lT7y5IkiCeECqLz2kyHGQLI/s640/blog_anna_III.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anna Laughlin Act III original Broadway version of the dress.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I strongly suspect that Anna Laughlin made the request for a new Act III dress in Edition de Luxe. The dress above looks heavy and hot, while the little white frock looks quite breezy and cool. A good thing when playing in warm theatres, under the lights with no air-conditioning.<br />
<br />
One reason I think the request may have come directly from Anna Laughlin is that the new Act III dress bears a striking resemblance to a dress Anna Laughlin had worn onstage back in August of 1900.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-lbKjdoCYrJw5D5v92pIt2ulhtn1_poV5Ky0-aaptZk79ykw24A4Yq7USK72nytrblehqKL_tFfM5gAzLokqWsqllM1qyJCgfI9gfdo91V0nVgIkERSHm82Lsy642O7_27JbjMRCTkjs4/s1600/blog_anna+laughlin_dress_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="948" data-original-width="507" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-lbKjdoCYrJw5D5v92pIt2ulhtn1_poV5Ky0-aaptZk79ykw24A4Yq7USK72nytrblehqKL_tFfM5gAzLokqWsqllM1qyJCgfI9gfdo91V0nVgIkERSHm82Lsy642O7_27JbjMRCTkjs4/s640/blog_anna+laughlin_dress_1.jpg" width="340" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anna Laughlin in <b>The Casino Boy,</b> circa August 1900</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I was fairly convinced several of the sketches Bill found were from the post-Broadway "Edition De Luxe" but he just obtained a photo of another sketch that is explicitly from "Edition De Luxe," one of the Cowgirls from the "Sitting Bull" number introduced in the new 1904 edition. I'm sharing a photo of one of the chorus girls (Theresa Van Brune) in the realized costume. Note that the Ozzy cowgirl in the photo is having a smoke!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZRSrO53nEieSiQBlEZgHT1ayLeGwYev3V0WotYs-r4BL0v5cz6qQZ4WUxh6cYVK4KFOZFEkOwgZ0jr1r3p8hRrHUIvq4eHw7awB-kOERWOyUAii2epd-K2-cAVMSuvVgIQpL7qq4ebren/s1600/cowboy_chorus.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="603" data-original-width="725" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZRSrO53nEieSiQBlEZgHT1ayLeGwYev3V0WotYs-r4BL0v5cz6qQZ4WUxh6cYVK4KFOZFEkOwgZ0jr1r3p8hRrHUIvq4eHw7awB-kOERWOyUAii2epd-K2-cAVMSuvVgIQpL7qq4ebren/s400/cowboy_chorus.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
In closing, I must say that the Oz Cowboy chorus girl is a really
lovely and very modern looking costume. I can see why they called it
"Edition de Luxe!"<br />
<br />David Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12672089188117065118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930190065426288711.post-6945145906661926982018-07-06T15:24:00.000-07:002018-07-06T15:46:39.019-07:00Evelyn Copelman in the Tiger Den!There's nothing better to motivate one to get back to blogging than a new treasure to share! And this time it's a painting by an Oz artist I never had much thought of acquiring, Evelyn Copelman, the second major illustrator of<b> The Wizard of Oz</b>.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdK7iwEsbx4uE1KVd0khji94C7VenPh3aWpyMUlB4YJD0Om3XHkTX3hwGHlsqnlUWtTYZlBt1RG_gW2al6gRt8QqP27gbsy4YPibTPBrW_ZoMkOY_pk7FhoFJg3oeL4xzKSxoOaU_4d9ic/s1600/copelman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="746" data-original-width="1000" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdK7iwEsbx4uE1KVd0khji94C7VenPh3aWpyMUlB4YJD0Om3XHkTX3hwGHlsqnlUWtTYZlBt1RG_gW2al6gRt8QqP27gbsy4YPibTPBrW_ZoMkOY_pk7FhoFJg3oeL4xzKSxoOaU_4d9ic/s400/copelman.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Watercolor by Evelyn Copelman.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Alas, the painting isn't from<b> Wizard</b>, but a watercolor of a country street scene. The image is a bit larger than 8" x 11", signed at the bottom right in pencil.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXF-p7-dcWLrPZYAKUM4HBQ0op2ld3UXFbV2G7SyVPAZrdqyFJ3_ZFS0jxqJKzDr_KiQ0BamhAs1OoCnwygZAPsEWubTqPeMWD8aOBKuPthOgaDN94ia-tzmBLLvD20D4dJb5KCN7eErW6/s1600/copelman_sig.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="126" data-original-width="720" height="70" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXF-p7-dcWLrPZYAKUM4HBQ0op2ld3UXFbV2G7SyVPAZrdqyFJ3_ZFS0jxqJKzDr_KiQ0BamhAs1OoCnwygZAPsEWubTqPeMWD8aOBKuPthOgaDN94ia-tzmBLLvD20D4dJb5KCN7eErW6/s400/copelman_sig.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
For those of you not acquainted, Evelyn Copelamn was the first illustrator to reillustrate a full-length edition of <b>The Wizard of Oz</b> after W. W. Denslow. After World War II, <b>Wizard</b> publisher Bobbs Merrill wanted a new edition of <b>Wizard</b>. The MGM film had made the book more popular than ever, and the original Denslow illustrations were difficult to make attractive. The first edition of <strong>Wizard</strong> is stunning, but by 1903 Denslow's art was already suffering from cheap and simplified printing. By the 1920s and '30s the book was decidedly unattractive.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXpckEPpukrBR822W2xI8LGzRmV5_jZV-ZIUPpA9OYJA7UMi_hG34uRpydhl7VXLotHHPR14egw1pTT1jNUdOVMf6HC9KXwU1GJjkBq8_cFvwA-XeDwM5FBSt1Bqkdw1J6RC2KaNNhek8I/s1600/copelman+book.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="378" data-original-width="283" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXpckEPpukrBR822W2xI8LGzRmV5_jZV-ZIUPpA9OYJA7UMi_hG34uRpydhl7VXLotHHPR14egw1pTT1jNUdOVMf6HC9KXwU1GJjkBq8_cFvwA-XeDwM5FBSt1Bqkdw1J6RC2KaNNhek8I/s320/copelman+book.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
In 1944, Bobbs Merrill decided on a major overhaul and hired Evelyn Copelman to reillustrate the book. It was her first book illustration job. In the printed book the publisher slyly suggests the drawings are based on those of Denslow, but they are clearly much more inspired by the MGM film.<br />
<br />
Copelman's line drawings (actually scratchboard work) in the early printings are sometimes a bit stiff and often overworked. Her paintings are much better. A few years after this new edition of Wizard was released, Copelman went back and redrew almost every image and added several new color plates, creating a much more handsome volume.<br />
<br />
In 1947, Bobbs Merrill asked Copelman to reillustrate Baum's <strong>The Magical Monarch of Mo.</strong> She's become a much more gifted illustrator by this point, too, though her style is at odds with Baum's text. <a href="http://hungrytigerpress.blogspot.com/2011/03/sally-dick-and-mo.html" target="_blank"><i>(You can read my analysis here)</i></a>.<br />
<br />
However, one can see more stylistic parallels between my newly acquired painting and her<b> Mo</b> watercolors than one can find when examining her <b>Wizard</b> paintings - such as in the <b>Mo</b> frontispiece below.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIOje7iLulTMjFvEMLWG1ky9tUhb_o3lkxFe4UJG5Ytcx72TXgeYOLJVE-bo9h1QXa0SyTbRmaNk370yg76t6W1l-UjtlW53QQoBXtQaSlNt17wGnivgx8E6e4tScXNrT-ff9GUHP41npJ/s1600/copelman_mo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="831" data-original-width="600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIOje7iLulTMjFvEMLWG1ky9tUhb_o3lkxFe4UJG5Ytcx72TXgeYOLJVE-bo9h1QXa0SyTbRmaNk370yg76t6W1l-UjtlW53QQoBXtQaSlNt17wGnivgx8E6e4tScXNrT-ff9GUHP41npJ/s640/copelman_mo.jpg" width="460" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frontispiece of THE MAGICAL MONARCH OF MO by Evelyn Copelman.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Note how much looser her style has become in the watercolor sky above, and the similarity in technique of the forested hills at the left in the distance.<br />
<br />
But even more similarities can be seen with my painting and the most important work of her career - illustrating the Sally, Dick, and Jane school readers!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCZh5qms4kg1aBcIgmNBxDTTPUG7tGg1B7R2OZN0Lu30aCxPNr7bicCjE4N3sZAsHajY3duPRATjnR7ViWmTUQlOyUWQKPI2hpc9ikxpnM0LxFFVaZAVj9KdhdYHv9HfKQTkZw537x91pv/s1600/copelman_dickandjane.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="800" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCZh5qms4kg1aBcIgmNBxDTTPUG7tGg1B7R2OZN0Lu30aCxPNr7bicCjE4N3sZAsHajY3duPRATjnR7ViWmTUQlOyUWQKPI2hpc9ikxpnM0LxFFVaZAVj9KdhdYHv9HfKQTkZw537x91pv/s400/copelman_dickandjane.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Illustration from WE COME AND GO (1946-'47) by Evelyn Copelman as "Eleanor Campbell."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Looking at the lovely watercolored grass, the trees across the road, one can imagine Sally, Dick, and Jane walking down the country street scene in my painting. Evelyn Copelman did all of her school reader work under the pseudonym Eleanor Campbell.<br />
<br />
Well, that's it for today in the Tiger Den. "See David Blog. Blog, David, blog!" <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />David Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12672089188117065118noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930190065426288711.post-43243589714736742962016-03-30T00:14:00.001-07:002016-04-07T12:07:04.173-07:00The 1903 WIZARD OF OZ and my Grammy Nomination!<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><br />
I'm pleased to announce that the 2 CD set <a href="http://www.shop.hungrytigerpress.com/Vintage-Recordings-from-the-1903-WIZARD-OF-OZ-htp-cd-1903.htm" target="_blank"><b>Vintage Recordings from the 1903 Broadway Musical The Wizard of Oz</b></a> which I produced back in 2003 is now available again! You can order a copy by <a href="http://www.shop.hungrytigerpress.com/Vintage-Recordings-from-the-1903-WIZARD-OF-OZ-htp-cd-1903.htm" target="_blank">clicking here</a>. I am very proud of this project and it earned me my Warholian fifteen minutes of fame as you'll see in the blog below.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I was a kid, I often fantasized about being famous and
winning awards. I do not mean the spelling bee, either! I was certain one day
I’d have an Oscar, a Tony Award, or an Emmy Award. As I got a little older,
PERHAPS I even fantasized about winning a Pulitzer or Nobel Prize! Yet I never
even remotely imagined I would be nominated for a GRAMMY AWARD.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, fate showed me!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI8QuggcMh7rbv6uOzjryZRGW6IMV069As3IzxWQpMImkweaKpMtLb2jTCSD6UUTrLhFEgd6d0-bG5ti0Tn0CFZa8BgiB17G7jVh2LZjjWnM77jbvm0XCc-gmipeoeeO49780m8Yi5rp1m/s1600/Grammy+Telecast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI8QuggcMh7rbv6uOzjryZRGW6IMV069As3IzxWQpMImkweaKpMtLb2jTCSD6UUTrLhFEgd6d0-bG5ti0Tn0CFZa8BgiB17G7jVh2LZjjWnM77jbvm0XCc-gmipeoeeO49780m8Yi5rp1m/s400/Grammy+Telecast.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me at the 2003 GRAMMY Awards.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But wait, there’s a little back-story to fill in …</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As some of you know, I have loved L. Frank Baum’s Oz books
since I was in the second grade. I’ve worked in musical theatre and I have a
passion for old recordings, really old recordings from the early 1900s. Then
suddenly this almost forgotten Broadway musical of <b>The Wizard of Oz</b> entered my
life. My three interests were all neatly tied together. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip3H9_aWD5KoTw51rbdmU4RDVPrPoZCvNED_fUmhkLuBfkdxV0pBX3ZFxaHAhT3zVk_tCYaQ1U7YiFgU0X7wxP-g-NeiOXbvZ5GlxqqTMXCvxgKpekqxlA_pK01liZ8wG1E3qa-OcNUvN9/s1600/1903_oz_davidmaxine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="383" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip3H9_aWD5KoTw51rbdmU4RDVPrPoZCvNED_fUmhkLuBfkdxV0pBX3ZFxaHAhT3zVk_tCYaQ1U7YiFgU0X7wxP-g-NeiOXbvZ5GlxqqTMXCvxgKpekqxlA_pK01liZ8wG1E3qa-OcNUvN9/s400/1903_oz_davidmaxine.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and my 1905 Edison home cylinder player.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Wizard of Oz</b>
is one of the best-loved fairy tales and one of the best-loved films of all
time. Yet few people know that the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman attained fame in a
hit Broadway musical in 1903.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The show
was legendary for its success and its impact on American culture. It made Oz,
Dorothy Gale, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Woodman household names.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvzPyHHJez9q4eWE12yCmfMK59YxB58GPU5w7HKAg_97XrO-R5LbbBNQqTPMjDpzFd_tPb8JdpUaimFTzDHqoqSGgWBjcUSsZSmBsKK8IDY2LHR6rEchyDn_wKkAJgCix9nveIFb9sIXpT/s1600/grammy_1903_photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvzPyHHJez9q4eWE12yCmfMK59YxB58GPU5w7HKAg_97XrO-R5LbbBNQqTPMjDpzFd_tPb8JdpUaimFTzDHqoqSGgWBjcUSsZSmBsKK8IDY2LHR6rEchyDn_wKkAJgCix9nveIFb9sIXpT/s400/grammy_1903_photo.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> show </span>opened on
Broadway at the Majestic Theater in New York on January 21, 1903. It
toured, came back to New York, toured, and returned to New York again many
times until finally disbanding around 1911.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Stock and amateur companies continued to present it into the 1930s when
it was overshadowed by the classic MGM film of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Wizard of Oz</b> starring Judy Garland, which featured a new score.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To cut a long story short, I began a project to collect all
of the ancient records I could find from the show, as well as photos, newspaper
clippings, etc. In 2003 (a hundred years after the show originally opened!) I
produced a 2 CD set of said recordings with two picture-filled booklets. I was
very proud of my work on the project. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A theater friend of mine, musical theatre orchestrator Larry Moore,
said, “You must make sure this CD is submitted to the GRAMMY Awards.” I
thought, “Yah, right . . .” But then another friend in New York said the same thing.
And then my boyfriend started in on me! So I finally broke down and made sure
the CD was submitted for consideration. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A month or so goes by, the GRAMMY nominations come out, and
low and behold:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Nominated for “Best Historical Album”</b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.shop.hungrytigerpress.com/Vintage-Recordings-from-the-1903-WIZARD-OF-OZ-htp-cd-1903.htm" target="_blank"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Vintage Recordings from the 1903 Broadway Musical THE WIZARD OF OZ</b></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Producer: David Maxine</b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I don’t remember literally “pinching myself,” but it was
definitely one of those moments! So what happens when you’re nominated for a
GRAMMY Award? Well, you start getting mail from the National Academy of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Recording Arts and Sciences, friends start
congratulating you, and eventually you get to go to the GRAMMY Awards! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So I bought a tux. My BF rented a tux. And off we went! The
night before the Awards were handed out, there was a “nominees reception" where
we were given delightful things to eat and drink. They also presented the
nominees with their GRAMMY Medallions! All of the nominees get them! It is a
brass medal on a blue silk ribbon. It’s very spiffy! They also take our
“official” GRAMMY portraits.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The bulk of the awards are given out in a “pre-telecast”
ceremony. There are about 125 GRAMMYs given each year; and only about a dozen
are presented on the air. My boyfriend’s parents came down for the awards, too.
Mom-in-law was kind of excited to see several members of Chanticleer a few
seats away.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well, my category finally came up and, ala,s my GRAMMY went to
“Martin Scorsese’s THE BLUES,” which I suspected it would. After my loss at the
pre-show we headed over to the Staples Center in Los Angeles to attend the
telecast part of the GRAMMYs. After the telecast we went to the big GRAMMY party
at the Beverly Wilshire, ate lots, drank lots, picked up our “goody-bags,” and
it was over.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I really do wish I’d won. I REALLY want one of those little
phonograph-shaped awards! Some day!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><a href="http://www.shop.hungrytigerpress.com/Vintage-Recordings-from-the-1903-WIZARD-OF-OZ-htp-cd-1903.htm" target="_blank">Click here</a> to order:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.shop.hungrytigerpress.com/Vintage-Recordings-from-the-1903-WIZARD-OF-OZ-htp-cd-1903.htm" target="_blank"><b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Vintage Recordings from the 1903 Broadway Musical THE WIZARD OF OZ</span></b></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHqQ6iWRISza8A_tvdMDx-SOKpjNm2edTxQhenr4XV-QtuAhUgajDJmdbmnOz9pEvwdQpjYqVooYS6JDuwUdNtuoSAx8C5dA4Af-t2yYRDZsOuRT1aVHbxtfjcUumo3tFLmq07jGOfzoa9/s1600/grammy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHqQ6iWRISza8A_tvdMDx-SOKpjNm2edTxQhenr4XV-QtuAhUgajDJmdbmnOz9pEvwdQpjYqVooYS6JDuwUdNtuoSAx8C5dA4Af-t2yYRDZsOuRT1aVHbxtfjcUumo3tFLmq07jGOfzoa9/s400/grammy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b> </div>
David Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12672089188117065118noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930190065426288711.post-50996235797309612652016-01-26T03:43:00.002-08:002016-01-26T03:49:31.089-08:00Good-bye, Yellow Brick RoadFor more than four years now Emerald City Radio has been bringing you Oz music twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.<br />
<br />
But no more.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQqPkP9LaiVVxJxXPK_y_T1CG-Xs_9NDQEN82D4-y00KI53DkiL0ITby08TEbGHKUym34mT3WxxEBNGCo6BErGM7CFAVTuw7RIVc49pg8CcojW5ublXZMpUr8NaufurmBOaUwiZSw1WooO/s1600/ECR_logo_green.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQqPkP9LaiVVxJxXPK_y_T1CG-Xs_9NDQEN82D4-y00KI53DkiL0ITby08TEbGHKUym34mT3WxxEBNGCo6BErGM7CFAVTuw7RIVc49pg8CcojW5ublXZMpUr8NaufurmBOaUwiZSw1WooO/s400/ECR_logo_green.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>How the story of Emerald City Radio came to an end: </b></div>
<br />
Live365, the internet radio website that hosts Emerald City Radio and hundreds of other internet radio stations of all varieties, is being forced to shut down at the end of January 2016.<br />
<br />
The broadcasters that Live365 hosts are largely not radio professionals. They tend to be people who simply want to share their taste in music with the world. For awhile the internet made that possible at a reasonable cost. Each broadcaster pays a small yearly fee to Live365 for the ability to broadcast their chosen programming. Live365 in turn tracks and pays royalties for all proprietary music broadcast by the hundreds of stations they host.<br />
<br />
At the end of 2015 provisions for small webcasting were not renewed by the US Copyright Royalty Board. These provisions had allowed small to mid-sized internet broadcasters to pay lower royalty rates. As of 2016 these rates have increased to such an extent that most of these broadcasters will find them prohibitively expensive.<br />
<br />
As a result, Live365 will cease broadcasting at the end of January 2016. Unless an alternative presents itself, the majority of the stations that Live365 brought to the world will cease to exist.<br />
<br />
Including Emerald City Radio.<br />
<br />
So if you want to get your fill of the widest variety of Oz music on the internet, you have a few days remaining to tune in. It's free and easy to listen to Emerald City Radio on Live365. Just go to the Live365 website and register your account for free. <a href="http://www.live365.com/index.live?curl=http://www.live365.com/web/components/top/loginpage.live" target="_blank">Here's the link. </a>Click the magnifiying glass on the upper right of the Live365 home page, search for Emerald City Radio (or any other genre of music you're interested in), and start listening. But hurry, you have less than a week left.<br />
<br />
It's been an enjoyable four years collecting and broadcasting Oz music from the sublime to the ridiculous, conducting radio interviews, and figuring out how long a playlist we could fit into the space Live365 allotted to Emerald City Radio (more than fourteen hours!). If you've been a listener, thank you. We hope you've enjoyed it.<br />
<br />
Farewell.David Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12672089188117065118noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930190065426288711.post-43927414433737395242016-01-18T01:24:00.000-08:002016-01-18T16:39:53.845-08:00The Boy in the Robot Suit<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhynY2W7hYQGzWDNlF7CN9Ken_hWXgm8zm2Nes4MUSdsFwPZoH2rjLnmjlum8_1OzE9be_3FrQLpsqg5PvOaJpfHab6ljXrl1zbhLRfEUdXnjCtcWhRH4kNlyyE8ZoQ7fpVxJr4TguvnNmD/s1600/sundin_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhynY2W7hYQGzWDNlF7CN9Ken_hWXgm8zm2Nes4MUSdsFwPZoH2rjLnmjlum8_1OzE9be_3FrQLpsqg5PvOaJpfHab6ljXrl1zbhLRfEUdXnjCtcWhRH4kNlyyE8ZoQ7fpVxJr4TguvnNmD/s400/sundin_2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Well, here's a treat! I had known for many years that the performer inside Tik-Tok in Disney's <b>Return to Oz</b> was an adorably cute guy named Michael Sundin. I also knew that Michael died of AIDS in 1989. He was only twenty-eight.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghIHhasrZ6TSrti6TVTyF90GFhEc-FLv9fzLf3Mq30bt0cRwd-C5vVXFZtLEPMz7cG7GkItY3ue9dffkpjnOE1gkxhDQt_lQiRlBrPvhW8foyhLtVx4FG1-JkSYefovA9EWCn5nPjOGrbu/s1600/sundin_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghIHhasrZ6TSrti6TVTyF90GFhEc-FLv9fzLf3Mq30bt0cRwd-C5vVXFZtLEPMz7cG7GkItY3ue9dffkpjnOE1gkxhDQt_lQiRlBrPvhW8foyhLtVx4FG1-JkSYefovA9EWCn5nPjOGrbu/s400/sundin_1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
It was quite a job being strapped into the Tik-Tok costume. Sundin had to fold himself in half, curled up inside Tik-Tok's spherical body. He then had to walk backwards to make Tik-Tok move forward. Sundin's only view of where he was going was a small video monitor.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvIucqx5g325ARvijX-noXTJW43G7ZP7ZBzL_udMcYaD2UqDPAhQxINermQHn9SYVHdEu-J277ZF_zqyxSkiLjkK1nMYCX-EHoL0QNqbantfjX7ZwuoM-uv1n_cVane24AfRgahUuOwdCi/s1600/Sundin_rto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvIucqx5g325ARvijX-noXTJW43G7ZP7ZBzL_udMcYaD2UqDPAhQxINermQHn9SYVHdEu-J277ZF_zqyxSkiLjkK1nMYCX-EHoL0QNqbantfjX7ZwuoM-uv1n_cVane24AfRgahUuOwdCi/s400/Sundin_rto.jpg" width="328" /></a></div>
<br />
I had later discovered that Michael Sundin was also connected with a BBC children's television show called <b>Blue Peter</b>. This info has been rattling around in my brain for years and I had never thought to look up the show online . . . until now! And what a nice few treats I found!<br />
<br />
First up is an episode of <b>Blue Peter</b> from 1985. And what do you know, it's an Oz episode! Sundin, delightfully cute in a Christmas sweater and yellow slacks, introduces a group of seven kids who have put together a <b>Wizard of Oz </b>dance - performed to the Meco disco album! After the dance Sundin talks to them about their costumes and tells a bit about his time on <b>Return to Oz</b>. Followed by a segment on the cut "Jitterbug" number from the MGM film, complete with Harold Arlen's 1939 home movies. Have a look!<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pSoWAux6IHQ" width="480"></iframe><br /></div>
<br />
And I can't resist sharing one more sample. Michael Sundin's <b>Blue Peter</b> interview with Elton John. Michael begins the interview climbing out of Elton John's swimming pool wearing a Speedo! What more need be said!<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zO7KuDAn6Hc" width="480"></iframe></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<br />David Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12672089188117065118noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930190065426288711.post-59057890976933245692016-01-08T16:15:00.000-08:002016-01-08T17:11:23.098-08:00The Wicked Witch does Sondheim<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
I always find it interesting when my various passions intersect. Such things always pack a little extra fun or satisfaction, despite the difficulties in deciding <i>which </i>collection the thing goes into. The latest cross-pollination is between my Oz collection and my Stephen Sondheim collection.<br />
<br />
I have been a Sondheim fan since my early teens. My first exposure to Sondheim was the 1977 film version of <b>A Little Night Music</b>. It is a flawed film, but no where near as awful as legend states. Anyway back to today's blog - I just got a copy of the lovely souvenir program from the National tour of the original Broadway production of the show.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimZXRNU2G9PhaycpuKqP2o6qb0EnixP08zqVqgUmCYfqAYhxgofZCYa8NFbET4pvam19WBpjGs2f90WnQVYbkRmJie89NJsElXkHsn3QF2oP1ZyXN95NEsUSArKPbmt-shgYdz-osJ8z3d/s1600/hamilton_prog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimZXRNU2G9PhaycpuKqP2o6qb0EnixP08zqVqgUmCYfqAYhxgofZCYa8NFbET4pvam19WBpjGs2f90WnQVYbkRmJie89NJsElXkHsn3QF2oP1ZyXN95NEsUSArKPbmt-shgYdz-osJ8z3d/s400/hamilton_prog.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>A Little Night Music</b> Souvenir program featuring Boris Aronson's set design.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The handsome program is large and packed with photographs. The Oz connection is that Margaret Hamilton played Madame Armfeldt. It was her final stage role. The tour began February 26, 1974 in Philadelphia and closed February 15, 1975 in Boston.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsSOTtPRXtwWjFXe2OfPIhnTctlLSe9WVkpvkenllvOcTiYIiepQZHer11lXy5eQZBU7pJ2V_Ze4ExUsthyphenhyphentUYmQ8nkqbd6hYwR3kwU-8620Y6R1xee7oq6Ogq6Fyj_QdQ9wrKuEsVL7AL/s1600/hamilton_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsSOTtPRXtwWjFXe2OfPIhnTctlLSe9WVkpvkenllvOcTiYIiepQZHer11lXy5eQZBU7pJ2V_Ze4ExUsthyphenhyphentUYmQ8nkqbd6hYwR3kwU-8620Y6R1xee7oq6Ogq6Fyj_QdQ9wrKuEsVL7AL/s320/hamilton_3.jpg" width="237" /></a></div>
Incidentally, Hamilton was performing in the tour of <b>Night Music </b>in Los Angeles when she was interviewed by Aljean Harmetz for <b>The Making of The Wizard of Oz</b> (1977).<br />
<br />
Madame Armfeldt is an aged demimondaine, a high-end courtesan, (now retired). If you've seen the film <b>Gigi</b>, it was the "occupation" Gigi was being groomed for: a cultured, educated, and lovely woman who would be "kept" in style by an upper-class gentleman - for,. uhm . . . "favors."<br />
<br />
I'm not going to go into the whole plot of <b>A Little Night Music</b>, but you sort of need to know at least <i>that much</i> to understand the song Hamilton sings in the sound clip below.<br />
<br />
This is Margaret Hamilton's solo in the show, a song called "Liaisons," in which she recounts her triumphs and losses in love and luxury - and the seeming decline of style, culture, and civilization.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5o6xFJB0JrY?rel=0" width="480"></iframe><br /></div>
<br />
On the one hand, Margaret Hamilton may seem an odd choice for a musical. She does not have a beautiful voice. And in this song she shifts between speaking and singing. But it's a great performance nonetheless. Hamilton did play in at at least two other musicals over the years: as Aunt Eller in <b>Oklahoma!</b> and as Parthy Ann Hawks in <b>Showboat</b> - neither big singing parts.<br />
<br />
Below are a few more photos of Hamilton in <b>A Little Night Music</b>. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSSjZuqvZUGGIhkevQtEib6zrRcywg8aGWXbuoB4RCn6mEkNIYVmdAYHzoYkYNdJK1V-VlW0wW0zFAjYpcczqfaZHojmaGWuw8scxdDF7j7zDlR-t_KriOc9Z8Iu8W1zWRiRpkuYQEyDde/s1600/hamilton_4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSSjZuqvZUGGIhkevQtEib6zrRcywg8aGWXbuoB4RCn6mEkNIYVmdAYHzoYkYNdJK1V-VlW0wW0zFAjYpcczqfaZHojmaGWuw8scxdDF7j7zDlR-t_KriOc9Z8Iu8W1zWRiRpkuYQEyDde/s400/hamilton_4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiqRHJDYVaT2qN9fAuFqe2bwxbTrZ4pItv9puL-ztVD-PL65KfaOphs8aWA5swMDws-xtVZpNcELBkIKRIDDAkNzAMvpnmVlnyVSEwgHYTv-EBkeBeRDgNCJdqOzL1uwR-_8xnPqw3fS6x/s1600/hamilton_5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiqRHJDYVaT2qN9fAuFqe2bwxbTrZ4pItv9puL-ztVD-PL65KfaOphs8aWA5swMDws-xtVZpNcELBkIKRIDDAkNzAMvpnmVlnyVSEwgHYTv-EBkeBeRDgNCJdqOzL1uwR-_8xnPqw3fS6x/s400/hamilton_5.jpg" width="383" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPTzE8RTECgb9wJaC2iYll_7GoOT6s34p_MONS7h1N_ykf-XFbmz-mIgGL8NDZF7GhoP-NyiTwQ8HBmKkhdUi3jBFfwmcySPlXFB4iqFrJFV4YiHqdItOHomncSii2fL98TCrSswiZ8F6y/s1600/hamilton_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPTzE8RTECgb9wJaC2iYll_7GoOT6s34p_MONS7h1N_ykf-XFbmz-mIgGL8NDZF7GhoP-NyiTwQ8HBmKkhdUi3jBFfwmcySPlXFB4iqFrJFV4YiHqdItOHomncSii2fL98TCrSswiZ8F6y/s640/hamilton_2.jpg" width="340" /></a></div>
David Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12672089188117065118noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930190065426288711.post-56126259277448788942015-12-22T14:16:00.004-08:002015-12-23T00:26:04.814-08:00Christmas Cards - Have a Cool Yule!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY2n-parWZBc5sX11-7M0mwO43MJBG-pwp66DENV7ouDwvNk5nb_Thve8pz_nNOrtjZLtJ17Ao_6zE2xYxIv92JV_71K64usxA1OvJDVKSCEV2OrC-KhBVbXJf_7s1OUOS075GJ0hCb1q7/s1600/card_cat_front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY2n-parWZBc5sX11-7M0mwO43MJBG-pwp66DENV7ouDwvNk5nb_Thve8pz_nNOrtjZLtJ17Ao_6zE2xYxIv92JV_71K64usxA1OvJDVKSCEV2OrC-KhBVbXJf_7s1OUOS075GJ0hCb1q7/s400/card_cat_front.jpg" width="212" /></a>I've previously blogged about several examples of holiday cards drawn by the creators of the Oz series. Eloise Jarvis McGraw was known to engrave wood-blocks to print her own Holiday cards (<a href="http://hungrytigerpress.blogspot.com/2010/12/christmas-cliches.html" target="_blank">click here</a>). And Eric Shanower drew his own Christmas cards for many years.<a href="http://hungrytigerpress.blogspot.com/2010/12/merry-christmas.html" target="_blank"> Here's one of my favorites </a>featuring Percy the Personality Kid. Bill Campbell of the<a href="http://theozenthusiast.blogspot.com/2015/12/merry-christmas-from-neill-family.html" target="_blank"><b> Oz Collector</b></a> blog recently shared a great collection of<a href="http://theozenthusiast.blogspot.com/2015/12/merry-christmas-from-neill-family.html" target="_blank"> John R. Neill's personal Christmas greetings</a>.<br />
<br />
Here is a Christmas card drawn by Oz illustrator Dick Martin. It is a commercially produced card designed by Martin in the mid-1950s. Dick created dozens of different greeting cards back then. Many delighted in '50s kitsch, such as this trumpet playing cat lounging in a bowl chair. The front of the card gives little indication this is, in fact, a Christmas card. But as you'll see from the inner spread, it is!<br />
<br />
As this cat says, "Have a cool Yule . . . and a real crazy new Year!"<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9-v4Sln39OeMgBtU4XTzoYQyxBl75EGE4nzdHhB_E0dFjHppZNDCoXlTU6v-rQE-kj_D3wHA1c5NhiHp-x5eOHnpF3ZITkIKb1RJ1mkAWAhAJVf_yvYNIVxkGNpX6wxsaSy9B6QPYwAR1/s1600/card_cat_interior.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9-v4Sln39OeMgBtU4XTzoYQyxBl75EGE4nzdHhB_E0dFjHppZNDCoXlTU6v-rQE-kj_D3wHA1c5NhiHp-x5eOHnpF3ZITkIKb1RJ1mkAWAhAJVf_yvYNIVxkGNpX6wxsaSy9B6QPYwAR1/s400/card_cat_interior.jpg" width="398" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
David Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12672089188117065118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930190065426288711.post-78534190395638287132015-12-20T13:53:00.000-08:002015-12-23T10:53:36.075-08:00Cheese!In 1980 I won the Munchkin Convention's Oz quiz. The quiz had been prepared by John Bell. Both of us were in our mid-teens. This was the first time I won a convention quiz and I was eagerly looking forward to the glory that came attached to such a win. And I had much anticipation for the Ozzy prize that was sure to come with it.<br />
<br />
At my first Oz convention a few years earlier, the quiz prize had been a first edition of <b>The Giant Horse of Oz</b>, and I had gotten it into my head that quiz prizes should be substantive. Well, my prize for winning the Munchkin Quiz was a small cheese board, hand-made by John Bell himself. In all likelihood it had been made in John's high school "wood shop" class. It came with this "Certificate of Authenticity."<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik56TrW1rcTfWJAFEAM_UQawKJ2sAqQJVhMGct9TuLr787zER9IstfO44vUJP0ToZO661lamZJeLX2dJzR6bqF67OowM6xAJmrKtMmniQa43SkUNaxCYZNGhJ7W3D2-AvKum60c7_CSibV/s1600/cheese_award.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik56TrW1rcTfWJAFEAM_UQawKJ2sAqQJVhMGct9TuLr787zER9IstfO44vUJP0ToZO661lamZJeLX2dJzR6bqF67OowM6xAJmrKtMmniQa43SkUNaxCYZNGhJ7W3D2-AvKum60c7_CSibV/s400/cheese_award.jpg" width="315" /></a></div>
<br />
At the time, I was a bit disappointed in the little cheese board. Perhaps, John, too, thought it was a trifle too little as he augmented the cheese board with an inexpensive Whitman edition of <b>The Wizard of Oz, </b>which he had autographed by Margaret Hamilton, who was the special guest of the Munchkin Convention.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX2pV4jNIabDyeS8emMKLmtY_5Ru1FKInxxr86t1E92eH2NXcMkXn8gegvnXEWa9x1yE88-MondduZnwA_OhPzEkVATBnUIIuTG4Gb886GG2_e_B4jsGSQilY8kUaR6uFg9V1PEVCQXLuX/s1600/cheese_sig.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="123" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX2pV4jNIabDyeS8emMKLmtY_5Ru1FKInxxr86t1E92eH2NXcMkXn8gegvnXEWa9x1yE88-MondduZnwA_OhPzEkVATBnUIIuTG4Gb886GG2_e_B4jsGSQilY8kUaR6uFg9V1PEVCQXLuX/s400/cheese_sig.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Margaret Hamilton's "Congratulations!" on winning the quiz.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Now, in hindsight a copy of <b>The Wizard of Oz </b>signed by the Wicked Witch of the West sounds very nice, but at the time she was in the same room with me and I'd just had lunch with her and had her sign several other books I'd brought with me.<br />
<br />
But over the years this once disappointingly cheesy prize has come to mean much more to me than some book or Ozian collectible would have. John and I are still friends and blogging colleagues. (John writes the <a href="http://ozandends.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Oz and Ends </a>blog as well as the American Revolution blog <a href="http://boston1775.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Boston 1775</a>.) And now, thirty-five years later, I really enjoy knowing that John made that stupid little cheese board for me back when we were both teenagers. And you know, for decades now it's actually been really useful for serving cheese!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWasUHS8PMYkOj29MoEMoy2-GeVlJOGADeRjSPnTjugOUIhDcl7JTb36guUVf3m9QlGG2EFG4eRowALW9sRkVeVcGspReU_LvTnKx2dZ_2MD31oP0uLPFKh9qLsAHdwEmIv5BEhiJfOxH8/s1600/IMG_1367.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWasUHS8PMYkOj29MoEMoy2-GeVlJOGADeRjSPnTjugOUIhDcl7JTb36guUVf3m9QlGG2EFG4eRowALW9sRkVeVcGspReU_LvTnKx2dZ_2MD31oP0uLPFKh9qLsAHdwEmIv5BEhiJfOxH8/s400/IMG_1367.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
[Update] You can read John's version of the story by <a href="http://ozandends.blogspot.com/2015/12/slice-of-life.html" target="_blank">clicking here</a>!<br />
<br />David Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12672089188117065118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930190065426288711.post-31865191550470947692015-12-18T00:19:00.002-08:002015-12-19T12:46:58.086-08:00Blog 500! Happy Holidays!Well, this is my 500th blog post here. For those that are curious about such things <b>Hungry Tiger Talk </b>has had 239,939 page views and received 1211 comments. To celebrate here is a charming Christmas advertisement from the <b>Indianapolis Journal</b>, December 15, 1902.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLA-E5qZEIqxEHorXZUMCA7Aop4V3nj2N4s3XuHQ_eFy5lKydaWd4kukhe6BcROr3OVwtLdecJ09-C8777OZrc9ZlHmLEysthfWo0lpCN1VfBLCkjxl9n-AxwpJ-kd8tYHqRDzi8SAVGlg/s1600/500_newspaper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLA-E5qZEIqxEHorXZUMCA7Aop4V3nj2N4s3XuHQ_eFy5lKydaWd4kukhe6BcROr3OVwtLdecJ09-C8777OZrc9ZlHmLEysthfWo0lpCN1VfBLCkjxl9n-AxwpJ-kd8tYHqRDzi8SAVGlg/s640/500_newspaper.jpg" width="468" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click to enlarge.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
This fine advertisement of good books for the holidays back in 1902 promotes two of L. Frank Baum's titles, describing <b>The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus </b>as "a book for which all the little ones have been waiting for generations and generations." The page also advertises Baum's <b>The Master Key</b> saying, "Never was a better story written for boys . . . This prince of story tellers has related a story of adventure so filled with wonders that rare will be the boy who does not find it fascinating."And while<b> Life and Adventures</b> is shown on the Christmas tree above three times, <b>The Master Key</b> isn't shown at all. If you click on the image above you can explore the image in detail. <br />
<br />
We have another holiday treat for you over on our sister blog <a href="http://hungrytigertales.blogspot.com/2015/12/christmas-with-prince.html" target="_blank">Hungry Tiger Tales</a>, where we present <a href="http://hungrytigertales.blogspot.com/2015/12/christmas-with-prince.html" target="_blank"><b>Christmas with the Prince</b></a>, a Pumperdink story by Ruth Plumly Thompson first published in the Philadelphia <b>Public Ledger</b>, December 21, 1919. Another fun read on the blog is Jack Snow's holiday story, <a href="http://hungrytigertales.blogspot.com/2001/12/the-animals-christmas-tree.html" target="_blank"><b>The Animal's Christmas Tree</b></a> which you can read by <a href="http://hungrytigertales.blogspot.com/2001/12/the-animals-christmas-tree.html" target="_blank"><i>clicking here</i></a>.<br />
<br />
And finally, go check out our internet radio station, <a href="http://www.live365.com/stations/hungrytigerpress?play=1" target="_blank"><b>Emerald City Radio</b></a> which has been nicely spiced up with some Ozzy Christmas listening including a selection of Christmas carols sung by Stephanie Mills, "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" sung by Judy Garland, and "Toyland" which was first sung by Bessie Wynn in Victor Herbert's <b>Babes in Toyland</b>. Bessie, of course, created the part of Sir Dashemoff Daily in the 1903 <b>Wizard of Oz </b>just before she created the part of TomTom in <b>Babes in Toyland</b>.<i><b> </b></i><a href="http://www.live365.com/stations/hungrytigerpress?play=1" target="_blank"><i><b>Click here to listen </b></i></a><i><b> </b></i>or simply click the "play" arrow in the <a href="http://www.live365.com/stations/hungrytigerpress?play=1" target="_blank"><b>Emerald City Radio</b> </a>window at the top of the right hand column in this blog.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQqPkP9LaiVVxJxXPK_y_T1CG-Xs_9NDQEN82D4-y00KI53DkiL0ITby08TEbGHKUym34mT3WxxEBNGCo6BErGM7CFAVTuw7RIVc49pg8CcojW5ublXZMpUr8NaufurmBOaUwiZSw1WooO/s1600/ECR_logo_green.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQqPkP9LaiVVxJxXPK_y_T1CG-Xs_9NDQEN82D4-y00KI53DkiL0ITby08TEbGHKUym34mT3WxxEBNGCo6BErGM7CFAVTuw7RIVc49pg8CcojW5ublXZMpUr8NaufurmBOaUwiZSw1WooO/s400/ECR_logo_green.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
This blog has been a lot of fun to wrote over the past five years, and I am glad to be posting regularly again. Several blog sequences have proved to be very popular, such as <a href="http://hungrytigerpress.blogspot.com/2012/03/map-of-oz-monday-fairylogue-map.html" target="_blank">Map of Oz Monday</a>, <a href="http://hungrytigerpress.blogspot.com/2011/11/white-edition-wednesday.html" target="_blank">White Edition Wednesday</a>, and the amusingly critical reviews of the preposterous <a href="http://hungrytigerpress.blogspot.com/2011/08/those-bradford-books.html" target="_blank">Bradford Exchange</a> reprints of the Baum Oz books. And there's lots of other cool stuff in these 500 various posts - go explore for a bit!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.shop.hungrytigerpress.com/main.sc" target="_blank"><i><b>Happy Holidays from Hungry Tiger Press! </b></i></a><br />
<br />David Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12672089188117065118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930190065426288711.post-91885225422707003192015-12-12T22:56:00.002-08:002015-12-13T00:57:08.828-08:00Christmas Snow!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVwKEEAoRuGf4HSf9agZP9vV4p2uL5PaFI_owX5_hTlJhcddWRArE65ASeNbyM9U_DgZ9NGCSYjkyYvV6bUAJLPgLpenDG5VVlR3xkmK3yKvKKk8ct1Eu1ZOdI0URLuXfL78Id13tzPm0o/s1600/snow_logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVwKEEAoRuGf4HSf9agZP9vV4p2uL5PaFI_owX5_hTlJhcddWRArE65ASeNbyM9U_DgZ9NGCSYjkyYvV6bUAJLPgLpenDG5VVlR3xkmK3yKvKKk8ct1Eu1ZOdI0URLuXfL78Id13tzPm0o/s400/snow_logo.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
I think maybe it's time for a holiday-oriented blog post!<br />
<br />
Back in the late 1920s Jack Snow wrote a weekly radio column called "Cruising the Air Channels" for the <b>Piqua Daily Call</b> in Piqua, Ohio. Incidentally, for years I mispronounced the name of this small Ohio town. It's actually pronounced "Pick-way."<br />
<br />
Below you will find excerpts from two different columns, both from December 1928. I'm not quite sure why Snow found this issue of multiple Santa's on the air waves so troublesome. To me, it seems no more problematic than the usual logic issues of how Santa gets to all the various houses to deliver all those toys from one sleigh in one night.<br />
<br />
But it's still fun to read about the relatively young medium of radio, and Snow mentions "nomes" and uses Baum's spelling. So get ready to lock down your radio tuner and enjoy some Christmas Snow!<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="text-align: center;">
December 17th 1928<br />
<b>SANTA AGAIN</b></div>
<br />
This is the season of the year when every radio studio has its Santa Claus. Actually if you want to preserve the illusion of the bewhiskered Saint for your small son or daughter, the only thing to do is to pick a strong station and lock the controls of the set. For if the youngster starts hunting Santa of his own accord, he will discover the air to be thickly beset by the benevolent old gentleman. The child will make the alarming discovery that Santa can hop from Pittsburgh to Cincinnati and to St. Louis and and back again as fast as he can turn the dial. Apparently Santa is possessed of a tenor voice in St. Louis, a bass tone in Cincinnati, and a mellow baritone in Pittsburgh. This state of affairs is confusing to say the least, and has been known to elicit some embarrassing questions that parents are not always capable of answering.<br />
<br />
All the Santas are jolly and beneficent so there is not really much choice. The thing to do, therefore, is to pick the strongest station and then stand guard over the controls of the set while the young hope is absorbing the Christmas spirit. Otherwise the radio as a means of child education is going to prove just a trifle too successful.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
December 24, 1928<br />
<b>Illusions Lost</b></div>
<br />
Our worst fears are realized. Either the whole Santa Claus story is a gigantic hoax, or Santa himself is a deceiver of the worst sort. How, are we anxious to learn, aided by even the swiftest airplane can Santa be in Detroit, Philadelphia, New York, and Cincinnati as fast as we turn the single dial of our set?<br />
<br />
And oh, the companions and merry little helpers of Santa, their member is legion. There are nomes, elves, princesses, fairies and all manner of what nots that roam through the pages of the charming child books. The main difficulty, however, in all this pleasant phantasia to entertain the younger members of the radio audience is the lack of consistency. Even in fairy tales, and imaginative stories, the author must be believed - he must be consistent. but not so your bland studio director, he asininely bites off several more hunks than he can choose, and proceeds to lose seven-eights of the illusion that the microphone, more happily handled, might create. Here again, we have a crying need for competent radio dramatists.</blockquote>
<br />
Now, why not head over to our sister blog <a href="http://hungrytigertales.blogspot.com/2001/12/the-animals-christmas-tree.html" target="_blank">Hungry Tiger Tales</a> and read Jack Snow's <a href="http://hungrytigertales.blogspot.com/2001/12/the-animals-christmas-tree.html" target="_blank"><b>The Animals' Christmas Tree</b></a>. <br />
<br />David Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12672089188117065118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930190065426288711.post-69687898788003441172015-12-11T00:01:00.000-08:002015-12-13T00:57:34.754-08:00Happy Birthday, Rachel!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBEEqRtZc_68doL1Fs9fBkk8NJESFX_WA9T_kjAz_qVXHqc1dbe202XrTwPhQ2mCzvi9UmkC3LVcR_hU2Y7gzsfiLJDj_5n1GwNnbSSN31UN0sICpNS_byfxkHVX2F6lwya254zriklJGu/s1600/cosgrove.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBEEqRtZc_68doL1Fs9fBkk8NJESFX_WA9T_kjAz_qVXHqc1dbe202XrTwPhQ2mCzvi9UmkC3LVcR_hU2Y7gzsfiLJDj_5n1GwNnbSSN31UN0sICpNS_byfxkHVX2F6lwya254zriklJGu/s400/cosgrove.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Edward Einhorn, Eric Shanower, Rachel Cosgrove Payes, & David Maxine.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Today would have been Rachel Cosgrove Payes's 93rd Birthday. She is, of course, the author of <b>Hidden Valley of Oz</b> (1951). I began corresponding with her in the late 1970s, and we finally met for a visit in 1985. But in the early 1990's Rachel became a much bigger part of Eric Shanower's and my lives. Eric had begun work illustrating Rachel's second Oz book <b>The Wicked Witch of Oz </b>(1993), and she began attending the Munchkin Conventions on the east coast. Soon after <b>Wicked Witch</b> came out Eric and I moved to New Jersey and I began Hungry Tiger Press. I asked Rachel for a new Oz story for the premiere issue of <b>Oz-Story Magazine </b>and she wrote one for me!<br />
<br />
Eric and I had <b>Oz-story</b> publication parties and Rachel and her husband Norman would attend, always bringing a bottle of wine, maybe some cookies, and usually Rachel would make us an elaborate greeting card. She also gave us a "Statue of David" refrigerator magnet that still adorns our fridge. The photo at the top of this blog post is from the <b>Oz-Story No. 3</b> Party in 1997.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0JaY1EHHFDoYxkmgpXIdxnJbtKnrxoajr-BFO4ILplyc4V87ePfWAC_CZAO6F2F7hAHJ8PkOEtzdpSUNqVcKY-BzwhgnpSw8MuzCOsvu-PmNONz3jvtcWGYv0AuUZTnA0MFxXTOtG-AKA/s1600/cosgrove_19_portrait.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0JaY1EHHFDoYxkmgpXIdxnJbtKnrxoajr-BFO4ILplyc4V87ePfWAC_CZAO6F2F7hAHJ8PkOEtzdpSUNqVcKY-BzwhgnpSw8MuzCOsvu-PmNONz3jvtcWGYv0AuUZTnA0MFxXTOtG-AKA/s320/cosgrove_19_portrait.jpg" width="262" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rachel R. Cosgrove - 1942</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In thinking about what I might share with you on Rachel's special day, I realized I had never seen a youthful picture of Rachel, so I hit up my genealogical resources and located a few. Here she is at nineteen, in the 1942 West Virginia Wesleyan College yearbook (she graduated in 1943).<br />
<br />
I recognized Rachel immediately without having to go to the name index on the photo spread. She has the same wonderfully friendly but very determined look I so well remember her for.<br />
<br />
There were a few other images in the yearbook, too. I especially like the image below showing Rachel relaxing on the campus lawn. The photo, presented in the fore-matter of the year book, is captioned: "And Rachel finally gets some E's . . ." Alas, I have no idea at all what that means! <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiCq6Tz_wfttuDnxMw7h7s25j6iDPcno0QhnEUUZYMYl8AVc41LQ37iLzbbqfAcTat7WuB-AHSLL1qFWLxwwRujd2_TsIgH6xlgNso72apHBt4ch2D1vss18CQY02ZjqqfpZ6D9Pd81pZu/s1600/cosgrove_19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiCq6Tz_wfttuDnxMw7h7s25j6iDPcno0QhnEUUZYMYl8AVc41LQ37iLzbbqfAcTat7WuB-AHSLL1qFWLxwwRujd2_TsIgH6xlgNso72apHBt4ch2D1vss18CQY02ZjqqfpZ6D9Pd81pZu/s400/cosgrove_19.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rachel R. Cosgrove at West Virginia Wesleyan College, 1942.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
She can also be seen in the Sigma Alpha Sigma photo. Rachel is in the upper left.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhthGTtcBZczytsM59nx5kggPtg1sLeqI9IGfCga2WPFTMGueDHXI-i5AXJAi0HVtz2dFU3KHllNjlR3pNjHfaM1RgrCy3CAiuoIPk2A1nrMgjiOY8fPEqHkcJU1K5da_wG5iFZohfoWWCi/s1600/cosgrove_sigmaalphasigma.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhthGTtcBZczytsM59nx5kggPtg1sLeqI9IGfCga2WPFTMGueDHXI-i5AXJAi0HVtz2dFU3KHllNjlR3pNjHfaM1RgrCy3CAiuoIPk2A1nrMgjiOY8fPEqHkcJU1K5da_wG5iFZohfoWWCi/s400/cosgrove_sigmaalphasigma.jpg" width="347" /></a></div>
<br />
Rachel died October 10, 1998. She was only seventy-five.<br />
<br />
You can read quite a few other blog posts about Rachel and her books by<a href="http://hungrytigerpress.blogspot.com/search?q=+cosgrove" target="_blank"> clicking here</a>.<br />
<br />
Happy birthday, Kiddo!<br />
<br />David Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12672089188117065118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930190065426288711.post-13081669889663033902015-12-09T00:08:00.003-08:002015-12-14T14:24:24.429-08:00Eloise Jarvis McGraw - Happy 100th!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOR3UxR0pZw0bViX6Y0y85URDGsC3LLhtrWM1XGTw0SPgnGtvTwd5IlRWdbPTikQLwVUt7ZFk7M45nOBFSO9E44AK8n65QVnFBQnaNuFwIS5GNwME3LIyT1J4_oT9NqHS3N0eRzHrHFdUV/s1600/eloise_davidbasket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOR3UxR0pZw0bViX6Y0y85URDGsC3LLhtrWM1XGTw0SPgnGtvTwd5IlRWdbPTikQLwVUt7ZFk7M45nOBFSO9E44AK8n65QVnFBQnaNuFwIS5GNwME3LIyT1J4_oT9NqHS3N0eRzHrHFdUV/s400/eloise_davidbasket.jpg" width="390" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eloise McGraw and me picnicking on Mount Hood, Oregon, summer 1984.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Today would have been Eloise Jarvis McGraw's 100th birthday. Eloise was not only the author of three Oz books,<b> Merry Go Round in Oz</b> (1963), <b>The Forbidden Fountain of Oz</b> (1980), and<a href="http://www.shop.hungrytigerpress.com/Rundelstone-of-Oz-p-rundel.htm" target="_blank"><b> The Rundelstone of Oz</b></a> (2001), but she was also a close friend and a very important part of my life in my teenage and young adult years. <a href="http://hungrytigerpress.blogspot.com/2011/10/picnic-with-royal-historian.html" target="_blank">Click here</a> for previous blog post. Indeed, I was privileged (and a little intimidated) to be the editor and publisher of<a href="http://www.shop.hungrytigerpress.com/Rundelstone-of-Oz-p-rundel.htm" target="_blank"> <b>Rundelstone,</b> </a>which turned out to be her final book. <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgjNpYQgUkpeakGJpVxXVwC32I76xCWa5L8H2AH10OlQJ44f4EbTNpVZ7VLSNgnmmHnJ_s6fLKRIBEG5XwMSrkHL3HiGHAVvfnNgrEP-EzKfadNWfWdWv7BwzRRk2g0PrUTkU3rp0RV_Zb/s1600/mcgraw_senior.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgjNpYQgUkpeakGJpVxXVwC32I76xCWa5L8H2AH10OlQJ44f4EbTNpVZ7VLSNgnmmHnJ_s6fLKRIBEG5XwMSrkHL3HiGHAVvfnNgrEP-EzKfadNWfWdWv7BwzRRk2g0PrUTkU3rp0RV_Zb/s320/mcgraw_senior.jpg" width="270" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eloise Alton Jarvis - senior portrait, 1932</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Eloise Alton Jarvis was born on December 9, 1915, in Houston, Texas. When she was five her family moved to Oklahoma City, where Eloise graduated from Classen High School in 1932. She was not only in the Honor Society, but won the Senior "Literary Award."<br />
<br />
She wrote the "Class Poem of 1932" for her senior yearbook, but she had also written a poem called "<a href="http://hungrytigertales.blogspot.com/2015/12/marsh-reeds.html" target="_blank">Marsh Reeds</a>" for the her junior yearbook when she was only fifteen years old. This is, I believe, McGraw's earliest published writing, and we are pleased to share it with you as a <a href="http://hungrytigertales.blogspot.com/2015/12/marsh-reeds.html" target="_blank"><b>Hungry Tiger Tale</b></a>. You can read it by <a href="http://hungrytigertales.blogspot.com/2015/12/marsh-reeds.html" target="_blank">clicking here</a>.<br />
<br />
Eloise Jarvis married William Corbin McGraw in January 1940. Her first children's book, <b>Sawdust in His Shoes, </b>was published in 1950. She went on to have a stellar career as an author of children's fiction. She wrote nineteen books for young people (three of which were Newbery Honor titles), as well as a book on fiction writing and <b>Pharaoh</b>, an adult novel set in ancient Egypt. <br />
<br />
On June 16, 1958, Eloise appeared on Willard Espy's radio show <b>Personalities in Print</b> to discuss her new adult novel <b>Pharaoh</b>, which had just been released by Coward McCann.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://hungrytigerpress.com/eloise_mcgraw_radio.mp3" target="_blank"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Click Here</span></i></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://hungrytigerpress.com/eloise_mcgraw_radio.mp3" target="_blank">to listen the this rare radio interview with</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://hungrytigerpress.com/eloise_mcgraw_radio.mp3" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Eloise Jarvis McGraw</span></a></div>
Happy birthday, Eloise!<br />
<br />
<hr />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilmRWV1LtcJoo_h7hyphenhyphenekLMk8roj8DNu8IWikc-HhPLi7NpstqNrJqoyH1spUrPOjpvdKcX4DfAbX_BFZSGJ2tn8pJchHir5IiBvdhxjP-wSWjpdtL1Yz1AOKC0nVCAD4cvk4UdmFejZ-_5/s1600/rundel_cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilmRWV1LtcJoo_h7hyphenhyphenekLMk8roj8DNu8IWikc-HhPLi7NpstqNrJqoyH1spUrPOjpvdKcX4DfAbX_BFZSGJ2tn8pJchHir5IiBvdhxjP-wSWjpdtL1Yz1AOKC0nVCAD4cvk4UdmFejZ-_5/s200/rundel_cover.jpg" width="136" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #674ea7;"><i>The Rundelstone of Oz</i></span></b></span><br />
<a href="http://www.shop.hungrytigerpress.com/Rundelstone-of-Oz-p-rundel.htm" target="_blank"><b>by Eloise McGraw</b></a><a href="http://www.shop.hungrytigerpress.com/Rundelstone-of-Oz-p-rundel.htm" target="_blank"><br /></a><br />
Cloth-bound hardcover, pictorial endpapers and dust jacket.<br />
Profusely illustrated by Eric Shanower<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica";">Join
the living marionette, Pocotristi Sostenuto -- better known as Poco --
on his desperate search for the magical Rundelstone in order to rescue
his fellow puppets from Slyddwynn, the sinister Whitherd of Whitheraway
Castle. Discover the hidden multi-colored Oz kingdom of Fyordi-Zik. And
how does all this concern one of Ozma's ladies-in-waiting? This
beautiful hardcover book is illustrated by Eric Shanower (with many NEW
illustrations!) and comes in a full-color dust jacket. This exciting
full-length Oz book by Newbery honoree Eloise Jarvis McGraw (author of <i>Merry Go Round in Oz</i>) will keep you thoroughly enchanted! </span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica";"><a href="http://www.shop.hungrytigerpress.com/Rundelstone-of-Oz-p-rundel.htm" target="_blank"><i><b>Click Here to Order! </b></i></a></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
</div>
David Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12672089188117065118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930190065426288711.post-55784737717568278292015-12-02T14:31:00.001-08:002015-12-04T22:56:40.218-08:00Merry Christmas from Gimbel Brothers!Happy Holidays! How'd you like to read a little-known chapter in Oz history? Well, it is presented below as written in a beautiful full-page ad for Gimbel Brothers' Department Store in the Philadelphia <b>Public Ledger</b>, November 12, 1920.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Well, well, Boys and Girls - the "secret's out" - Santa Claus rented, no borrowed, no, was given a great big part of the Land of Oz on which was the biggest cave you ever saw, and there he worked for three hundred days to make your Christmas toys. Then he said to the Wizard of OZ, "All's ready. Let's go," and the Wizard summoned Mombi, the Witch, who went to the Cave and sprinkles the "Powder of Life" over the toys, lifted her left hjand with its little finger pointed upward and mumbled: "Weaugh - Teaugh - Peaugh" and goodness me! those toys cried out: "We live - We live! - <i>We live!!</i><br />
<br />
Then the wizard waved his hat and all of the Land of OZ was swept through the air just like Dorothy and Zeb and the horse were, and down, down, down the people and toys fell. After three days and three night they came to the Gimbel Land of Toys and took possession - and are to stay 'till - Oh! I almost forgot, I promised the Wizard and Santa Claus not to tell.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>The Joy of the Land of OZ is Eternal Youth</b></div>
<br />
Everybody is young. Mombi has a new charm, the "Powder of Youth," which she uses on every old grouch she can find. Here ten is ten, and seventy years fall away from eighty just like the Wicked Witch melted away. We're all boys and girls together.<br />
<br />
And everybody's here - all your old friends - dear Jack Pumpkinhead, the brainy Scarecrow, the good-hearted Tin Woodman and Dorothy and the Wizard and Tip and Toto - oh, just everybody to welcome you, to walk with you, to play with you in this fairyful Land of OZ.<br />
<br />
I must tell you about Santa Claus and the Royal Ponies and the others - it's something like this -</blockquote>
<br />
There is a lot of other fun stuff to read in this great vintage advertisement. Click on the full-page image below and it will expand to an easily readable size. I am wondering if this <i>might</i> be the earliest Oz writing of Ruth Plumly Thompson. She was still writing her "Children's Page" the the <b>Public Ledger </b>so she was working at the paper when this ad appeared. The writer clearly knew the Oz books, despite a few inaccuracies in the ad copy. I am not sure if Thompson had signed her contract with Reilly & Lee yet either. If she <i>had</i> already signed on, I think it even more likely she might have written the ad copy.<br />
<br />
Despite my wishful thinking, I don't think it sounds particularly Thompson-like. But it's a fun and pretty spiffy ad! Look at the six little drawings above the six boxes in the middle of the page. They almost look like "give-away" pins!<br />
<br />
A few other things to notice: The ad lists and promotes <b>The Wizard of Oz </b>right along with the rest of the Oz series despite being available from different publishers. And the main drawing at the bottom of the page is adapted from the endpapers of <b>Glinda of Oz</b> which had only been published a few months earlier on July 10, 1920.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAXE623ZdLvSNyGTfGVg2RMqF-7z-R_POo2QLAtzoN8ltOq8PSakY1R6qZwWgG_WJgjQvt1EAMbYOG1wVP9rOUeIPo61Z89gJz_75k2-IQTElVWW7wi8NZrd4OGAue90a9YmxI_XHetqGJ/s1600/Oz_paper_small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAXE623ZdLvSNyGTfGVg2RMqF-7z-R_POo2QLAtzoN8ltOq8PSakY1R6qZwWgG_WJgjQvt1EAMbYOG1wVP9rOUeIPo61Z89gJz_75k2-IQTElVWW7wi8NZrd4OGAue90a9YmxI_XHetqGJ/s640/Oz_paper_small.jpg" width="504" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oz advertisement in the Philadelphia <i>Public Ledger</i>, November 12, 1920 - Click to enlarge.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
They sure don't write ad copy like they used to!<i> Happy Holidays!</i>David Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12672089188117065118noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930190065426288711.post-47902445201664496722015-11-29T19:52:00.001-08:002015-11-30T12:51:21.977-08:00Bjo Trimble in Oz!One of the best times I had in my tenure running Winkie Con/OzCon was the chance to become much better friends with John and Bjo Trimble. They were names I'd known since my early teen years when I was a burgeoning <b>Star Trek </b>fan. Back then I had no idea that the Trimbles were also Oz fans. But they were, and they even attended the Winkie Convention in its early years!<br />
<br />
I got the chance to meet them when they and Eric Shanower and I were all guests at Westercon 66. Soon after that great weekend, I invited them to be special guests at Winkie Con 50 in 2014. They were absolute hits! They even participated in the Oz Costume Contest dressed an Aunt Em and Uncle Henry!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDBElOnT_IGlsi0bg35qrZuTrYZ_U3YYa77vopQoxVqMGVarT2mF3gu3DRpvW7AcHuoycZ1Ch8zWodFIk4FJ-6zCgE4XgE_LnO9WNZkpqePsF34PJwoHxC7b7bQS7gy41QHT0jhrLSZwki/s1600/blog+dm_bjo_temp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDBElOnT_IGlsi0bg35qrZuTrYZ_U3YYa77vopQoxVqMGVarT2mF3gu3DRpvW7AcHuoycZ1Ch8zWodFIk4FJ-6zCgE4XgE_LnO9WNZkpqePsF34PJwoHxC7b7bQS7gy41QHT0jhrLSZwki/s400/blog+dm_bjo_temp.jpg" width="342" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bjo & John Trimble as Aunt Em & Uncle Henry with David Maxine.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Bjo (which is pronounced Bee-jo) also presented me with her old copy of <b>The Wizard of Oz Waddle Book</b> in dust jacket, which I treasure because it was once Bjo's. Below is an interview (somewhat expanded here) that I did with the Trimbles in 2014 for OzCon.<br />
<br />
Both John and Bjo Trimble say they have found all aspects of fandom, from fantasy to science fiction, to be vexing, disappointing, and loads of fun. They each found their best friends in fandom and married them. Through the next five decades, John supported most of Bjo’s hair-brained schemes (her phrasing!), from chairing conventions, to publishing fanzines, to organizing the “Save Star Trek” letter campaign.<br />
<br />
Most of fandom knows Bjo as the woman that saved<b> Star Trek</b>. Bjo explains:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>Star Trek</b> was to be cancelled at the end of the second season and Gene Roddenberry was trying to find a way to ask the fans for support. The Trimbles knew how to contact the fans, and the rest is History. Nobody knew in 1967 what an impact that campaign would have; if the show had not had that third season, it wouldn’t have been syndicated (not back then), and if it hadn’t gone into syndication . . .</blockquote>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFx8wCHaP92xYHLJ4j1NNNhCL4B0JKMDgwWNfg_9Yt11eahvXtdem8DcXrxQ-rNH1rDJqg0LQKRD50pGRjOlhGODtKOZ40apIqo8tgrZlyij3OhFHk-gD0z39exi3TuBL5Qz_npD2EzwwA/s1600/bjo_concordance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFx8wCHaP92xYHLJ4j1NNNhCL4B0JKMDgwWNfg_9Yt11eahvXtdem8DcXrxQ-rNH1rDJqg0LQKRD50pGRjOlhGODtKOZ40apIqo8tgrZlyij3OhFHk-gD0z39exi3TuBL5Qz_npD2EzwwA/s200/bjo_concordance.jpg" width="153" /></a></div>
In 1976, Bjo assembled and wrote the legendary <b>Star Trek Concordance</b> for Ballantine Books. She also wrote<b> On the Good Ship Enterprise: My 15 Years with Star Trek</b> (1983).<br />
<br />
But what many people don’t know is that John and Bjo are also big Oz fans - involved in the earliest days of Oz fandom in California - including the earliest Winkie Cons. “We have an eclectic interest in fandom,” say Bjo, “dabbling for awhile in such groups as the Mythopoeic Society, a local Sherlock Holmes group, and Oz, of course!”<br />
<br />
John and Bjo both served in the Korean War, John with the Air Force, Bjo with the U. S. Navy WAVES. They were married in 1960 and they have three daughters: Kathryn, Lora, and Jennifer. They eventually started their own natural dye and pigment business. The couple says, “People wonder what we still have to talk about, but since we both enjoy books, travel, and each other’s company, our life together has never been boring.”<br />
<br />
John and Bjo were co-organizers of the World Science Fiction Convention Art Shows for seventeen years, they co-chaired Equicon <b>Star Trek</b> Conventions and Filmcon Media Conventions, and both are long-time members of the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society and the Society for Creative Anachronism. Bjo received an “Inkpot Award” for setting up the San Diego Comic Con Art Show and helping set up the Comic Con Masquerade.<br />
<br />
Bjo remembers reading her first Oz book around 1940. “I was given a bedraggled copy of<b> The Wizard of Oz </b>by a thrift shop, because it was too damaged to sell. There were no colored pictures left. I had no idea that some books came in sets, so I never looked for any others until I’d seen the movie.” But Bjo well remembers seeing the MGM film for the first time. Her family had to drive twenty-two miles to the nearest theatre, usually to see John Wayne or Randolph Scott westerns. “Only occasionally would we see something like <b>The Wizard of Oz</b> with Judy Garland. I had no idea that books could become movies and was absolutely spellbound.” Bjo soon found there were more Oz books, her favorite being<b> The Emerald City of Oz</b>. Her favorite character is the Scarecrow.<br />
John didn’t discover Oz until a few years later: “I read my first Oz book, <b>The Land of Oz</b>, before I’d seen the movie, probably about 1947 or ’48.” <b>The Land of Oz</b> is still John’s favorite Oz book and the Woggle-Bug is still his favorite character.<br />
<br />
In time, the Trimble daughters were introduced to Oz, too. “Our whole family liked Oz books,” says Bjo. “And we had enough people to make up a small <b>Wizard of Oz</b> costume group for a Westercon (West Coast Science-Fantasy Conference) being held in the San Francisco area sometime in the mid-’60s. Blake Maxam (one of the co-founders of Winkie Con) was the Wizard, Lora Trimble was Dorothy, John Trimble was the Scarecrow, and I was Glinda the Good (the John R. Neill version of course).” John adds: “About that time, our younger daughter, Lora, was trying to get us to give her a dog. So she suggested the Oz group, with her little self as Dorothy. ‘Of course,’ she said slyly, ‘I’ll need a dog . . .’”<br />
<br />
At that costume contest, the Trimbles met a Scraps the Patchwork Girl and invited her to join them. Underneath that costume was their friend, Felice Rolfe. “She was our hostess, as our family was not staying at the convention hotel,” says John. “It was entirely coincidental. We’d not spoken of our costumes, so no one knew until we met just before the costume parade.”<br />
<br />
Bjo remembers attending the 1965 Winkie Con:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Most of Baum’s relatives left before or soon after we arrived; they seemed to feel that in showing up at all, they had done their family duty. I tried to talk to one man, who was so bored with the group that he made no secret of it. So far as I can remember, most of the Oz fans made attempts to talk to the relatives, then gave up.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
After most of the others had left, Mrs. Baum [this is L. Frank Baum's daughter-in-law, Edna] showed us around the house, and Kat loved all the little nooks and crannies that were just perfect for someone to sit and read. Kat also liked the large kitchen, as did I. Katwen is our mentally handicapped daughter, Kathryn Arwen Trimble. Kat’s innocent 8-year-old enthusiasm is always a hit; people are charmed by her. She loved - still does - the Oz stories, which I read to our daughters whenever I could.</blockquote>
<br />
While Oz has not been in the forefront of the Trimbles’ lives in fandom, it has always been there. On the “original series” <b>Star Trek</b> DVDs there is an interview with Bjo. She talks of her part in helping save <b>Star Trek</b>, but in the background behind her during her interview are her Oz books.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwrQmLNqiMgr9bPc-4Gix-LGP2-oLZzU5g3-O1nTnG5gKGxlpga7ZVanrZD2V3CwDROFC_uJC7tASRWo9DCINbjoroAKYtzZqXSSwz9Lb4yycBCboaRGUEtl8OR1PgMCsLRI_qhWXKQ-sX/s1600/bjotrimble.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwrQmLNqiMgr9bPc-4Gix-LGP2-oLZzU5g3-O1nTnG5gKGxlpga7ZVanrZD2V3CwDROFC_uJC7tASRWo9DCINbjoroAKYtzZqXSSwz9Lb4yycBCboaRGUEtl8OR1PgMCsLRI_qhWXKQ-sX/s400/bjotrimble.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bjo and some of her Oz collection.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Of their lives today, Bjo says, “We are now discovering new delights in old interests, such as Oz fandom. We look forward to many more years with Winkie Con and the wonderful people organizing it.”<br />
<br />
I am very pleased to have welcomed the Trimbles back to the Land of Oz. <br />
<br />David Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12672089188117065118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930190065426288711.post-59641984208344103332015-11-26T00:27:00.001-08:002015-11-27T00:25:34.229-08:00Talkin' Turkey with L. Frank BaumHappy Thanksgiving from Hungry Tiger Press! Did you know that L. Frank Baum was a champion turkey carver? Well, he was, as you will see in the photo below. Baum and his turkey are at the far right in the photo.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWpt-tafPH-zvry5LSy1uAK3vZ_K5WHnILsJOeU2GxNp5I_NGAe36SBZE-lVZc8VsHF6DaZ1JIil5SaAD8U5LOvJkso4oMLG_rtMxnuhEm7NQOatbwxqE8OVBqHOVEjI4qIWIUj-o87NWI/s1600/blog_thanksgiving_small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWpt-tafPH-zvry5LSy1uAK3vZ_K5WHnILsJOeU2GxNp5I_NGAe36SBZE-lVZc8VsHF6DaZ1JIil5SaAD8U5LOvJkso4oMLG_rtMxnuhEm7NQOatbwxqE8OVBqHOVEjI4qIWIUj-o87NWI/s400/blog_thanksgiving_small.jpg" width="352" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">L. Frank Baum at far right - Click to enlarge.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
This undated newspaper article appeared in the <b>Los Angeles Examiner</b>; it probably dates from 1916. This soiree was an event put on by the "Uplifters," a sort rich boy's group connected to the Los Angeles Athletic Club.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivkB8ni3JuJdv4vUhz8mZ5A9HmDvh5sc74vaDAryy3bnsIdQJTIy7XMq0hloQ0MvEEe5BSQ4OU7rYAMawpgcnJCII49PPr6pAjw47Sr9SZnXEoFe1tyaYKvDqSJW2ICIpNqtfFH7sF7eIp/s1600/susandoozan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivkB8ni3JuJdv4vUhz8mZ5A9HmDvh5sc74vaDAryy3bnsIdQJTIy7XMq0hloQ0MvEEe5BSQ4OU7rYAMawpgcnJCII49PPr6pAjw47Sr9SZnXEoFe1tyaYKvDqSJW2ICIpNqtfFH7sF7eIp/s320/susandoozan.jpg" width="241" /></a></div>
You might also note that the gentleman second from left is Byron Gay, who wrote the music to Baum's song<b> "<a href="http://www.hungrytigerpress.com/tigertunes/susandoozan.shtml" target="_blank">Susan Doozan</a>."</b> And at the end of the article one sees another name Oz fans will be familiar with, Fred Woodward, who played Hank the Mule in <b>The Tik-Tok Man of Oz</b> and the mule and other animals in all the Oz Film Co. movies. It's nice to know Mr. Woodward could kick up his heels with the best of them!<br />
<br />
Another cool thing mentioned in the article is that after dinner the group watched some home movies of the "Uplifters Jinks" at Del Mar. Wouldn't it be fun to find those home movies and possibly catch a glimpse of Baum on film!<br />
<br />
Read the full newspaper article below. It seems Baum's competitors thought Baum had an advantage having the smallest turkey. But in the end Baum and his carving knife won out!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib-_0pIjkkey8DL0eophqkDlK85ODv45Vo-EfzT25a9Bj6Xu9MbBvaO5_KLdwpm-oQ6UxdsW3ZuRh3tNDJqtxVTZjtuyRU3ZpwRPe7kvDvZFV-xMuTW-poKYwSjT_GuAbo13Ic-pMYxYQb/s1600/baum_turkey_text.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="324" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib-_0pIjkkey8DL0eophqkDlK85ODv45Vo-EfzT25a9Bj6Xu9MbBvaO5_KLdwpm-oQ6UxdsW3ZuRh3tNDJqtxVTZjtuyRU3ZpwRPe7kvDvZFV-xMuTW-poKYwSjT_GuAbo13Ic-pMYxYQb/s400/baum_turkey_text.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Read the full text - Click to enlarge.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
David Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12672089188117065118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930190065426288711.post-80652316400197797052015-11-23T00:01:00.000-08:002015-11-23T17:32:40.248-08:00Map of Oz Monday - Ojo Mojo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGa3Cw4AyHt6c388M9Cpa7zvlKNOoXnbbsRcrnOGzFhqKb6NVm9kb1EYtPf7AFZ_Fg2ABD6fXbX-oIISOnJkOYvHnIlCr_GMWtyV0es7It61oEI8LxRDbSR4GwYXZaYOQnAyyrmvQEBsEd/s1600/pg_colin_f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGa3Cw4AyHt6c388M9Cpa7zvlKNOoXnbbsRcrnOGzFhqKb6NVm9kb1EYtPf7AFZ_Fg2ABD6fXbX-oIISOnJkOYvHnIlCr_GMWtyV0es7It61oEI8LxRDbSR4GwYXZaYOQnAyyrmvQEBsEd/s320/pg_colin_f.jpg" width="140" /></a></div>
OK, boys and girls, we are setting off on a major hike through the Munchkin Country today. And Ojo and Realbad and Snufferbux are going to be our guides! Luckily Ojo has brought along the Oz maps created by L. Frank Baum and Ruth Plumly Thompson, and Snufferbux has his copies of the relevant texts.<br />
<br />
Together we're gonna try to untangle what I see as the one terrible error on the Oz Club's maps, and that is the shifting of Ojo's and Doctor Pipt's homes to the<i> northern</i> Munchkin Country. Baum's map (and text) has them in the <i>southern</i> Munchkin Country.<br />
<br />
Granted, there is a textual contradiction in Baum's<b> The Patchwork Girl of Oz</b> (1914). In short, the club maps chose to honor a<i> totally unimportant </i>slip
of the pen by Baum (a reference to the Gillikin Country) and thus made hash of the story logic (and often explicit detail) of Baum's <b>Patchwork Girl</b> and Ruth Plumly Thompson's <b>Ojo in Oz</b> (1933).<br />
<br />
I will be getting into Baum's text in detail. But here's what we're talking about.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc-PdIioTrS-GjscD5sSrreSyZH_qRzCmh42y5qHXGxrQG0HZnhFDlQuJhOmulMZJhvbi9A2Tdbsuv9bSFpJcWKeMLmp0ciu83ZGoGNCAcT6AADKPz7fwcGvcWXqMgc7yIPx75GYS74iNK/s1600/compare.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc-PdIioTrS-GjscD5sSrreSyZH_qRzCmh42y5qHXGxrQG0HZnhFDlQuJhOmulMZJhvbi9A2Tdbsuv9bSFpJcWKeMLmp0ciu83ZGoGNCAcT6AADKPz7fwcGvcWXqMgc7yIPx75GYS74iNK/s400/compare.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baum's map on left, Club map on right - Click to enlarge.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
On the left is Baum's map showing Ojo in the South near the Quadling<span style="font-size: x-small;"></span> border; on the right is the Club's map showing Ojo in the north with Dr. Pipt's mountain on the Gillikin border. Exactly who pushed for this change is not known. At least originally, Jim Haff followed the bulk of Baum's story and kept Ojo in the south as you can see in his master research map, below. (Remember that the Club maps show east on the right hand side of the map.) <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzLbki8cwofUtuplVxBLGBdP0EZr3kJLA2DhA3QsdN5XfLFdqPDTMXhv6yEf-vi9BrBY_l_yuWjyEBk_Qv_owjXQXPcbWBXtf6fjnHMNIMOd86PwxfH3RTkjr3r256jEZw100jsz9TTEBe/s1600/haff_showing_ojo_south.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzLbki8cwofUtuplVxBLGBdP0EZr3kJLA2DhA3QsdN5XfLFdqPDTMXhv6yEf-vi9BrBY_l_yuWjyEBk_Qv_owjXQXPcbWBXtf6fjnHMNIMOd86PwxfH3RTkjr3r256jEZw100jsz9TTEBe/s400/haff_showing_ojo_south.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jim Haff's placement of Ojo in the south on his original "research" map. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
In all likelihood it was either Fred Meyer or Dick Martin that "corrected" Jim's careful research and argued for shifting Ojo and Pipt to the north. Fred had a persnickety obsession with certain details and I can imagine him focusing in on that word "Gillikin" and not letting go. Dick Martin seems to me to have approached the maps from an "ease of drawing" perspective much of the time. And the northern section of Haff's Munchkin Country was kind of empty and it's also possible that Dick urged the move to simply fill up that space on the map. This is all conjecture; we simply don't know at this point what happened, only that Jim Haff's careful design was radically altered. <br />
<br />
This may seem like a big fuss over nothing. What does it matter that one map shows Ojo in the north and another shows Ojo in the south? Well, it turns out to matter a lot, much more than I even realized from an Oz history perspective. In the Oz Club choice, all you gain is the chance to honor
Baum's unimportant slip of the pen, "Gillikin."<br />
<br />
But I think much was
lost by that choice. Whereas, if Ojo and Dr. Pipt are in the south, innumerable details in the stories of both <b>Patchwork Girl</b> and <b>Ojo in Oz</b> make sense in story-telling logic and in geographical unity. This should not be surprising when we now know Baum had already mapped the Land of Oz sometime in late 1912 or early 1913, <a href="http://hungrytigerpress.blogspot.com/2015/11/map-of-oz-monday-under-baums-directions.html" target="_blank">according to Gottschalk</a>, and we know that Thompson was using the text of <b>Patchwork Girl</b> (and both Baum's and <a href="http://hungrytigerpress.blogspot.com/2012/06/map-of-oz-monday-thompsons-map.html" target="_blank">her own maps</a>) in the writing of <b>Ojo in Oz, </b>as you will see further below.<br />
<br />
Let me take you on a tour through the southern Munchkin Country! We'll explore both the various texts and the various maps.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicy6IJc2E-tdjcOZO5Q8-MAclfdkQSBevhv2S87XhPCNMvQwCO84lINa91J1KdaYlskacinn7WXQldXq99YtL2782HOUM8pP6NjUXTvdsbVNxgnEtZX3Wh5Njs7kJFiDIRly_jttxIriGh/s1600/ojo-photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="524" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicy6IJc2E-tdjcOZO5Q8-MAclfdkQSBevhv2S87XhPCNMvQwCO84lINa91J1KdaYlskacinn7WXQldXq99YtL2782HOUM8pP6NjUXTvdsbVNxgnEtZX3Wh5Njs7kJFiDIRly_jttxIriGh/s400/ojo-photo.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
The trouble begins when Ojo and Unc Nunkie run out of food and have to leave their humble cottage deep in the dismal Blue Forest. Ojo says, "All I've ever seen of the great Land of Oz, Unc Dear, is the view of that mountain over at the south, where they say the Hammerheads live . . . and that other mountain at the north, where they say nobody lives."<br />
<br />
Unc Nunkie reminds Ojo that the Crooked Magician Dr. Pipt and his wife live on that mountain at the north. Ojo continues, "They live high up on the mountain, and the good Munchkin Country, where the fruits and flowers grow, is just on the other side."<br />
<br />
So Ojo and Unc Nunkie set out from their cottage in the Blue Forest, <i>heading north</i> to get to the good part of the Munchkin Country that lies<i> on the other side</i> of Dr. Pipt's mountain. <br />
<br />
Here we come to Baum's slip of the pen where he writes:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
At the foot of the mountain that separated the Country of the Munchkins from the Country of the Gillikins, the path divided. One way led to the left and the other to the right — straight up the mountain. Unc Nunkie took this right-hand path and Ojo followed without asking why. He knew it would take them to the house of the Crooked Magician, whom he had never seen but who was their nearest neighbor. </blockquote>
Baum should <i>not </i>have written that phrase about the Country of the Gillikins. He has already explained that Doctor Pipt's mountain is separating Ojo and Nunkie's home from the more fruitful plains of the Munchkin Country, these fertile fields being Ojo and Nunkie's destination. Based on Baum's previous text detail, the paragraph should have said something like: "At the foot of the mountain that separated the fertile fields of the Munchkins from the Blue Forest, the path divided."<br />
<br />
Remember Ojo and Nunkie are explicitly journeying from their home, where they have no food, to the <i>good part</i> of the Munchkin Country. And remember, too, they are<i> not </i>journeying to visit Doctor Pipt. The Doctor is just a rest stop on the journey <i>over</i> the mountain barrier.<br />
<br />
Back to the story . . . Unc Nunkie and Ojo take the right-hand path up the mountain. It must be a rough or steep climb, because they made it from home to the bottom of the mountain by early morning, yet they will be trudging up the mountain most of the day. They stop for lunch at noon and then hike for another two hours before arriving at Doctor Pipt's.<br />
<br />
After the Liquid of Petrifaction accident, Ojo, Scraps, and Bungle decide to set off to find a cure. They continue on the path over the mountain, the same route Ojo and Nunkie always planned to take, into the fertile fields of the Munchkin Country. Baum writes: "Ojo had never traveled before and so he only knew that the path down the mountainside led into the open Munchkin Country, where large numbers of people dwelt."<br />
<br />
After reaching the foot of the mountain they<i> come to a brook</i> which Scraps jumps across. They journey on, and shortly before sundown they meet a Munchkin Woodchopper who invites them to spend the night. They decline, as Ojo wants to press on with their journey. They walk late into the night, eventually coming to the house with the disembodied voice. The next day, after encountering the live phonograph, they meet the Foolish Owl and Wise Donkey (the latter says he is from Mo). They then free the Woozy and finally arrive at the Yellow Brick Road. This is not Dorothy's Yellow Brick Road but another one.<br />
<br />
Now you might be asking, why did you cover all of that stuff in so much detail? What does it have to do with maps? Well, my friends, allow me to show you! The events described above fit quite wonderfully into the pre-Oz Club maps! And with some surprising synchronicity, IMHO!<br />
<br />
Below is Baum's 1914 Oz map. I have added indicated the paths (as described in Baum's text) in yellow, showing the the path from Ojo's house to the base of the mountain that separates Ojo and Nunkie from the fertile plains of the Munchkin Country. You can see the fork, where the path divides. Ojo and Nunkie took the right-hand path up the mountain to Doctor Pipt.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQQC1OeFb0hWmCIIqT997KtrPgdhNE0RD9fuuFenFneFjJw1vcjdZIyixxP8Lj02EEP90IlkRMXtIxOkQ0ZZ3mKvevUVfeIzSnY4A04zGVH7wHRJgY9etk-fXxnd6GFrK_xdqHoDhIDToA/s1600/ojo_1914.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="381" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQQC1OeFb0hWmCIIqT997KtrPgdhNE0RD9fuuFenFneFjJw1vcjdZIyixxP8Lj02EEP90IlkRMXtIxOkQ0ZZ3mKvevUVfeIzSnY4A04zGVH7wHRJgY9etk-fXxnd6GFrK_xdqHoDhIDToA/s400/ojo_1914.jpg" width="490" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Narrow yellow line shows paths in the Blue Forest and path followed by Ojo to the YBR</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I also added in the "second" Yellow Brick Road as it was not shown on Baum's map. It would obviously not be so straight, but this is more of a diagram to show how well Baum's text can be plugged into his own map of Oz. Note that there is even a "brook" or river for Scraps to jump across after they get down out of the mountain. This brook is on the original map; I only added the yellow path and road.<br />
<br />
I firmly believe Baum wrote the <b>Patchwork Girl </b>text using his Oz map as a guide, though the map would not be published until the next year's Oz book, <b>Tik-Tok of Oz </b>(1914). We already have evidence that Baum drew the map in late 1912 or so (<a href="http://hungrytigerpress.blogspot.com/2015/11/map-of-oz-monday-under-baums-directions.html" target="_blank">see this previous blog post</a>). But in another unidentified 1913 newspaper interview Baum states: "the Land of Oz has grown to be a very real place to me. I have even
mapped it all out, and its characters are known to me quite intimately." <br />
<br />
Let's add another layer into all this. Ruth Plumly Thompson had clearly reread Baum's <b>Patchwork Girl of Oz</b> in preparation for writing her "sequel" <b>Ojo in Oz</b>. Below is Thompson's map of Oz. It is a tracing of Baum's 1914 map in which she has worked in the locations from her own Oz titles. I have added in essentially identical versions of the paths and Yellow Brick Road.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiENumqslnPRBxDU9Ntq2kreOTB-XDf_S3FAn-Qf0TBQYLW4-mwzVHJcaXNH8vgUjCCZkT1SLtRBLEdu3Y6hEYwLXvm4YBNZWEQw0NKA2XsKK9Fvs3RjZ7FBm-1vS5fmV3CNLfeIuAVDA2R/s1600/ojo_rpt_map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="351" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiENumqslnPRBxDU9Ntq2kreOTB-XDf_S3FAn-Qf0TBQYLW4-mwzVHJcaXNH8vgUjCCZkT1SLtRBLEdu3Y6hEYwLXvm4YBNZWEQw0NKA2XsKK9Fvs3RjZ7FBm-1vS5fmV3CNLfeIuAVDA2R/s320/ojo_rpt_map.jpg" width="490" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thompson's map showing Ojo and Dr. Pipt and her own Bandit's Forest and Seebania from OJO IN OZ.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I think this map shows Thompson wrote <b>Ojo in Oz</b> using the 1914 Baum map as reference. And she has placed Seebania (the kingdom Unc Nunkie and the infant Ojo fled) just to the left of the Blue Forest where Ojo and Nunkie lived. And look where a path to the left would lead on Thompson's map - <i>toward</i> Seebania! No wonder Unc Nunkie avoided it.<br />
<br />
Now what I also love about Thompson's geography here is that it justifies <i>why</i> (from an Oz history perspective) there is a second Yellow Brick Road and what two places it connects. The Baum and Thompson geography in <b>Patchwork Girl</b> and<b> Ojo </b>strongly allows for this Yellow Brick Road to connect the Emerald City with the old capital of the Munchkin Country, Seebania! This may well be constructive conjecture on my part, but there can be no dismissing the fact that Thompson meant Ojo's home and Seebania to be in the same general vicinity.<br />
<br />
Below is a similarly modified version of Walt Spouse's beautifully detailed "Wonderland of Oz Map" showing the paths and Yellow Brick Road. I have added in Seebania (where Thompson has positioned it) and labeled the "brook" that Scraps jumps over.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0TAH9ShjKioujwnSgLYmpM3JjjRaB0nw5sb-wDiejPR2VAptA4qstoYGzAFWgvHle6_efgx-1TzOVoeCTIIlUSnGQvuTStCkv_CAL3hgV3vjjgADnrL18RO54FSb1gyDwi3G6W3ksrGpS/s1600/ojo_spouse_path.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="333" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0TAH9ShjKioujwnSgLYmpM3JjjRaB0nw5sb-wDiejPR2VAptA4qstoYGzAFWgvHle6_efgx-1TzOVoeCTIIlUSnGQvuTStCkv_CAL3hgV3vjjgADnrL18RO54FSb1gyDwi3G6W3ksrGpS/s320/ojo_spouse_path.jpg" width="490" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Modified version of Walt Spouse's 1932 "Wonderland of Oz" map.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
There are many subtle details from both books that can take on added significance once one begins to see the entire geographical picture. Of course Unc Nunkie avoided the "left-hand" path on the way to the fertile Munchkin fields; he knew it went to Seebania. When the Wise Donkey informs Ojo and the gang that he is from Mo, it's not surprising when one realizes Mo is just across the desert from nearby Jinxland, as <b>The Scarecrow of Oz</b> (1916) makes clear.<br />
<br />
I think it makes much more sense for Dr. Pipt to have moved almost as far as he could from his old home in the Gillikin Country (where he knew Mombi) to the very desolate southern corner of the Munchkin Country. And in kind, it makes more sense to me that elderly Unc Nunkie, who fled the court of Seebania with a literal babe in arms, took refuge in the dark Blue Forest in the first empty cottage he came upon. <br />
<br />
Now, I do not particularly think L. Frank Baum or Ruth Plumly Thompson necessarily worked this all out in this kind of detail. But a literary fantasy land finds a life of its own as layer upon layer of fictional history is built up, as maps get modified, as characters grow - whether looking for adventure or searching for their pasts.<br />
<br />
I think Jim Haff understood this. He brought his professional skills as a cartographer to this project, and as we'll see in the coming posts, he largely succeeded in compiling the various bits of research into a logical, geographic whole. Note that I'm not certain whether Haff paid any attention to Thompson's hand-drawn map of Oz. Still, his Munchkin Country generally followed most of the story points above. Here's my yellow schematic laid over his "research" map:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggYH1j3aWNeIVFhlqGgzhK8FWm3IrnAu4d1nCficajmcNTVBpuNVh_Us7DFq479q22Mquwt1r8X92q3JYrkKjt18OBN2750_-hfrE9gRjLb5BGtVcNIxroqUwvnRtR4BL5D5kUHUsdXej_/s1600/ojo_haff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="565" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggYH1j3aWNeIVFhlqGgzhK8FWm3IrnAu4d1nCficajmcNTVBpuNVh_Us7DFq479q22Mquwt1r8X92q3JYrkKjt18OBN2750_-hfrE9gRjLb5BGtVcNIxroqUwvnRtR4BL5D5kUHUsdXej_/s400/ojo_haff.jpg" width="490" /></a></div>
<br />
He has Ojo and Doctor Pipt in the far southern Munchkin Country, Ojo must journey over the mountain (visiting with Doctor Pipt at the summit) then down into the fields of the Munchkin Country. He has even got the Yellow Brick Road essentially connecting the old capital of the Munchkin Country (Seebania) with the Emerald City. This is because he followed the story logic and geographic sense. (Here the "left-hand path" through the forest is unresolved, but since Baum never specified where that path leads, Haff made no error there.)<br />
<br />
Sadly, someone convinced Haff that that single word "Gillikin" mattered; and that wrecked the entire geographical and story-telling logic of two books. Here is the way the beginnings of Ojo's journey look on the published Oz Club map.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9YD5RrxvqtpapIRdiLTQLP4YMc3xXUaThlVbP1RTj5kFFWnsYz55L6Bi_1mZUlqZIyadyJBZFvRFc8r1hnz1c-VkbSLdmAh4khmLZ7j365Bki9r4C4jV65K5tr7OqmbyuwP2PzLbOpp74/s1600/ojo_club.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9YD5RrxvqtpapIRdiLTQLP4YMc3xXUaThlVbP1RTj5kFFWnsYz55L6Bi_1mZUlqZIyadyJBZFvRFc8r1hnz1c-VkbSLdmAh4khmLZ7j365Bki9r4C4jV65K5tr7OqmbyuwP2PzLbOpp74/s320/ojo_club.jpg" width="490" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ojo's route (indicated in red) to the Yellow Brick Road on the Oz Club map.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
So, Ojo and Unc Nunkie want to get from their home to the fertile plains of the Munchkin Country. So they journey in the<i> opposite direction</i> of the fertile plains and climb a steep mountain for no reason. Ojo visits Doctor Pipt whom they were not particularly going to see, climbs back down the mountain, and hikes on over to the Yellow Brick Road. This seems a bit nonsensical to me, but,<i> joy!</i> - at least the other side of Doctor Pipt's mountain is in the Gillikin Country!<br />
<br />
When Ojo and Nunkie's cottage was shifted to the north, that choice led to a major reshuffling of much else in the Munchkin Country. Back when Haff had Ojo and Nunkie's cottage in the south he had placed the majority of the locations from <b>Ojo in Oz</b> (1933) in the north. Below is the relevant section of Haff's original map:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDBgqE1MbI9w46DVRsuXZJ2CTNu6AGCa2V3fCEibQtnFKTIzCw1KkTyV3ntHrvjFguTl6HAZFET3YTlcKFjdkeCa6tMxPC60jgGRQvBYq9E6Q0jAuZeUyiA93z1vOgNJYrUHdEn7a0cj8W/s1600/blog_haff_moojer_data_revised.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="335" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDBgqE1MbI9w46DVRsuXZJ2CTNu6AGCa2V3fCEibQtnFKTIzCw1KkTyV3ntHrvjFguTl6HAZFET3YTlcKFjdkeCa6tMxPC60jgGRQvBYq9E6Q0jAuZeUyiA93z1vOgNJYrUHdEn7a0cj8W/s400/blog_haff_moojer_data_revised.jpg" width="490" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Haff's "research" map - Routes of OJO IN OZ: Ojo's party indicated in yellow; Dorothy's party in red.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Haff's "research" map puts these <b>Ojo in Oz</b> locations to the north of the Yellow Brick Road used in <b>The Wizard of Oz</b>, the orange line at the bottom of the image. The route followed by Ojo and Realbad I've indicated in yellow: Crystal Mountain, Tappy
Town, Unicorners, and finally Moojer Mountain. And the route of Dorothy and her rescue party I've indicated in red: arrival in the Blue Forest, traveling the Rolling Road to Dickseyland, and then the route Reachard leads them on toward the Emerald City, though they run smack into Moojer Mountain before they get there.<br />
<br />
I don't really see why Haff placed these locales in the <i>northern</i> Munchkin Country. But when he moved Ojo to the north in the published club map all of this <b>Ojo in Oz</b> stuff moved to the south. I suspect this is Dick Martin trying to keep the density of "map detail" well spread out. Once they moved Ojo's and Pipt's cottages to the north there was a paucity of detail in the southern Munchkin Country. But from an "Oz as a real place" perspective, simply filling up empty space is a dumb reason, IMHO.<br />
<br />
Below you can see how this affected the routes from <b>Ojo in Oz</b> on the 1962 version of the Oz Club's map.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKU6merPln39NBYR6b9KxJRUxJhmD2IqxbNTRYa7QtrwtRIiiL2RQWGxry6b99KqZO2bB2oRC8YhDhPL0DHguQ8CE_ESbav7x3uFWxeDQAC712yTm868Eqset-DR-o9S1FqjIkt4K8WX8L/s1600/1962_ojo_revised.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKU6merPln39NBYR6b9KxJRUxJhmD2IqxbNTRYa7QtrwtRIiiL2RQWGxry6b99KqZO2bB2oRC8YhDhPL0DHguQ8CE_ESbav7x3uFWxeDQAC712yTm868Eqset-DR-o9S1FqjIkt4K8WX8L/s400/1962_ojo_revised.jpg" width="490" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1962 Club map - Routes of OJO IN OZ: Ojo's party indicated in yellow; Dorothy's party in red.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
All this is now far to the south of the Yellow Brick Road from <b>The Wizard of Oz</b>. For some reason, too, Dorothy's group (red) is now traveling north of Ojo and Realbad's group (yellow). I can't see the reason for this change. But on the whole, I do prefer that this is all so much closer to Seebania than the original Haff layout had it. It makes for a geographical unity. Of course there would be <i>even more </i>geographical unity if they had left Ojo and Nunkie in the south where they belong.<br />
<br />
In later versions of the Oz Club maps (1967 and on) this area gets heavily reworked yet again. I'm not keen on Haff's shifting the arrival of Dorothy's party to a different forest, the one where she met the Tin Woodman and Cowardly Lion back in <b>The Wizard of Oz</b>. This change seems to have been made to angle the Rolling Road so that it can dump Dorothy and her rescue party into the river, as described in the text of <b>Ojo in Oz</b> (see below).<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiUFdNDDL60GjnzU5IpuCDG-FWnua95RxGFPQJS222UMHDwr0IK8TfcvZqQ1u21l9NsoODSa_03RgmVd0XuxAHyKRg7IPzSvN3jdRdxZN9b3V9TibZHepWZyrnzF8ygRKFMCOGa5fel1kt/s1600/club_08_revised.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="329" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiUFdNDDL60GjnzU5IpuCDG-FWnua95RxGFPQJS222UMHDwr0IK8TfcvZqQ1u21l9NsoODSa_03RgmVd0XuxAHyKRg7IPzSvN3jdRdxZN9b3V9TibZHepWZyrnzF8ygRKFMCOGa5fel1kt/s400/club_08_revised.jpg" width="490" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2008 Club map - Routes of OJO IN OZ: Ojo's party indicated in yellow; Dorothy's party in red.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
As you might have noticed, this section of the Munchkin Country is now a lot denser, too. All of the many locations from <b>Merry Go Round in Oz</b> were added to the map in 1967.<br />
<br />
There are some other Ojo-related glitches and omissions from the Club's map, too. There is no river for the unicorns to bathe in, the fairly large village that Ojo and Realbad pass through is not on the map, and various mountains seen by the travelers are nowhere to be seen. The biggest mistake still not discussed is that the Oz Club's map places the Bandit's Cave in the northern central Munchkin Country. The bandit's cave is not actually on Haff's "research" map, so its inclusion in the published map may have been a late decision. <br />
<br />
It it pretty clear Thompson wanted the Bandit's Cave in the same vicinity as the other locales from<b> Patchwork Girl</b> and <b>Ojo</b>. She has shown the Bandit's Cave
(though she calls it "Bandit's
Forest") on her map, directly above the "U" in QUADLING. [Update: it is also possible to view the "Bandit's Forest" on Thompson's map as being the hideout of Vaga and his men in <b>Grampa in Oz</b>. <i>See "comments" below</i>.] But in any case, this southern
location for the Badit's cave in <b>Ojo in Oz </b>is very strongly implied in the text. Mooj throws Realbad into a deep ravine near the castle of Seebania. Realbad is rescued by the bandits and taken back
to their cave, where he is nursed
back to health.<br />
<br />
But Haff has placed the Bandit's Cave in
the central northern
section of the Munchkin Country, quite far from Seebania. This seems
like quite a trek for the bandits to carry an injured Realbad! The clear implication in Thompson's text is
that the bandits and their cave are relatively close to Seebania. Indeed, at the end of <b>Ojo in Oz</b> Realbad
decides to make the Bandit's Cave a sort of Royal Hunting Lodge where he
will spend two months each year, and he allows Snufferbux the bear to
use it for hibernation each winter. Clearly Thompson thought that the Bandit's Cave was close to Seebania and under Realbad's jurisdiction, not on the other
side of the Munchkin Country.<br />
<br />
I went back and looked at Thompson's map and after my recent rereading of <b>Ojo in Oz</b> I am convinced she was using the map in her text descriptions. She has given us a lot of detail on the boundaries of Seebania:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Long ago . . . the Kings of Seebania ruled all the southern part of the Munchkin Country, and the city where you now find yourselves is Shamsbad, the capital. When Ozma succeeded to the throne . . . my father, then King of Seebania . . . relinquished [his claim] to all the small countries at the south and retired within the borders of Seebania itself. This kingdom, still an immense but little known tract of wild forest land, is bounded on the north by the Munchkin River and on the south by the Quadling Country.</blockquote>
Below is Thompson's hand-drawn map, with color added to reflect what she has described in the <b>Ojo in Oz </b>text above. There is a river to serve as the north border, the Quadling Country is to the south, and it is an immense tract of forest land when compared to the usual size of minor countries in Oz. Given Realbad's view that the Bandit's Cave is part of his domain I extended the light blue area of Seebania to include it. This way of viewing this map even has a Yellow Brick Road connecting Seebania to the Emerald City. Thompson has, of course, traced Baum's 1914 map as her starting point and Baum clearly meant the Yellow Brick Road shown here to be that of Dorothy in <b>The Wizard of Oz</b>. But I think the point has been made that we can get a pretty clear view of how Thompson saw her <b>Ojo in Oz</b> geography.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLfQ519VxPOcDKFdBZH1CQJpOsjzB2gyddMf43Q6HH_-2IFit6F3DlZqrph_fz62vWkzMJ9oYMxOmLqiVtnBOch5L7MB8AOnMs2D1n49ewXbIkj7_r0p4PJoOxELMPuPcT3x0mrGZ7eaIw/s1600/rpt_seebania.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="520" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLfQ519VxPOcDKFdBZH1CQJpOsjzB2gyddMf43Q6HH_-2IFit6F3DlZqrph_fz62vWkzMJ9oYMxOmLqiVtnBOch5L7MB8AOnMs2D1n49ewXbIkj7_r0p4PJoOxELMPuPcT3x0mrGZ7eaIw/s320/rpt_seebania.jpg" width="490" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thompson's Map of Oz showing Seebania as she described it in her OJO IN OZ text.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I am by no means saying there is only one solution to making an accurate map of Oz, but the Oz Club map makers seem to have never even considered this sort of contextual information. And in the end, considering the high-profile status the Oz Club maps have achieved, I think it is sort of a shame.<br />
<br />
But then again, if the club's maps were perfect, look at all the fun I'd have missed writing this huge time-sap of a blog post!<br />
<br />
<hr />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">And after all<i> that</i>, how about an end note!</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> I should mention the one other innocuous reason that I have seen given for moving Ojo to the north so I don't have to address this in the "comments."</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">When Ojo and Scraps meet the Scarecrow on the Yellow Brick Road the Scarecrow says he is on his way to visit Jinjur. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">While this Jinjur reference is clearly more that a slip of the pen by Baum, it is also easily solved on the map. Baum's text shows Ojo and Co. are just inside the green area of the Emerald City. On Jim Haff's "research" map he has the two Yellow Brick Roads merge just after they reach these green lands. So the Scarecrow can indeed be walking away from the city to visit Jinjur without her having to live on the southern Yellow Brick Road (see Haff's map below).</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV8_d5w5yaMLxxScJ2qxXPnBvgciaelHOl9fD0siBUaeb3PNQkhP7g0Ck5DYE_IcMZ7exsscjc0XHOkER7KntkI1XY7CY3gShiDoRdloXyR9GSpA2xFfbzQe7A9dMTVblfumlQkpIBiLLi/s1600/ojo_ec-roads.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV8_d5w5yaMLxxScJ2qxXPnBvgciaelHOl9fD0siBUaeb3PNQkhP7g0Ck5DYE_IcMZ7exsscjc0XHOkER7KntkI1XY7CY3gShiDoRdloXyR9GSpA2xFfbzQe7A9dMTVblfumlQkpIBiLLi/s400/ojo_ec-roads.jpg" width="490" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Jinjur will find herself the focus of several legitimate "map" debates, but we'll save all that for a future post.</span>David Maxinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12672089188117065118noreply@blogger.com10