Neill

I just got an email from the Oz Club. Ooh. Oz Club being techy. How'd that happen?

The email directs one's attention to an auction of children's lit (much of it Oz) from the collection of Henry S. Blossom. I remember having heard of Blossom as the author of one of the first Oz sequels published by a fan, The Blue Emperor of Oz. I was told it's not a bad book. I can't say for myself. Haven't had opportunity to read it.

One of the items up for bid is an original ink drawing by John R. Neill. Neill illustrated all the Oz books written by L. Frank Baum (after Wizard) and all the sequels authored by Ruth Plumly Thompson after Baum's death. Neill also wrote & illustrated three Oz books after Thompson retired from the series.

Neill's first few Oz books were beautifully done, with Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz and The Emerald City of Oz featuring fine color paintings. As the years wore on Neill's work begins to look lazy to me, even sloppy, as though he grew bored with Oz and figured he could whip out the illos for the undemanding Oz audience then get back to something important.

When at last he had opportunity to create illustrations for his own stories you can see Neill take the books seriously again. Wonder City of Oz contains some of my favorite Neill pictures, including a wild drawing of two houses fighting while the Town Crier stands nearby sobbing into a handkerchief. The drawing up for sale is one of Jenny Jump, a character Neill created, being threatened by an animate fence. It's kind of scary, actually. It shows what Neill could do when he was interested in what he was doing.