The Wizard of Oz
by Scott Gustafson
| "I was reacquainted with the
Oz books while reading them to my son. I intended to read the series to
him in order, starting with 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,' but I couldn't
get my hands on it right away. When I finally found it, I noticed the
copyright page original publication date, 1900 and realized we had an
anniversary to celebrate! I'm especially pleased to be paying homage to
the great Oz illustrators, W.W. Denslow and John R. Neill-that's their
insignias 'carved' into the fence post in the image foreground. Denslow,
who illustrated the first book, gave us portraits of Dorothy and her
friends that are almost inseparable from the text, as definitive as the
Tenniel illustrations for 'Alice in Wonderland.' As for Neill, who
illustrated all 14 remaining books in the series . . . well, if L. Frank
Baum paved the yellow road, Neill made every brick shine."
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