The Patchwork Girl of Oz: Illustrated by John R. Neill

There’s something very innocent yet creepy about this 1913 cover illustration by John R. Neill for the book The Patchwork Girl of Oz by L. Frank Baum. If you look closer at the artwork what’s interesting is that the little girl doesn’t seem the least bit disturbed by this doll that has come to life and I also love the little touch of the multichromatic creature grabbing the typography of the book’s title:

So if you’re not a hardcore Oz fanboy The Patchwork Girl of Oz was the seventh book in the series by L. Frank Baum (there were fourteen in all). Most of us today only know Oz from the famous 1939 MGM film, but prior to that Baum’s work was turned into a musical play and then a series of films. In fact Baum started a film company The Oz Film Manufacturing Company which turned The Patchwork Girl of Oz into a film in 1914 — although the movie was a bit a flop at the box office. Below is the very haunting looking logo for the Oz Film Company:

Book cover found by Renee.