John R Neill

Grampa in Oz (Annotated) John R Neill

Differentiated book- It has a historical context with research of the time-John Rea Neill (November 12, 1877 - September 19, 1943) was an illustrator of children's magazines and books known primarily for illustrating more than forty stories set in the Land of Oz, including those by L. Frank Baum, Ruth Plumly Thompson, and three of his own. His pen and ink drawings have been identified almost exclusively with the Oz series. He did a lot of illustration work for magazines and newspapers that are not so well known today. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, John R. Neill did his first illustration work for the Philadelphia Central High School newspaper in 1894-95. Neill dropped out of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts after one semester because he said, "They have nothing to teach me."He then turned to advertising art for the Wanamaker department store in Philadelphia. He became a staff artist for the American newspaper in Philadelphia, for which he produced features such as the Toyland comic strip, illustrations for the serialization of 'The Fate of a Crown' (a book by L. Frank Baum), Children's Stories That Never Old grow, and the Sunday comic page 'The Little Journeys of Nip and Tuck' with verses by WR Bradford (1909-1910). He was first commissioned to illustrate The Wonderful Land of Oz, L. Frank Baum's second book of Oz, published in 1904;