Background
William Denslow was born on May 5, 1856, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the son of William and Jane Eva Denslow.
1900
William Denslow
41 Cooper Square, Taras Shevchenko Pl, New York, NY 10003, United States
William Denslow studied at Cooper Union Institute.
15 Gramercy Park S, New York, NY 10003, United States
William Denslow studied at the National Academy of Design.
(Classic Children's Collection seeks to replicate beloved ...)
Classic Children's Collection seeks to replicate beloved original literary and artistic classics that have been all but lost to the passage of time.
https://www.amazon.com/Denslows-Humpty-Classic-Childrens-Collection/dp/1717714986
1903
(The beautiful stories and pictures are appropriate for ki...)
The beautiful stories and pictures are appropriate for kids and adults of any age. Included in this volume are the following books: Five Little Pigs, House That Jack Built, Little Red Riding-Hood, Mary Had a Little Lamb, Three Bears, Zoo.
https://www.amazon.com/Denslows-Illustrated-Classics-Little-Riding/dp/1517164907
1903
(The beautiful stories and pictures are appropriate for ki...)
The beautiful stories and pictures are appropriate for kids and adults of any age. Included in this volume are the following books: ABC Book, Humpty Dumpty, Jack and the Bean-Stalk, Old Mother Hubbard, One Ring Circus, Tom Thumb.
https://www.amazon.com/Denslows-Illustrated-Classics-Bean-stalk-Hubbard/dp/1517430224
1903
(The police were notified and searchers were sent everywhe...)
The police were notified and searchers were sent everywhere to catch the truants, for the evening performance could not go on without them.
https://www.amazon.com/Denslows-Scarecrow-Tin-Man-Classic-Reprint/dp/0331157314
1904
(The beautiful stories and pictures are appropriate for ki...)
The beautiful stories and pictures are appropriate for kids and adults of any age. Included in this volume are the following books: Animal Fair, Barn-Yard Circus, Mother Goose ABC Book, Scarecrow and the Tin-Man, Simple Simon, Three Little Kittens.
https://www.amazon.com/Denslows-Illustrated-Classics-Barn-yard-Scarecrow/dp/1517430240
1904
William Denslow was born on May 5, 1856, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the son of William and Jane Eva Denslow.
William Denslow studied at Cooper Union Institute in 1870-1871, and at the National Academy of Design in 1872-1873, but he didn't graduate.
William Denslow began selling some of his work at about age twenty and lived an independent, often bohemian existence, traveling around the country to sell his craft.
William Denslow worked for newspapers and periodicals, and his work has noted for its "clean, sharp lines." Even so, he yearned for an opportunity to design books. William designed theatrical costumes and posters in Chicago, earning international acclaim. After living in Denver and San Francisco, he returned to New York and secured a job with Elbert Hubbard's Roycroft studio. Elbert Hubbard, a writer, and editor noted for launching the handicraft movement in America, and William was paid fifty dollars per week to design Roycroft advertising and literature. He supplemented this income by designing dozens of book covers for Rand McNally and supplying hundreds of little pictures for Montgomery Ward's mail-order catalogs. In almost every design could be found his totem - a tiny seahorse.
William Denslow was socially active wherever he lived and in 1986 met Lyman Frank Baum, who at the time barely made living selling crockery and needed a creative outlet. They began talking about publishing a children's book and collaborated on Father Goose, His Book. A year later, William and Lyman published The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, which soon became an American icon and children's literary breakthrough. Prosperity and critical acclaim greeted the book.
They only collaborated on one more book, Dot and Tot of Merryland, considered William Denslow's most purely ornamental creation. Some people attribute the bitter separation of the men to his greed, notably when financial disputes arose after The Wonderful World of Oz has transformed into "an immensely popular musical extravaganza."
William then claimed the right to illustrate, rewrite, and thus reinterpret some of the most long-standing children's works of the time. The first two he titled Denslow's Mother Goose and Denslow's Night before Christmas. Never had an artist or writer put his or her name in front of these children's classics. Although this could have damaged his reputation, his changes were perceived as justified. Denslow took issue with many children's works featuring violence, blatant insinuations of abuse, and immoral behavior. For example, whereas the original "Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe" beat her children soundly before putting them to bed, Denslow had her kiss them instead. In Little Red Riding Hood, the previously vicious Big Bad Wolf became domesticated, and Grandma lived to see another day.
Still, William Denslow took his work very seriously. He studied animals and human figures extensively. He became proficient in anatomical design and function and paid particular attention to human and animal faces. William also scrutinized details of the appearance in individual figures, and their arrangement in books and other publications. He supervised the layout and production of his work.
William Denslow never reclaimed his early success. His career went mostly downhill after 1905, and he resumed heavy drinking. William, however, did enjoy sporadic prosperity, purchasing an entire island in the Bahamas, which he jokingly referred to as his "sovereign kingdom."
He spent his last years working for a third-rate advertising agency in New York, drawing postcards, sheet music covers, advertising booklets, and an occasional magazine illustration. In 1909, he worked at Niagara Lithograph Company and Rosenbaum Studios in 1913. In 1915, he unexpectedly sold a cover to the famous humor weekly Life, went on a bender with the money, caught pneumonia, and died. William Denslow was only 58 years old.
(Classic Children's Collection seeks to replicate beloved ...)
1903(The police were notified and searchers were sent everywhe...)
1904(The beautiful stories and pictures are appropriate for ki...)
1903(The beautiful stories and pictures are appropriate for ki...)
1903(The beautiful stories and pictures are appropriate for ki...)
1904Life
(The last illustration by William Denslow was the cover of...)
1915The Wonderful Wizard of OZ
(It is an illustration from The Wonderful Wizard of OZ.)
1900The Wonderful Wizard of OZ
(It is an illustration from The Wonderful Wizard of OZ.)
1900The Wonderful Wizard of OZ
(It is an illustration from The Wonderful Wizard of OZ.)
1900The Wonderful Wizard of OZ
(It is an illustration from The Wonderful Wizard of OZ.)
1900The Wonderful Wizard of OZ
(It is an illustration from The Wonderful Wizard of OZ.)
1900Dorothy meets the Cowardly Lion
(It is an illustration from The Wonderful Wizard of OZ.)
1900Humpty Dumpty
(It is an illustration from a Humpty Dumpty.)
1900Humpty Dumpty
(It is an illustration from a Humpty Dumpty.)
1900The Black Sheep
(It is an illustration from a Mother Goose.)
1901There was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe
(It is an illustration from a Mother Goose.)
1901
Quotations:
"I float, as it were, with the steam, enjoying life as I float. I do have a good time and no mistake, besides that I work very hard, being at it night and day. Of course, I should like to do something better, but a big salary and solid comfort make one hesitate to lean to something else."
"I don't always adhere to the text of the familiar nursery rhymes. I believe in pure fun for the children, and I believe it can be given them without any incidental gruesomeness. In my Mother Goose, I did not hesitate to change the text where the change would give a gentler and clearer tone to the verse. The comic element doesn't lose in this way. So, when I illustrate and edit childhood classics, I don't hesitate to expurgate. I'd rather please the kids than any other audience in the world."
William Denslow has been married three times. His first wife was Annie McCartney, and they divorced in 1882. They had a son, the only William's child. Then he married Anne Waters Holden in 1896 and divorced in 1903. His third wife was Frances Golsen Doolittle. They married in 1903 and divorced in 1911.