Jack Pumpkinhead & the Sawhorse

Description:

From The Marvelous Land of Oz (1904):

Tip selected a fine, big pumpkin—one with a lustrous, orange-red color—and began carving it. With the point of his knife he made two round eyes, a three-cornered nose, and a mouth shaped like a new moon. The face, when completed, could not have been considered strictly beautiful; but it wore a smile so big and broad, and so jolly in expression, that even Tip laughed as he looked at his work.

He decided to manufacture the form of a man, who would wear this pumpkin head. He took his axe to the forest, and selected some stout, straight saplings, which he cut down and trimmed of all their twigs and leaves. From these he would make the arms, and legs, and feet of his man. For the body he stripped a sheet of thick bark from around a big tree, and with much labor fashioned it into a cylinder of about the right size, pinning the edges together with wooden pegs. Then, whistling happily as he worked, he carefully jointed the limbs and fastened them to the body with pegs whittled into shape with his knife.

To find clothing seemed no easy task; but Tip boldly ransacked the great chest in which Mombi kept all her keepsakes and treasures, and at the very bottom he discovered some purple trousers, a red shirt and a pink vest which was dotted with white spots. These he carried away to his man and succeeded, although the garments did not fit very well, in dressing the creature in a jaunty fashion.

From The Road to Oz (1909):

Seated on a bench was a man clothed in a spotted shirt, a red vest, and faded blue trousers, whose body was merely sticks of wood, jointed clumsily together. On his neck was set a round, yellow pumpkin, with a face carved on it such as a boy often carves on a jack-lantern.

“Each time Ozma has carved me a new head just like the old one, and as my body is by far the largest part of me, I am still Jack Pumpkinhead, no matter how often I change my upper end. Once we had a dreadful time to find another pumpkin, as they were out of season, and so I was obliged to wear my old head a little longer than was strictly healthy. But after this sad experience I resolved to raise pumpkins myself, so as never to be caught again without one handy; and now I have this fine field that you see before you. Some grow pretty big—too big to be used for heads—so I dug out this one and use it for a house.”

From The Marvelous Land of Oz (1904):

The body had been formed from a tree-trunk, and a branch had been left sticking up at one end that looked very much like a tail. In the other end were two big knots that resembled eyes, and a place had been chopped away that might easily be mistaken for the horse’s mouth. As for the legs, they were four straight limbs cut from trees and stuck fast into the body, being spread wide apart so that the saw-horse would stand firmly when a log was laid across it to be sawed.

“This thing resembles a real horse more than I imagined,” said Tip, trying to explain. “But a real horse is alive, and trots and prances and eats oats, while this is nothing more than a dead horse, made of wood, and used to saw logs upon.”

From The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1914):

The Sawhorse was almost as curious as its rider. It had been rudely made, in the beginning, to saw logs upon, so that its body was a short length of a log, and its legs were stout branches fitted into four holes made in the body. The tail was formed by a small branch that had been left on the log, while the head was a gnarled bump on one end of the body. Two knots of wood formed the eyes, and the mouth was a gash chopped in the log. When the Sawhorse first came to life it had no ears at all, and so could not hear; but the boy who then owned him had whittled two ears out of bark and stuck them in the head, after which the Sawhorse heard very distinctly.

This queer wooden horse was a great favorite with Princess Ozma, who had caused the bottoms of its legs to be shod with plates of gold, so the wood would not wear away. Its saddle was made of cloth-of-gold richly encrusted with precious gems. It had never worn a bridle.

When the Sawhorse was first brought to life, it was used as a steed for Jack Pumpkinhead, and they are often seen together in the stories. However, in later books the Sawhorse also functions as Ozma’s royal steed, bearing her and Dorothy from place to place in a Red Wagon (like an open-air carriage).


Images (spoilers – click only if you really want to see!):

How John R. Neill drew Jack and the Sawhorse:  1  2  3  4

How Dick Martin drew Jack and the Sawhorse:  1

How Skottie Young drew Jack and the Sawhorse:  1  2

 

Princess Ozma

Description:

From The Road to Oz (1909):

The royal historians of Oz, who are fine writers and know any number of big words, have often tried to describe the rare beauty of Ozma and failed because the words were not good enough. So of course I cannot hope to tell you how great was the charm of this little Princess, or how her loveliness put to shame all the sparkling jewels and magnificent luxury that surrounded her in this her royal palace. Whatever else was beautiful or dainty or delightful of itself faded to dullness when contrasted with Ozma’s bewitching face, and it has often been said by those who know that no other ruler in all the world can ever hope to equal the gracious charm of her manner.

Everything about Ozma attracted one, and she inspired love and the sweetest affection rather than awe or ordinary admiration. Dorothy threw her arms around her little friend and hugged and kissed her rapturously, and Toto barked joyfully and Button-Bright smiled a happy smile and consented to sit on the soft cushions close beside the Princess.

From The Emerald City of Oz (1910):

She is said to be the most beautiful girl the world has ever known, and her heart and mind are as lovely as her person.

From The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1914):

Much has been told and written concerning the beauty of person and character of this sweet girl Ruler of the Land of Oz—the richest, the happiest and most delightful fairyland of which we have any knowledge. Yet with all her queenly qualities Ozma was a real girl and enjoyed the things in life that other real girls enjoy. When she sat on her splendid emerald throne in the great Throne Room of her palace and made laws and settled disputes and tried to keep all her subjects happy and contented, she was as dignified and demure as any queen might be; but when she had thrown aside her jeweled robe of state and her scepter, and had retired to her private apartments, the girl—joyous, light-hearted and free—replaced the sedate Ruler.

In later books, Ozma and Dorothy are best friends and very rarely seen apart. Most illustrators tend to give them differently colored hair to help tell them apart; Neill’s depiction of Ozma with poppies on either side of her head has also become “traditional” (and influenced Princess Leia’s look in the original Star Wars movie).


Images (spoilers – click only if you want to see!)

How John R. Neill drew Ozma:  1  2  3  4

How Dick Martin drew Ozma:  1  2

How Eric Shanower drew Ozma:  1

How Skottie Young drew Ozma:  1  2

 

The Wizard of Oz

Description:

From The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900):

The Lion thought it might be as well to frighten the Wizard, so he gave a large, loud roar, which was so fierce and dreadful that Toto jumped away from him in alarm and tipped over the screen that stood in a corner. As it fell with a crash they looked that way, and the next moment all of them were filled with wonder. For they saw, standing in just the spot the screen had hidden, a little old man, with a bald head and a wrinkled face, who seemed to be as much surprised as they were. The Tin Woodman, raising his axe, rushed toward the little man and cried out, “Who are you?”

From The Road to Oz (1909):

The Wizard of Oz was announced, and a dried-up, little, old man, clothed all in black, entered the drawing-room. His face was cheery and his eyes twinkling with humor, so Polly and Button-Bright were not at all afraid of the wonderful personage whose fame as a humbug magician had spread throughout the world.

From The Emerald City of Oz (1910):

From time to time some of the folk from the great outside world had found their way into this fairyland, but all except one had been companions of Dorothy and had turned out to be very agreeable people. The exception I speak of was the wonderful Wizard of Oz, a sleight-of-hand performer from Omaha who went up in a balloon and was carried by a current of air to the Emerald City. His queer and puzzling tricks made the people of Oz believe him a great wizard for a time, and he ruled over them until Dorothy arrived on her first visit and showed the Wizard to be a mere humbug. He was a gentle, kindly-hearted little man, and Dorothy grew to like him afterward. When, after an absence, the Wizard[49] returned to the Land of Oz, Ozma received him graciously and gave him a home in a part of the palace.

The Wizard’s characterization is very similar to the movie, although perhaps not so talkative. In later books, he returns to Oz and becomes Ozma’s right-hand man, learning some real magic from Glinda the Good. He is often paired with Dorothy in storylines, a bit like a wacky uncle (she solves problems through smarts; he solves problems through magic tricks).


Images (spoilers – click only if you really want to see!):

How W. W. Denslow drew the Wizard:  1  2

How John R. Neill drew the Wizard:  1  2  3  4

How Dick Martin drew the Wizard:  1  2

How Eric Shanower drew the Wizard:  1

How Skottie Young drew the Wizard:  1  2

 

Glinda the Good

Description

From The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900):

She was both beautiful and young to their eyes. Her hair was a rich red in color and fell in flowing ringlets over her shoulders. Her dress was pure white but her eyes were blue, and they looked kindly upon the little girl.

From Tik-Tok of Oz (1914):

There was one who constantly guarded the peace and happiness of the Land of Oz and this was the Official Sorceress of the Kingdom, Glinda the Good. In her magnificent castle, which stands far south of the Emerald City where Ozma holds her court, Glinda owns a wonderful magic Record Book, in which is printed every event that takes place anywhere, just as soon as it happens.

The smallest things and the biggest things are all recorded in this book. If a child stamps its foot in anger, Glinda reads about it; if a city burns down, Glinda finds the fact noted in her book. The Sorceress always reads her Record Book every day, and so it was she knew that Ann Soforth, Queen of Oogaboo, had foolishly assembled an army of sixteen officers and one private soldier, with which she intended to invade and conquer the Land of Oz.

 

In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Glinda is called “a good Witch.” By the next book, she has become “the great Sorceress” instead. Unlike the famous movie’s bubbly Glinda, the Glinda of the books is an all-powerful, very maternal force, sort of like Galadriel from The Lord of the Rings. She could smite you with the power of a thousand suns – you know, just like your mom when she gets angry. (Most of the time, though, she’s very kind.)


Images (spoilers – click only if you really want to see!):

How W. W. Denslow drew Glinda:  1  2

How John R. Neill drew Glinda:  1  2  3  4

How Dick Martin drew Glinda:  1

How Eric Shanower drew Glinda:  1

How Skottie Young drew Glinda:  1  2

 

The Cowardly Lion & The Hungry Tiger

Description:

From Ozma of Oz (1907):

First came a magnificent golden chariot, drawn by an enormous Lion and an immense Tiger, who stood shoulder to shoulder and trotted along as gracefully as a well-matched team of thoroughbred horses.

Just outside the door she came upon the Cowardly Lion, still hitched to the chariot beside the great Tiger. The Cowardly Lion had a big bow of blue ribbon fastened to the long hair between his ears, and the Tiger wore a bow of red ribbon on his tail, just in front of the bushy end.

In an instant Dorothy was hugging the huge Lion joyfully.

“I’m SO glad to see you again!” she cried. “How are you?”

“As cowardly as ever,” the beast answered in a meek voice. “Every little thing scares me and makes my heart beat fast. But let me introduce to you a new friend of mine, the Hungry Tiger.”

“Oh! Are you hungry?” she asked, turning to the other beast, who was just then yawning so widely that he displayed two rows of terrible teeth and a mouth big enough to startle anyone.

“Dreadfully hungry,” answered the Tiger, snapping his jaws together with a fierce click.

“Then why don’t you eat something?” she asked.

“It’s no use,” said the Tiger sadly. “I’ve tried that, but I always get hungry again.”

“How dreadful!” said Dorothy.

“Isn’t it, though?” returned the Hungry Tiger, licking his lips with his long red tongue. “Fat babies! Don’t they sound delicious? But I’ve never eaten any, because my conscience tells me it is wrong. If I had no conscience I would probably eat the babies and then get hungry again, which would mean that I had sacrificed the poor babies for nothing. No; hungry I was born, and hungry I shall die. But I’ll not have any cruel deeds on my conscience to be sorry for.”

“I think you are a very good tiger,” said Dorothy, patting the huge head of the beast.

“In that you are mistaken,” was the reply. “I am a good beast, perhaps, but a disgracefully bad tiger. For it is the nature of tigers to be cruel and ferocious, and in refusing to eat harmless living creatures I am acting as no good tiger has ever before acted. That is why I left the forest and joined my friend the Cowardly Lion.”

“But the Lion is not really cowardly,” said Dorothy. “I have seen him act as bravely as can be.”

“All a mistake, my dear,” protested the Lion gravely. “To others I may have seemed brave, at times, but I have never been in any danger that I was not afraid.”

 

From Ozma of Oz onward, the Lion and the Tiger often appear together. They pull Ozma’s royal chariot, and when she holds court in her palace, they sit on either side of her throne.


Images (spoilers – click only if you really want to see!):

How W. W. Denslow drew the Cowardly Lion:  1  2

How John R. Neill drew the Lion and Tiger:  1  2  3  4

How Eric Shanower drew the Cowardly Lion:  1

How Skottie Young drew the Lion and Tiger:  1  2