Lot 220: NEILL, JOHN R[EA]. 1877-1943. Original pen-and-ink drawing, "He raised his gun, took aim and fired," with additional drybrush of "Private Files of Oogaboo,"

NEILL, JOHN R[EA]. 1877-1943.
Original pen-and-ink drawing, "He raised his gun, took aim and fired," with additional drybrush of "Private Files of Oogaboo," 390 x 290 mm. Matted and framed.Published: Tik-Tok of Oz by L. Frank Baum (Chicago: Reilly & Britton Co., 1914), p 35.Succeeding W. W. Denslow as the Imperial Illustrator of Oz, John R. Neill illustrated 35 Oz Books, three of which he wrote himself. His contribution is linked to Oz as indelibly as L. Frank Baum's. Tik-Tok of Oz was the eighth title in the series. Private Files, the only enlisted man in an army of officers, joined Queen Ann Soforth of Oogaboo to conquer the world. Tik-Tok of Oz was based on Baum's 1913 musical extravaganza The Tik-Tok Man of Oz in which famous character actor Charles Ruggles created the role of Private Files.