THE CHILDREN'S ILLUSTRATIONS OF WILLIAM WALLACE DENSLOW HD

[@ohwell2088]

I can’t express my love for your work enough mr beard. I’m a graphic design student that has had a long obsession with vintage illustration not for its exoticism but for its rich conceptual and technical accuracy, which greatly inspires me. This is the only channel that consistently does a superb job in exposing countless well researched commercial artists to the general public, while also being illustration focused rather than fine arts. I can’t thank you enough, may god fill this 2025 with countless blessings for you and your loved ones, your efforts are greatly appreciated.

[@petebeard]

Many thanks for your kind words of appreciation about the channel and my work on it. It really makes my day to get such comments. And I wish you all the best for the coming year.

[@VITA_AMOR_MORS_PAX]

Happy New Year Mr. Beard! And thank you for your work.

[@petebeard]

Your continued support is very welcome and I wish you a happy new year too.

[@G.L.McCarthy-vr1oe]

A sweet way to start the New Year! Many thanks🎉✨🎉

[@petebeard]

Thanks a lot for your comment and appreciation.

[@gabriellew6467]

A brand new year, a brand new episode from Pete Beard : upwards and onwards. Denslow's Father Goose, Mother Goose, his various collaborations with Baum all are delightful. Although he produced very entertaining and humorous illustrations, he obviously was not the hail fellow well met type. Three divorces and quarrels with two collaborators indicate a certain irascibility. Overfondness for drink didn't help, either. Pity his life ended sadly, he had a glorious talent to make a story spring to life. A fun episode to start the year with a smile - thank you.

[@petebeard]

Thanks a lot for your appreciation of the video. Obviously I never met the man but there is the feeling he was just a touch on the egomaniacal side. One of very few bits of good advice I got from my father was to never spend up to what I was earning, and always keep something by for that inevitable 'rainy day'. I wouldnt mind my own island, though.

[@gabriellew6467]

A private island - absolute bliss!

[@danieltaylor3231]

Another great video Pete, I learn about so many new illustrators as inspiration for my own work through your channel. Keep up the good work in 2025 !

[@petebeard]

Thanks a lot for your support and good wishes. Happy new year to you.

[@Cmdtheartist]

I read all the Oz books, I even belonged to some Oz fan club, I think. I remember a newsletter. But I was always more of a John R. Neill fan, the illustrator who replaced Denslow. I understand alcoholism is a disease, and that no one wants an obituary like Denslow's, but... "...he was obliged to give up his island and move permanently back to New York." There's a sentence you don't often hear on this channel. Mostly, there's been a lot of " No one knows what happened to him." Thank you, Pete. That was quite a roller-coaster ride. Happy New Year!

[@JamesSimmons-d1t]

Neill impressed me greatly...word person originally, I spent time just looking at later Oz books. My commentary follows::: "PLAUDITS AGAIN...A SUPERB series of videos....voice and scripts also very fine. >> I shall look for videos on illustrators of Nesbitt, Milne, Belloc...those who, like Tenniel and Jules Feiffer, worked with authors...also beautiful 'plates' of full color paintings in books like "Princess and Curdie" and "Little Lord Fauntleroy" we had in 50s..., and even the scratchy India ink? drawings in an edition we had of "The Lost World." THANK YOU> Bell iconed long ago...iconic, even Ionian. >>> My family had first editions of half dozen Oz books, on high acid paper. WW Denslow's jokey style amusing, but I vastly prefer John R Neill's subsequent Oz illustrations. My mother's mother read children's stories aloud, and wonderfully. She taught every grade in a one room school house, drove an ambulance in WW1, beating Hemingway to 'the punch' by 2 decades, and was a concert pianist in Midwest. Her husband, wine maker and merchant...until prohibition....was mayor of Brooklyn. Now Brooklyn Heights, West Cleveland. He later developed the first car wax for Ford and owned an electroplating outfit, and my mom became a biochem professor, held national org presidencies, much more...dad helped invent, improve, manufacture and maintain electronics we are using now, national directorships, Western Electric, part of Bell Tel. We are generalists...I started in languages and literatures, spent 2 weeks in Louvre, summer of 1970, and am pleased as Punch by your work. Ronald Searle! Edward Gorey. Walt Kelly....my my. Had all the Tintin, Lucky Luke, Gaston LaGaffe, Astérix, most Achille Talon, up to late 70s...merveilleux. Ciao. Bloom County, Calvin and Hobbes, Ron Cobb, Doonesbury. Jules Feiffer...those who, like Thurber, illustrated their own texts...my my them.

[@petebeard]

Thanks a lot for your continuing appreciation, and I also prefer Neill's more sensitive visualisations. Happy new year to you.

[@gerardtessers]

When I was a little boy, I was gifted a compilation-book with excerpts from various childrens-stories ('De Verhalenreus', in Dutch). In this book there were some chapters of The Wizard of Oz, with some very peculiar illustrations. With this video you have given that artist a complete history - thank you! Also, my wife and I would like to wish you and yours a very happy and prosperous New Year...

[@petebeard]

Thanks a lot for your appreciation and comment. I must confess I find Denslow's styling rather peculiar too, and his child charcters look like little fat adults. But I try to keep my personal opinions out of the videos. I hope you both have the best possible new year.

[@rewanji]

Another amazing discovery by Mr. Beard. No better way to start the year. Happy and prosperous 2025 to all art lovers. Cheers

[@petebeard]

Thanks a lot for your favourable comment, and my best wishes for 2025.

[@peterbernhardt5169]

Excellent as always. Variation in the spot color palettes and irregular tinting of characters in Denslow's illustrations (5:11) for "The Wizard of Oz" was a deliberate following of text descriptions. Baum wrote that each part of Oz has a favorite and dominant color so when the illustration emphasizes blue we are in Munchkin land where the blue scarecrow was made. Green is for the Emerald City, yellow for the Western Winkies and Glinda rules the red Quadling country. By the second book, Baum takes us to the northern-purple land of the Gillikins. Hollywood dropped the book's color wheel, turned the wicked witch green and so have all those imitating the movie. Some say the color coding of the first and second Oz book stems from Baum's 1897 magazine, "The Show Window" when he focused on designing displays. Others say he's sharing a joke with children forced to learn geography from multi-colored maps.

[@petebeard]

Many thanks for your comments and appreciation of this video. I didn't know that there was some function to his choice of colours, as I've never read the book. Fascinating.

[@justicecommander9455]

First of all, happy new year Mr Beard. Denslow story truly is a cautionary tale of the dangers of success and addiction, though I wouldn't mind having the money to buy my own private island working as an illustrator. To think there was a time when that was possible!

[@yellowstarproductions6743]

Agreed

[@petebeard]

Thanks for the comment and appreciation. The best I managed was to get my own back garden, and even that is overlooked. Ho hum.

[@matthieujoly]

Mr Beard, you're a part of the reason that all years are great. Your work is one of a kind. Thank you so much ! I've never heard/seen any illustrations from William Wallace and this is a joy to watch theses scenes, visuals ! Have a great year !

[@petebeard]

Your continued appreciation is very welcome, and I hope yours is a good year too. Thanks for your support.

[@clealinden7755]

THANK YOU for this!! What perfectly lovely perfect New Year's present!

[@petebeard]

Thanks a lot and a happy new year to you.

[@manuelcapela7620]

An Happy and Prosperous New Year to you, Peter! And a big Thank You!🇬🇧🇵🇹🎇✨🎆

[@petebeard]

My best wishes to you too and thanks for your support of the channel.

[@jennifercoopman]

Another great video about an artist that did alot of kids books. I'd love to see one about Richard Scarry. His books and illustrations made great childhood memories for me. Thanks for all your hard work on these videos!

[@petebeard]

Many thanks for your comments and appreciation. Richard Scarry is on my 'possibles' list, but at the moment I'm trying to be strict and more organised so I'm prioritising those that are already works in progress - and there's a terrifyingly large number of them. So much to do, so little time...

[@BlueBaron3339]

"It's better to be lucky than good," came to mind as I watched this one, Pete. And, as always, I loved your side commentaries, particularly regarding his marriages. 😂 A marvelous New Year's gift, all in all. I won't speak for the world at large but it made last year better for those who love these videos. 100k subs! Finally! 😄

[@petebeard]

Thanks a lot for your continued appreciation and I hope that it's onwards and upwards for all of us (doubtful, I know) in 2025.

[@irangel1958]

Happy New Year, I can't believe how long I've followed you and am always so happy to see one of your videos pop up. (I have the "notify me" set on YES!) Here's to a wonderful new year filled with your gifts to the world.

[@yellowstarproductions6743]

Agreed

[@petebeard]

Many thanks for your appreciation, good wishes and longterm support of the channel. And I wish you well for the coming year.

[@garymcguire8529]

As usual your videos are very entertaining, and packed with interesting facts, like the one about Santa Claus being dressed in blue! I always thought of this Christmas figure, being something from Norse mythology and his red colour came from riding through the Northern Lights in winter.

[@petebeard]

Thanks a lot for your comment, as always, and I'm pleased you found it of interest.

[@MrPhotodoc]

Mr. Denslow's work was used as an example by one of my professors in Art school back in the '70's. I have to admit I sole many of his techniques such as color choice in completing my student screen printing assignments.

[@petebeard]

Thanks a lot for your comment and appreciation.

[@frans181818]

And again a wonderfull video, thanks Pete!

[@petebeard]

Thanks a lot for your appreciation.

[@43painter]

Oh My Gods! It's January 2 already. 363 more days and it's already New Year's Eve. . . again! Happy New Year, Peter & Thank you so much for your fantastic video - docu's about a lot of talent that we have lost sight of. I get motivated and inspired by it every time.

[@petebeard]

Oh how the years roll around. Many thanks for your continud support of the channel and I hope you have a happy and prosperous new year.

[@43painter]

@@petebeard ThX, Pete !!

[@bigblue6917]

Happy New Year, Pete. An interesting choice to start the year. A variation on the proverb "Lucky in cards, unlucky in love." He comes across as what used to be referred to as a rather quarrelsome fellow. Whatever his talents as an artist, which are obvious, the were not matched in his everyday life. Thanks

[@petebeard]

A happy new year to you too. And Denslow seems to have been his own worst enemy, and certainly not the most likeable personality.

[@promisso]

Thank you so much for this great channel Happy New Year to you and yours

[@petebeard]

You are very welcome, and a happy new year to you too.

[@robert-trading-as-Bob69]

Considering that desertion and divorce were strictly frowned upon by society in the late 1800'' and early 1900's, it is amazing that Denslows works, especially his childrens books, were published at all, in fact that might be why they struggled to gain financial backing in the first place. To divorce twice was to court ostracisim from his peers, which might be why he became an alchoholic and sought solitude on his own little island. In the end he became lazy in the application of his skills, relying overmuch on a reputation tarnished beyond repair. Thank you Mr Beard, for yet another well presented video.

[@petebeard]

Thanks a lot for your comment and reflections on the unfortunate life and ultimate downfall of Denslow.

[@williambrady1192]

A great episode of work. Happy New Year Peter.

[@petebeard]

Thanks on both counts, and my best wishes for 2025.

[@TexRenner]

Happy New Year. I enjoyed this telling of William Wallace Denslow and his career. Funny, I remember as a child not liking his illustrations; especially the way he drew faces.

[@petebeard]

Thanks a lot for the comment and happy new year to you too. Off the record I'm not all that keen on Denslow's work and I find his kid characters really unpleasant (more like little fat adults).

[@clarencewagner1278]

Great video thanks again. Hope you have a wonderful new year.

[@petebeard]

Thabks a lot for your continuing appreciation of the channel, and a happy new year to you, too.

[@bhornannawindeedeigh5007]

Oh my gosh .... you've fueled my fire to continue to collect children's illustrated books from the Golden Age of Children's Literature! 😅 Thanks a lot, Pete. 😂 (I won't call my habit hoarding, though, as I actually love going through my wonderful antique books page by page.) ❤

[@petebeard]

Hello and many thanks for your very positive comment about the channel. It's good to know there are so many others out there who enjoy illustration as much as i do.

[@stealthiestboy]

I'd like to also mention that I'm very thankful for what you've shared. I've been doing ink illustrations lately, and having so much inspiration to draw upon has helped immensely!

[@petebeard]

Thanks a lot for both your recent comments and your appreciation of my efforts with the channel. If it has served to help develop your own creativity and skills so much the better. Regarding your question about my research I hate to disappoint but I really don't use books, other than the few I've kept about my own personal favourites. The rest I gave away to students years ago. Easily 99% of the material I find is found from varying levels of the internet. The only tricky part is being persistent and incresingly specific enough in your searches to be able to get what you;re looking for. And sometimes of course it's a brick wall or only a handful of pictures.

[@guldenaydin9918]

Thank you once again for all your videos.. And, Happy New Year. ♦️🎲♦️🎰♦️🃏

[@petebeard]

Thanks to you too for your support for the chan.el and comments. I hope your 2025 works out well.

[@allluckyseven]

I've said this before, but I love your videos. They're amazing. If I may make a request, could you please talk about Libico Maraja? I grew up seeing his illustrations in story books and was equally intrigued and in awe with the quality of his work. Actually, those books had illustration by him and also by Gianni Benvenuti.

[@petebeard]

Many thanks for your appreciation, and your suggestion for subjects. I had not previously encountered either of them and a quick look shows why you admire them. Both are now on my 'to do' list...although there might not be enough decent resolution imagery by Benvenutti. But I should warn you not to expect anything for quite a while. I already have a frighteningly long list of others as works in progress and my new year resolution is to clear some of the backlog before adding any more. But I look forward to tackling at least Maraja's work in particular

[@allluckyseven]

@@petebeard That's okay, there are so many amazing artists out there to talk about, waiting won't hurt a bit. :D Thanks!

[@simonward-horner7605]

Marvellous stuff! Thanks, Pete!

[@petebeard]

My pleasure - thanks a lot.

[@thegurch7313]

I absolutely love this guys artwork, such love brush marks and natural lines . It's a shame that no one collects all these lost images collates them into a beautiful book to celebrate the art, i for sure would buy such a book.

[@petebeard]

Thanks for the comment. I must admit I haven't looked but are you sure there isn't a printed collection of his work? Someone's missing an opprortunity if that's the case.

[@desmcharris]

Thank you Peter!! Fantastic History here!!

[@petebeard]

I'm glad you enjoyed it - thanks a lot.

[@ingmarvanderhoek6314]

Happy New Year and what a nice start! This is an artist who visibly had to search for his own, wonderful style when he started illustrating for children, it seems. Thanks again for highlighting him!

[@petebeard]

Thanks a lot for your appreiation, as always. A happy new year to you and yours.

[@ingmarvanderhoek6314]

@petebeard thank you, Peter! Much appreciated!

[@eamonnclabby7067]

Nice....Happy New year, sir...and subscribers...😊😊😊😊😊....E

[@petebeard]

Cheers, old chap. As always I hope for the best, expect the worst and accept whatever comes along...

[@justkiddin84]

That Egg was nekkid!!😂 I am trying to think if I have ever seen an unclothed Humpty Dumpty before, now. I kinda foresaw the loss of the island (that house was gorgeous!) but I suppose you could argue that Tis better to have had and lost an island than never to have had one at all. Doesn’t seem to have helped Mr Denslow very much, sadly. Talent does not always coincide with being a good human, for sure, but we can take them separately, as long as they aren’t truly monstrous. Another interesting and well done video!😊

[@albertcscs]

Great video Peter! I'm a little late, I just got back from my island off the coast of Chile where I was celebrating the New Year. My best wishes for an additional 100k subscribers this year, there is no better channel on YT.

[@petebeard]

Hi Albert. To have been that successful and then lost it all beggars belief. Best advice my old man gave me was 'always put some money away for a rainy day'. Thanks Dad. Have a great new year.

[@HeathersIllustratedClassics]

A wonderful presentation Pete. Although I love John R. Neill's illustrations in the other "Oz" books, I often wonder how much different Denslow's life could have been if they had not had that falling out. Happy New Year!⭐

[@JamesSimmons-d1t]

Neill impressed me greatly...word person originally, I spent time just looking at later Oz books. My commentary follows::: "PLAUDITS AGAIN...A SUPERB series of videos....voice and scripts also very fine. >> I shall look for videos on illustrators of Nesbitt, Milne, Belloc...those who, like Tenniel and Jules Feiffer, worked with authors...also beautiful 'plates' of full color paintings in books like "Princess and Curdie" and "Little Lord Fauntleroy" we had in 50s..., and even the scratchy India ink? drawings in an edition we had of "The Lost World." THANK YOU> Bell iconed long ago...iconic, even Ionian. >>> My family had first editions of half dozen Oz books, on high acid paper. WW Denslow's jokey style amusing, but I vastly prefer John R Neill's subsequent Oz illustrations. My mother's mother read children's stories aloud, and wonderfully. She taught every grade in a one room school house, drove an ambulance in WW1, beating Hemingway to 'the punch' by 2 decades, and was a concert pianist in Midwest. Her husband, wine maker and merchant...until prohibition....was mayor of Brooklyn. Now Brooklyn Heights, West Cleveland. He later developed the first car wax for Ford and owned an electroplating outfit, and my mom became a biochem professor, held national org presidencies, much more...dad helped invent, improve, manufacture and maintain electronics we are using now, national directorships, Western Electric, part of Bell Tel. We are generalists...I started in languages and literatures, spent 2 weeks in Louvre, summer of 1970, and am pleased as Punch by your work. Ronald Searle! Edward Gorey. Walt Kelly....my my. Had all the Tintin, Lucky Luke, Gaston LaGaffe, Astérix, most Achille Talon, up to late 70s...merveilleux. Ciao. Bloom County, Calvin and Hobbes, Ron Cobb, Doonesbury. Jules Feiffer...those who, like Thurber, illustrated their own texts...my my them.

[@petebeard]

Thanks a lot for your comments, and I must confess I prefer Neill's visualisation. Happy new year to you and yours too.

[@TheMarkEH]

Happy New Year Pete! I hope that 2025 takes you from 100K subscribers up to 250K,...that would be worth celebrating. I really like Denslow's coloured work, less so the B&W.

[@petebeard]

I'm still hung over from celebrating the 100,000. I hope your year is a good one too, and thanks for your continued support.

[@wemblyfez]

I confess I've mixed feelings about Denslow. The OZ illustration are marvelous and expressive as are the Mother Goose and Father Goose books. Many others, however (to my eye, at least) seem stiff and not very well thought out. I would say flat as well, but even with his heavy line and flat color, his best characters have a sense of weight and energy and expression. Dare I say better designed and drawn? I wasn't aware of his dependence on alcohol, so that might be a factor. Still, he's still someone to study and appreciate. And, if a children's book illustrator can buy an island of his own, I guess there's still hope, eh? ;-)...This video was a terrific way to ring in the New Year. Hope you had a good celebration; looking forward to another year of great illustrators. Happy New Yea rPete or, as we say here in Provence, "Bon bout d'an" (Bonne année in Provencal ,but don't ask me to copy the accent, I can barely spit out a workable phrase to order my daily baguette....;-)...) Cheers!

[@petebeard]

Hi Doug and a happy new year to you and yours. I'm approaching 2025 with my default mix of optimism and dread. And off the record I really don't like Denslow's styling, although there are some elements such as the visualisation of the tin man and scarecrow that pass muster. His kids are remarkably ugly and unlikeable, and I struggle to find any convincing evocatuions of depth in his compositions. But fair play to the man - he worked with his abilitiesrode his luck, and enjoyed a level of success I could never even dream of.

[@philipdove6987]

A good start to another year of illustrations. Happy new year.

[@petebeard]

Thanks a lot for your appreciation and support. They are very welcome.

[@christopherd.winnan8701]

Great work. Any chance of seeing Alfred Bestall or Edward Jeffrey here in the future?

[@petebeard]

Hello and thanks a lot for your appreciation. I'm an admirer of both illustrators as I grew up loving their work in the 50s. But... other than a couple of bits and pieces Bestall was, like many others, tied inextricably to the one ongoing project, and only the most hardcore of devotees would not get bored by me saying, "and here's another scene from Rupert...". And Jeffrey is a complete non-starter as there is hardly any decent quality evidence of his work to be had. Sorry to disappoint, but I'm always at the mercy of what I can find.

[@christopherd.winnan8701]

@@petebeard - Thanks anyway. Looks like I should have taken better care of my Toby Twirl annuals when I had the chance!

[@sirguy6678]

Fantastic video and incredible research!

[@petebeard]

Thanks a lot for your appreciation - it's very welcome.

[@bertassellodavide1297]

Happy New Year !! Pete❤️🥳🥂👍

[@petebeard]

Thanks a lot and my very best wishes to you too.

[@brucealanwilson4121]

A great episode. The Wikipedia article said that he drew political cartoons. It would be interesting to explore them. When I heard that he married & divorced three times, I wonder if his financial problems were in part caused by paying three sets of alimony?

[@petebeard]

Sadly, I looked but found nothing. Thanks for the comment.

[@dlschgo]

The curse of illustrators. All that time alone conjuring up inspiration and trying to capture that on the page. Real life seems like another universe and excess seems like it is never enough. Too bad he looked back for his future successes. He never lived to turn to untrod paths. But cautionary tales might be more useful to your audience, especially as we begin a New Year. Thanks, Pete, for another great one.

[@petebeard]

Thannks for the comment, and yes, this video was as much about the pitfalls and perils of success and failure as it was about the actual images. I probably should keep my opinions to myself but I can't help thinking Denslow was a complete pain in the backside to those who knew him.

[@tompuce84]

Oh Denslow I knew from the wizard of Oz (as did everyone I suppose?). Unmistakable thick lines and expressions, although Mrs. Baum would say, eventually, that he could never do an actual children's face. Thx for the vid mr. Beard!

[@petebeard]

Thanks for the comment and appreciation. I'm inclined to agree with Mrs. B on that score too.

[@CELTICFOXSTUDIO77777]

Thank you Pete 😊

[@petebeard]

My pleasure - glad you enjoyed it.

[@davidsparks6146]

Happy New Year! ( I hope...living in the USA it's doubtful) Nonetheless... another year to look forward to your videos. This one was a sad tale to hear... I wonder if the financial institutions at the time had any smart investment opportunities...

[@petebeard]

Thanks for your comments and appreciation. At the moment I'd swap countries with you in an instant - Starmer's Bolshevik Britain is nobody's idea of fun. My old man always told me to put something away for a 'rainy day', and when it came I was very glad to have heeded his advice.

[@12theotherandrew]

I appreciate your choice of background music. It’s interesting to see Denslow’s artistic development but he seemed to me to be too formulaic in much of his work. Unfortunately alcoholism doesn’t aid a stable relationship even if addictions do sometimes accompany remarkable creativity.

[@petebeard]

Thanks for your comment and appreciation as always. I'm glad it didn't come across in the video (I don't like to express my personal opinions too much) but I share your misgivings about his work. His child characters are particularly unappealing to me.

[@mattmcdonnellart]

A remarkable story of the rise and fall of a moderately talented artist.

[@petebeard]

Thanks a lot for your comment.

[@JamesSimmons-d1t]

PLAUDITS AGAIN...A SUPERB series of videos....voice and scripts also very fine. >> I shall look for videos on illustrators of Nesbitt, Milne, Belloc...those who, like Tenniel and Jules Feiffer, worked with authors...also beautiful 'plates' of full color paintings in books like "Princess and Curdie" and "Little Lord Fauntleroy" we had in 50s..., and even the scratchy India ink? drawings in an edition we had of "The Lost World." THANK YOU> Bell iconed long ago...iconic, even Ionian. >>> My family had first editions of half dozen Oz books, on high acid paper. WW Denslow's jokey style amusing, but I vastly prefer John R Neill's subsequent Oz illustrations. My mother's mother read children's stories aloud, and wonderfully. She taught every grade in a one room school house, drove an ambulance in WW1, beating Hemingway to 'the punch' by 2 decades, and was a concert pianist in Midwest. Her husband, wine maker and merchant...until prohibition....was mayor of Brooklyn. Now Brooklyn Heights, West Cleveland. He later developed the first car wax for Ford and owned an electroplating outfit, and my mom became a biochem professor, held national org presidencies, much more...dad helped invent, improve, manufacture and maintain electronics we are using now, national directorships, Western Electric, part of Bell Tel. We are generalists...I started in languages and literatures, spent 2 weeks in Louvre, summer of 1970, and am pleased as Punch by your work. Ronald Searle! Edward Gorey. Walt Kelly....my my. Had all the Tintin, Lucky Luke, Gaston LaGaffe, Astérix, most Achille Talon, up to late 70s...merveilleux. Ciao. Bloom County, Calvin and Hobbes, Ron Cobb, Doonesbury. Jules Feiffer...those who, like Thurber, illustrated their own texts...my my them.

[@petebeard]

Many thanks for your appreciation, comments and insights. It sounds that you are as big an illustration enthusiast as I am. And by the way I share your preference for Neill's visualisation of the Oz world - a far superior draughtsman and a sense of romance too. I try not to let my personal opinions of the subjects I feature show in the narration but off the record I'm no fan of Denslow's style or characters.

[@Tetheredpencil]

It would be great if you made an Instagram or Facebook page, regarding your videos. For example posting your favourite artwork of each artist you cover. It would be a good way to catalog and also to reference artwork. Your videos are amazing.

[@petebeard]

Thanks a lot for the suggestion, but as it is the channel occupies a huge amount of my time, and I'm trying to keep things simple. Managing any other platform would really not be possible. Sorry to disappoint.

[@Tetheredpencil]

@petebeard No worries, its understandable!

[@SaveEarthPlsBeKind]

Interesting, have subscribed. Have you covered Thomas Bewick at all? Perhaps another unsung hero? His work and his workshop, life story etc is absolutely amazing. There's a Bewick society and Cherryburn museum in Northumberland, they have websites. :-)

[@petebeard]

Hello and thanks foir the subscription. Bewick hads fearured a few times in the channel content, and he will be prominent in my wildlife illustration video if/when I eventually finish it. But he's really a bit outside my usual timeframe so I've never covered him in his own solo video. Maybe some day...

[@SaveEarthPlsBeKind]

@@petebeard Ah great thanks. Yeah it is quite historic illustration, look forward to see the wildlife video. 🙂

[@lagazettedesfrancais8155]

Interesting human story, thank you.

[@petebeard]

Many thanks for your appreciation of this video.I'm pleased you found it of interest.

[@christiancelis4642]

Question, will you be doing The Illustrations of Reynard the Fox soon (I would love to see the artists own take on Reynard the Fox.)

[@petebeard]

I'm sorry but the answer isn't 'no' but it's unlikely in the foreseeable future. I realised to my consternation that somewhow I've built up a backlog of about 70 works in progress, and my new year's resolution is to try to stay more focussed, so I'm not allowing myself to get distracted with new topics - however attractive.

[@TheMikester307]

I've known his work all my life and would recognize it anywhere! Oh, and "Billy Bounce" is regarded as the first comics character to use a superpower, and was homaged as "Bouncing Boy" in the Legion of Super Heroes comics.

[@petebeard]

Hi and thanks for the comments and appreciation of this video.

[@zaryuezy-youtaylor2994]

He illustrated the rest of the Wizard of Oz books!

[@petebeard]

Thabks for your comment, although Im not sure what you mean- Denslow didn't illustrate any Oz books after the first.

[@zaryuezy-youtaylor2994]

@petebeard Oh, my mistake.

[@jill-ti7oe]

HAPPY NEW YEAR 😄👍

[@petebeard]

And the same to you, Thanks for staying with the channel.

[@TheMikester307]

3:21 Aha! That lion looks familiar!

[@johngraham4053]

We you now that they say, “money is the root of all evil”. Then follow the money. That was interesting Pete. Thank you

[@petebeard]

Thanks a lot for your appreciation of this cautionary tale.

[@nealkonneker6084]

Anyone else notice that the characters at 13:35 bear a passing resemblance to MAD magazines Alfred E. Neuman?

[@petebeard]

Thanks for the comment and I think it's not totally coincidental. Take a look here for the full story - www.theparisreview.org/blog/2016/03/03/a-boy-with-no-birthday-turns-sixty/

[@Kjt853]

I’ve long regretted that Denslow and Baum had a falling-out sometime between the first and second Oz books. Denslow’s illustrations have a whimsicality and timelessness that I find lacking in the illustrations of John R. Neill, whose “modernized” Dorothy freezes her in the early 20th century.

[@petebeard]

Many thanks for your comment and appreciation of the video. I must confess I'm personally more in the Neill camp, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate the groundbreaking nature of Denslow's work.

[@mijiyoon5575]

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I like his rabbit images

[@SameAsAnyOtherStranger]

Anyone familiar with Grateful Dead's dancing bears would see the top right frame at 15:10 and wonder if that is a typical example of that culture's homage via plagiarism. I know when I saw it, I said: "Oh Wowsley!'

[@petebeard]

Thanks for the comment - and I must confess I'd never heard of the Grateful Dead's dancing bears thing. A most peculiar connection.

[@SameAsAnyOtherStranger]

​​@@petebeardThe dancing bears are pretty much the Grateful Dead's logo. I'm not sure of the connection, but Owsley Stanley was nicknamed "Bear" and he "developed the Grateful Dead's Wall of Sound, one of the largest mobile sound reinforcement systems ever constructed." Along with providing much of the fuel for the ensuent psychedelia of that era.

[@mijiyoon5575]

Thanks *Pete* since you mentioned Denslow's drinking issues & his 3 divorces we can assume one had something to do w/the other🤔& yes it is tragic when someone does not know how to manage money when they are lucky enough to have any money to begin with. I've always heard it's not what someone makes but, what they save🤔🤨

[@petebeard]

Thanks for your appreciation and comments. The best advice - probably only advice - my old man ever gave me was to always put some money away for a 'rainy day'. I did, and it saved my bacon. I should probably keep my opinions to myself but I get the impression Denslow was an egomaniacal nightmare, rock star style.

[@thaisstone5192]

What a shame; some people just can't control themselves when they become reliant on using alcohol as a self-administered anti-depressant.

[@petebeard]

Yes, and a common enough story, unfortunately. Thanks a lot for your continuing support of the channel and appreciation of the content.

[@jaybradley9083]

This was an interesting yet sad tale that has happened far too often. Denslow fell victim to his own excesses. It is a shame he couldn't rein in his lifestyle.

[@petebeard]

Thanks for the comment. I can't help thinking his story would make a reasonable biopic if in the hands of the right director. A cautionary tale indeed.

[@stealthiestboy]

How do you go about finding all these artists? I've been astounded by your channel's growth. You've well-earned it! I had a thought that it might be fun to compile all the books/collected works of the variety of artists you've highlighted. That way if viewers wanted to dive deeper they could get their hands on some art books.

[@futuristica1710]

Great artist with poor life choices.

[@petebeard]

I can't tell if you mean him or me (just joking).

[@mikedirle520]

HIs early pen work was impressive to me. (what do I know?) I love his later work. Multiple marriages - make me wonder wha this hoelife was like and how id played against his creativity? Tnx as always! And Happy New Year.

[@petebeard]

Thanksa lot for your appreciation and longstanding support of the channel. Happy new year to you and yours too.