Winter 2021: Gallery: Frank Ver Beck

In the Winter 2021 issue’s installment of “Collectors’ Corner,” we all enjoyed W. Neal Thompson’s comprehensive bibliographical overview of the career of Frank Ver Beck, the whimsical artist who illustrated L. Frank Baum’s A New Wonderland (1900; later republished as The Magical Monarch of Mo, 1903). On this page, we are pleased to offer you a far more thorough gallery of Ver Beck’s cover art and illustrations from across his career—including many more of his delightful bears.

“Half-Hours with JimmieBoy” (1893)Front cover.

“Half-Hours with JimmieBoy” (1893)Advertising poster.

“Half-Hours with JimmieBoy” (1893)Representative illustration.

“The Book of Lies” (1896)Front cover and spine.

“The Book of Lies” (1896)Representative illustration.

“The Dumpies” (1897)Front cover and spine of R.H. Russell (American) edition.

“The Dumpies” (1897)Back cover of R. H. Russell (American) edition.

“The Dumpies” (1897)Front cover and spine of Kegan Paul (British) edition.

“The Dumpies” (1897)Back cover of Kegan Paul (British) edition.

“The Arkansaw Bear” (1898)Cover.

“The Arkansaw Bear” (1898)Advertising poster.

“The Arkansaw Bear” (1898)Front cover and spine of 1902 reprint.

“The Arkansaw Bear” (1898)Front cover and spine of 1919 reprint.

“Acrobatic Animals” (1899)Front cover and spine.

“Acrobatic Animals” (1899)Title page.

“Acrobatic Animals” (1899)Dedication page.

“Acrobatic Animals” (1899)Copyright page.

“Acrobatic Animals” (1899)Illustration #1.

“Acrobatic Animals” (1899)Illustration #2.

“Acrobatic Animals” (1899)Illustration #3.

“Acrobatic Animals” (1899)Illustration #4.

“Acrobatic Animals” (1899)Illustration #5.

“A Hand-Book of Golf for Bears” (1900)Front cover.

“A Hand-Book of Golf for Bears” (1900)Back cover.

Ver_Beck_Hand-Book_of_Golf_for_Bears_M-for_Muscle

Ver_Beck_A_New_Wonderland_1st_coverFront cover.

“A New Wonderland” (1900)Front cover and spine of variant binding.

“Two Thousand Miles on an Automobile” (1902)Front cover and spine.

“Two Thousand Miles on an Automobile” (1902)Dust jacket.

“Barbara Ladd” (1902)Front cover and spine.

“The Book of Bugs” (1902)Front cover and spine.

“The Book of Bugs” (1902)Chapter I heading.

“The Book of Bugs” (1902)Chapter II heading.

“The Book of Bugs” (1902)Chapter III heading.

“The Book of Bugs” (1902)Chapter IV heading.

“The Book of Bugs” (1902)Chapter V heading.

“The Book of Bugs” (1902)Chapter VI heading.

“The Book of Bugs” (1902)Chapter VII heading.

“The Book of Bugs” (1902)Chapter VIII heading.

“The Book of Bugs” (1902)Chapter IX heading.

“The Book of Bugs” (1902)Chapter X heading.

“The Book of Bugs” (1902)Chapter XI heading.

“The Book of Bugs” (1902)Chapter XII heading.

“The Book of Bugs” (1902)Chapter XIII heading.

“Poketown People” (1904)Front cover and spine.

“Poketown People” (1904)Representative color plate.

“Told by Uncle Remus: New Stories of the Old Plantation” (1905)Front cover and spine.

“Ver Beck’s Book of Bears” (1906)Front cover.

“Ver Beck’s Book of Bears” (1906)Back cover.

“The Adventures of JouJou” (1906)Front cover and spine.

“The Adventures of JouJou” (1906)Representative color plate.

“Elsie and the Arkansaw Bear” (1909)Front cover and spine.

“Elsie and the Arkansaw Bear” (1909)Representative illustration.

“The Fall of Ulysses” (1912)Front cover and spine.

“The Fall of Ulysses” (1912)Dust jacket.

“The Fall of Ulysses” (1912)Representative two-page spread.

“Ver Beck’s Bears in Mother Goose-Land” (1915)Front cover.

“Ver Beck’s Bears in Mother Goose-Land” (1915)Back cover.

“Ver Beck’s Bears in Mother Goose-Land” (1915)Frontispiece and title page.

Little Story Books: “A Short Tale from Tinseltown” (1915) and “The Elephant Child” (1920)Front covers.

Little Story Books: “Timothy Turtle’s Great Day” (1916) and “The Little Lost Bear” (1915)Front covers.

“The Little Lost Bear” (1915)Frontispiece.

Little Story Books: “Piggywiggen” (1924) and “The Donkey Child” (1918)Front covers.

“The Donkey Child” (1918)Dust jacket.