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Read a handful of L. Frank Baum's Oz books over the weekend, in the Del Rey reissues from the '80s. The trade paperbacks unfortunately don't do justice to Jno R. Neill's beautiful line illustrations: reduced in size and on inferior paper, one can't make out a lot of the detail.

Was Baum describing a Socialist paradise in his books?

Another question: where does the abbreviation "Jno" for John originate? It's how Neill signs his ornate illustrations; it's also painted on the station-cab in Market Blandings, where many an interloper alights for hijinks at Lord Emsworth's estate.