winsor mccay - collected works

Winsor McCay with a party of boon friends, is engaged in a friendly game, the subject of moving pictures is broached, the game is forgotten and the discussion becomes quite animated and interesting. One of the fellows asks Winsor why he has never been able to make moving pictures; he replies that he feels positive he can produce drawings that will move, and wagers that he will make four thousand pen drawings inside of one month that will move as actively and as life-like as anything ever reproduced by the camera, and surpass in their performance anything ever seen. His companions laugh at him and tell him he is getting foolish in his "noodle." He tells them to wait and see, and he is sure he will have the laugh on them. One month later, he has the four thousand drawings ready for the Vitagraph Company's camera and invites his club friends to come and see him make good. They arrive and he shows them drawings of some of the leading characters from his "Little Nemo" series. The camera man turns the crank of the machine, and what these celebrated little cartoon characters do, would be more difficult to tell than what they do not do. They go through some of the most astounding evolutions, gyrations, stunts, tricks and acts that cause you to scratch your head and wonder if you are not having one of "Little Nemo's" dreams. The incredulous friends of McCay are surprised and puzzled. After they recover from their astonishment, they tumble all over themselves to congratulate the wizard of the pen and pencil.